Read a Romance!
Joe’s smile was warm—just like his eyes!
Amurder mystery party?” Gabby shook her head. “I don’t think so!” Ann gave a long sigh. “But you love mysteries! And it’s for a good cause. The theme is The Roaring ’ 20s—flappers, gangsters, live big-band music. You portray a character for the night. Remember how great you guys were in the old community theater plays?” she paused.
The “you guys” Ann was referring to were Gabby and her ex. Since their breakup, her friend was always trying to fi x her up with someone new or just get her out of the house more often.
“Socializing at a big party doesn’t appeal to me right now.”
Ann persisted. “They’re going to have to rewrite the whole mystery if you don’t go because . . . well, we already have parts.” She handed a sealed envelope to Gabby.
Gabby gave in. “What am I going to do with you?”
Ann raised a brow. “Lend me some stuff from your old costume trunk?”
The night of the party, Gabby paused outside the doors of the hotel. Her character was a gossip columnist, so she carried a notepad and pencil and wore long strings of pearls with her blue beaded dress. Her red hair was done up with a fancy feathered clip near her ear. “It’s now or never,” she said and walked in.
It was like stepping back in time. The crowd in 1920s costume chattered as music floated through the ballroom. She saw Ann and waved just as a tall, darkhaired man turned his head. He had thought she was waving at him and approached. He wore a pinstriped suit with a red tie and twotoned shoes. His name tag read, Big Hannigan.
“I saw you waving, but I’m sorry, I can’t seem to place you,” he said.
Joe
She noticed he had big brown eyes.
“Oh, no, I was actually waving at my friend over there. I’m Gabby Fields, life coach by day and gossip columnist extraordinaire for tonight.”
They clasped hands, and a little tingle zipped through her.
“I feel a little awkward being ‘Big Joe Hannigan, mobster.’ I’m really Joe Hannigan, history teacher.” He cleared his throat. “So—what’s a nice gal like you doing in a joint like this?” He shook his head as though embarrassed.
“Not bad!” She poised her pencil over her notepad, “I’m here for gossip, bub. Got any?”
He thought for a minute, then leaned in and whispered, “I might be a suspect.” “Where were you earlier tonight, Big Joe?”
His smile was warm, just like his eyes. “Maybe I was collecting on a debt, if you know what I mean.” He gave her a big, overthe-top wink.
Gabby laughed, and for a moment they watched the crowd and chatted, looking over their clue cards. She liked his easygoing manner.
“This was my brother’s idea.” He rolled his eyes. “Since my divorce, he thinks I need to get out more, like I’m 20 again, right?”
Gabby nodded. “Same here. My best friend invited me because I haven’t been very sociable after breaking up with my ex last year.”
Joe seemed to understand. “Teaming up might be fun,” he said, his eyes meeting hers.
She nodded. “We could work together to find clues and question people.”
“I’ll be the muscle, you’ll be the brains!” Joe did his best mobster impersonation and held out his hand, “How ’bout a dance to seal the deal, toots?”
Gabby took his arm. “A dance would be just swell!”
They tried their best at the jitterbug and Charleston, swinging around and laughing a lot. Joe charmed Gabby by being such a good sport.
“I have to admit,” Joe said when they took a break, “my brother does have some good ideas. He’s the . . .”
“Cat’s pajamas!” they said at the same time, laughing.
The mystery was soon revealed—it involved an heiress, a devious plot and a diamond necklace— but their thoughts were on each other as they gathered clues and cajoled suspects for the rest of the evening.
Gabby even won a door prize—a dinner in the hotel’s fancy restaurant. “How about it, Big Joe?” She smiled. “It is a dinner for two.”
“I thought you’d never ask, dollface.”
Her heart surprised her with a flutter. And as they shared another dance, Gabby realized she was beginning to enjoy life again.
“How ’bout a dance to seal the deal, toots?” he joked