My Deadly Valentine - By Valerie Hansen & Lynette Eason Page 0,37

that small smidge of attraction for the man in the midst of everything that was happening, not to mention everything he’d done in the past, she led Alex into the next room of her store. The Candy Caper. Her pride and joy—and source of income. She’d always had a weakness for chocolate and a head for business. After scraping together her business degree, the store seemed the perfect fit for her. She’d opened the town’s only gourmet candy store with a special section that focused on chocolate only. It had been an instant hit with the town folks and had even been written up in a number of tourist magazines. Boxes of candy, red and pink balloons, stuffed animals and fresh flowers all waited to be delivered to their lucky Valentine recipients. The ice cream case next to the wall gleamed. “Nothing seems to be disturbed in here.”

“All right. I’ll take care of dusting the back room for prints, but don’t expect much. Did the guy have on gloves or did you notice?”

She closed her eyes trying to remember the last thing her eyes had seen before she’d been hit. “Yes, he had on black gloves.”

“Did you see his face?” Eli asked.

“No, a glimpse of a mask and gloves, but that’s it.” She rummaged in her drawer for a bottle of ibuprofen and shot a look at Eli. “Did you cancel that ambulance?”

Alex narrowed his eyes. “You sure you want to do that?”

She squinted right back at him. Persistent and overprotective. “I’m sure. It’s a small cut. Head wounds usually look worse than they are.” Or so she’d heard.

Eli took her chin and tilted it for a look at the damage. Her heart jumped into triple speed. “I canceled it.” His warm breath brushed her cheek, then he stepped back. Holly fought to catch her breath as he headed for the door. “I’m just going to have a look outside.”

When he left, Alex stared at her like he wanted to say something and couldn’t decide whether or not he should. Not in the mood for either man, dismayed at her instant response to a man who’d pulverized her heart, she just wanted everyone gone so she could put an ice pack on her head. “Is that everything you need?”

A slow smile crossed his lips. “Not everything, but I have your number if I have any more questions. Although I can think of one question I’d like to ask you. It involves a ring.”

Holly frowned. “Alex…” she gently reproved.

He shrugged and offered a sheepish grin. “Can’t blame a guy for trying. You know I’m crazy about you, Holly.”

“Stop it, will you?”

Alex just kept that goofy smile on his face. She wondered if he was even thinking about the break-in. “I’ll just get out of your way so you can do your job.”

A gentle hint.

Eli came back in and Holly watched Alex’s expression slide from personal back to professional. Eli asked, “Are you sure you don’t want me to run you up to the E.R. in Bryson City?”

A thirty-minute drive away, the small town had the closest hospital. “No, I’m fine. Between the ice and the ibuprofen, I’ll survive. I don’t think he got me hard enough to cause a concussion, but if I start feeling sick, I’ll call for help.”

“All right.” He hesitated in the door and looked like he wanted to say something else, then sighed. He looked at Alex then back at her. “Did you notice anything off when you came in the store?”

She frowned. “Off? What do you mean?”

“Just odd, anyone standing outside, looking like they didn’t belong. A feeling of being watched. Anything like that?”

Holly shrugged. “No.” A sigh escaped her. “I guess I need to be a little more alert about my surroundings.” A memory hit her. “Wait a minute. There was something….”

Both Alex and Eli jumped in and chorused, “What?”

“There was someone standing across the street smoking a cigarette. I remember thinking he was new in town, but then I came on in and got involved in everything here—” she waved a hand toward her desk “—and didn’t think anything more about him until just now.” Normally, Holly tried to introduce herself to any newcomers, explain who she was and tell them about the store. But she’d been in a hurry today, just wanting to get things done and get home.

Alex nodded. “We’ve had a few visitors in town lately because of the auction coming up, but I’ll check it out.” Although the town had