Blind Dates Can Be Murder (56 page)

“A decision?”

“Didn’t he tell you? The powers that be at
Scene It
magazine were quite impressed with the portfolio he sent them. They said they hadn’t seen such talent in a long time. They’ve offered him a position in their European office, Paris branch.”

“They…
what?
”

“Yes. When he was visiting here with you I arranged for the initial contact, but I never expected it to go so well. He did this all on his own. That young man is definitely going places. They’d like for him to start as soon as possible.”

It was Danny’s dream come true. But the Paris office? What did that mean?

“Of course, he won’t be assigned to Paris forever. Eventually, he can put in for a transfer to come back to the States. But that’s where they start out their most promising photographers. Rest assured, this is the chance of a lifetime.”

The chance of a lifetime. After they said their goodbyes and hung up, that phrase kept going through Jo’s head. The chance of a lifetime.

“Did you need some help?” an aide asked, bustling into the room.

“I just wanted to try standing up, maybe brush my teeth at the sink. That is, if I can get a toothbrush.”

“Very good.”

The woman directed Jo to swing both legs over the bed and sit on the side, fully upright, to get her bearings. She said that Jo’s friends had brought over toiletries and even a housecoat and nightgowns, if she also wanted to have a sponge bath and change.

With the aide’s help, Jo managed to clean and fix herself up. Finally, exhausted, she got back into the bed and checked her image in the little tabletop mirror, glad that she had also brushed her hair and put on a little makeup.

“Can you send my friend Danny back in?” Jo asked.

“Of course.”

Danny didn’t return right away, so Jo called Marie’s cell phone, just to touch base. They talked for five minutes, and when they were done, Marie asked about Brock Dentyne. Apparently, he had come to the hospital to bring Jo flowers but had been turned away because of her condition. Marie had been there at the time, and she had ended up inviting him to an early dinner at her favorite Italian restaurant.

“What about him?” Jo asked.

“Do you think you’ll be dating him?”

Jo smiled. Brock Dentyne was a great guy, but her heart belonged elsewhere.

“No,” she said simply. “I know now without a doubt that I’m in love with Danny.”

Marie exhaled slowly.

“Then you wouldn’t mind if I went out with Brock?”

Jo could only laugh. Of course. Marie and Brock would make a perfect pair.

She was just hanging up the phone when Danny knocked and came back into the room. He must have gone somewhere to shave because he, too, looked a bit more freshened up. As he pulled the chair closer and took Jo’s hand, she could smell that his breath was clean and minty fresh.

“I have something I’d like to tell you,” she said.

Slowly, she explained about her walk on campus and her realizations about what love meant in her life. As he seemed to understand where she was going, he grew excited, squeezing her hand tightly.

“I won’t ever leave you,” he declared. “Loving me will
never
mean leaving.”

Jo thought of the opportunity for him in Europe. The chance of a lifetime. She would never forgive herself if he passed that up for her.

“I love you, Danny, I do. I think I always have. But this time, for a while at least, love does mean leaving. With my body on the mend and my house burned down, I think I’ll go and stay with my grandmother for a while, maybe even for a few months. Do you think you could get along okay without me? You could take that job in Paris and we could have a long-distance romance.”

He bit his lip, studying her face.

“She told you about the job offer.”

“It’s what you’ve always wanted,” Jo whispered. “Your dream come true.”

“You’re
what I’ve always wanted, Jo. You’re my biggest dream.”

She reached up and touched the side of his face.

“But this is important, Danny. Please. I want you to go. I’ll wait for you.”

“Are you sure?” he whispered, leaning forward.

“As sure as I am that I want you to kiss me right now,” she replied, her eyes misting with tears. She would miss him so much, but they’d find some way to work it out.

Slowly, ever so sweetly, Danny closed his eyes and brought his lips to hers. As they kissed, she knew one thing for sure: He was her forever love.

He had been all along.

“You’d better call them,” she said as they pulled apart. “Tell them you accept.”

“Only if you’re sure,” he replied, a wide range of emotions flashing across his handsome features. Concern. Love. Excitement.

“I’m sure,” she said. She would wait for him as long as it would take.

“There’s a patio area outside the door at the end of the hall,” Danny said, standing. “I have to go there to use my cell.”

“Okay,” Jo replied. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

He lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed it. Then he left the room, pulling his cell phone from his pocket as he went.

In the quiet, Jo leaned back against her pillows, marveling that Danny had been there, under her nose, all along. Somehow their friendship had grown into love and she hadn’t even realized it. Maybe she had loved him for years.

There was a knock, the door opened, and Danny came back in—only now he was completely obscured behind a massive flower-and-balloon bouquet. Jo laughed out loud and clapped her hands as Danny carried the flowers into the room.

“I love you so much!” she cried. “But it’s so big, so expensive—you shouldn’t have.”

The flowers were lowered onto the table, revealing not Danny behind them, but Bradford.

Bradford!

It was the first time she’d seen her ex-fiancé since he jilted her six months before.

“You
love
me?” he asked, stepping forward, a desperate eagerness shining in his gorgeous eyes. “After what I did to you and all this time apart, those were words I was afraid I’d never hear you say again.”

Jo sat up, hardly able to breathe from the shock of his sudden appearance.

“You,
” she whispered. “What are you doing here?

“I have to talk to you, Jo,” he replied. “I have so much to tell you. And this time, you can’t hang up on me or walk away.”

“
I have a solution for every situation…
Except my own love life and, oh yeah,
the dead body next door
.”

Meet Josephine Tulip—definitely a smart chick. She’s a twenty-first century female MacGyver who writes a helpful hints column and stumbles on dead bodies in her spare time.

Meet Danny Watkins, Jo’s best friend. He’s a talented photographer who longs to have his work appear on a cover of
National Geographic
but finds himself taking prom photos and pet portraits instead.

Together, this mismatched duo works to solve a local murder—much to the dismay of the police, who are hoping for an open-and-shut case. But there’s something not quite right about the evidence. Jo knows it and Danny believes her.

Turns out, sleuthing brings out the best…and the worst…in their relationship. As Jo tries to solve the mystery in her neighborhood, she realizes she’s facing an even bigger mystery—what’s going on in her heart?