Colton's Deadly Engagement

“Maybe?” Finn asked.

“It’s just that she’s so cool and confident. Demi Colton is not the sort of woman who murders a guy who can’t appreciate her. Especially if that guy was dumb enough to dump her for Hayley.”

“So you think it’s someone else?”

“Yes, I do. And that someone isn’t me,” she added in a rush.

That tempting idea snaked through his mind once more, sly in its promise of a solution to his current dilemma.

Catch a killer and keep an eye on Darby Gage. It’s not exactly a hardship to spend time with her.

“Maybe you can help me, then.”

“Help you how? I thought you were convinced I’m the town murderess.”

“I’m neither judge nor jury. It’s my job to find evidence to put away a killer and that’s what I’m looking to do.”

“Then what do you want with me?” The skepticism that had painted her features was further telegraphed in her words. Finn heard the clear notes of disbelief, but underneath them he heard something else.

Curiosity.

“Fingers pointing at my cousin isn’t all that’s going around town. What began as whispers has gotten louder with Michael Hayden’s murder.”

“What are people saying?”

Finn weighed his stupid idea, quickly racing through a mental list of pros and cons. Since the list was pretty evenly matched, it was only his desperation to find a killer that tipped the scales toward the pro.

With that goal in mind—closing this case and catching a killer as quickly as possible—he opted to go for broke.

“Bo Gage was killed the night of his bachelor party. Michael Hayden was killed the night of his rehearsal dinner. One thing the victims had in common—they were grooms-to-be. And in a matter of weeks half the town has called off any and all plans to get married or host an engagement party.”

“I still can’t see what this has to do with me.”

“If you’re as innocent as you say you are, surely you’d be willing to help me.”

“Help you do what?”

“Pretend to be my fiancée, Darby. Help me catch a killer.”

Chapter 5 (#u06784735-3657-5356-8ba1-233e402e88df)

She was losing her mind. That was the only reason—surely it was the only reason—that Finn Colton stood in her living room proposing the most absurd thing she’d ever heard.

“Get engaged to you?”

“Pretend. Only pretend until we can lure out the killer.”

“But you think I’m the killer,” she pointed out.

The words chafed—more than she wanted to admit—but they needed to be said. Fifteen minutes ago he was looking at her like she belonged in the state penitentiary doing forty to life and now he was proposing they traipse around town like an engaged couple? Maybe he was the one out of his mind.

“I said you were a suspect.”

“Careful, Chief. You might give me the warm fuzzies.”

The problem was, the man did give her the warm fuzzies. Despite her better judgment—and she liked to think she had her fair share of it—Finn Colton did something to her. The man was too big, too in control, too...too everything.

And it bothered her more than she could say that the prospect of going on a date with him, even if it was fake from start to finish, warmed something way down deep inside her.

“Think of it as a win-win.”

“How’s that?”

“You can prove to me that you’re innocent and I can catch myself a killer. Everyone ends up happy.”

“You actually want to put yourself in the line of fire? The Groom Killer is actually killing the grooms.”

“I’m a cop. I’ll catch the killer before they can do any real harm.”

She mentally added cocky to the attractive list. Bo had been cocky, too. It had been one of the things that had drawn her to him. That bright, shiny grin that smacked of sass and confidence. The swagger that went along with it.

She’d been hooked like a fish and let herself be reeled in by that smile, that confidence and a host of empty promises.

Even as she thought it, it felt wrong to lump Finn in the same category as Bo. The two men weren’t the same, even if her hormones were having a difficult time parsing the differences.

“You’re pretty sure of yourself.”

“I’m pretty sure that this person needs to be stopped. And I’m also sure I need help to do it. Red Ridge is small. No one will believe it if I suddenly begin dating one of my employees at the station. People will believe you and I are for real.”

Once again, those sly fingers of need wove around her spine, gripping hard. “Why do you think that?”

“You’re an attractive woman. Presumably unattached right now?”

She ignored the sting of the presumption and gave him a quietly muttered “Yes.”

“I’m equally unattached. We’ve seen each other around town and decided we each liked what we saw. We got to talking and quietly began dating. I’ve been so wrapped in the case, I haven’t had a chance to take you out good and proper. So, now that it’s the month of love, I’ve resolved to change that.”

The month of love?

Was it possible she’d been so head down for the past few months she hadn’t even realized it was almost Valentine’s Day?

Even as Darby asked herself the question she knew the answer was a resounding yes. Not only had she forgotten it was nearly Valentine’s Day, but she’d long stopped looking for a valentine. Or even a man to enjoy an occasional date. When had she stopped trying?

Or worse, stopped expecting that she could be part of another relationship?

For the longest time she’d convinced herself that she was well rid of Bo Gage. And while it pained her that he was dead, on a very real level, she was better off since their divorce. But had she somehow closed her heart off to believing that she could love again?

Even before the reading of Bo’s will and the revelation of her inheritance, she’d been busy working. She’d had the occasional date or two but when they hadn’t turned into anything more, she hadn’t worried about it. Instead she’d focused on keeping her head down and her meager bank account growing.