Blitz: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romantic Comedy (Blast Brothers Book 3), стр. 39

Suddenly, she whirled to face me. "Wait a minute. Did you see me the first time, too?"

I wasn't following. "What first time?"

"When I was locked out of my car. Did you see me trying to get in through the sunroof? I mean, from all the way up here?"

"I saw something." And that something was Mina crawling onto the roof of her car for reasons that weren't apparent at the time.

"Oh, my God," she groaned again. "And you didn't tell me the first time? I mean, you could've mentioned it. You even gave me a ride home."

"Yeah, so?"

"So I'm just saying, you could've told me that you saw me from above."

"What'd you think?" I laughed. "That I just happened to be strolling by?"

"Well, yes, actually." Her mouth tightened. "I mean, it wasn't the first time I saw you 'strolling' around."

Obviously, she was referring to the first time we'd met, when she'd come out of the coffee shop to hit me up about the festival.

At the time, I'd thought she'd been hitting on me.

If I were the type to be embarrassed, my face might've been just as flushed as hers. But I didn't embarrass easily, and unlike Mina, I hadn't been caught riding in an imaginary parade.

Today, her car was parked along the same street where I'd spotted her crawling on the sunroof – and later, waving to crowds that only she could see.

I knew her current parking spot because I'd seen her exiting her vehicle thirty minutes ago. I'd been watching from my office window and not by accident.

What was that about?

Nothing good, that's for damn sure.

Mina left the window and reclaimed her seat. As she sank back into it, she asked, "So, why didn't you say something?"

"About what?"

"About spotting me from your window."

"Which time?" I laughed. "The sunroof time? Or the parade time?"

With a little huff, she said, "I meant the parade time."

"What's there to say?" I shrugged in my chair. "I mean, we all get our kicks somehow, right?"

Mina eyed me like I was the crazy one. "I wasn't 'getting my kicks'," she said. "I was helping out Laura Foster."

I hadn't seen any Laura Foster, because I hadn't seen anyone.

As far as Mina, I couldn’t resist tweaking her. "So this Laura person, is she what, an imaginary friend?"

Mina bristled in her seat. "No."

I made a show of looking around my office. And then, I leaned forward and said in a low voice. "Tell me. Is she with us now?"

Mina made a sound of annoyance. "What are you implying? That I'm crazy?"

"Hey, you said it, not me."

"I'll have you know, Laura is designing the promotional pieces for this year's Tomato Festival."

I didn't care about Laura. She wasn't the one who'd been haunting my thoughts. Absently, I murmured, "Good to know."

"Yeah, it is. She's terrific. And she does it pro bono, too. But you're missing the point."

I pulled my thoughts to the present. "Which is…?"

"See, I'm in my car, talking to my sister on my cell phone, and I see Laura coming around the corner. So I roll down my window and wave—"

I held up a finger. "Quick question."

"Yeah?"

"Are we talking a royal wave? Or the other kind?"

She frowned. "What?"

I put on my best poker face. "I'm just asking, trying to get a sense of it."

Judging from Mina's expression, she knew better. Through gritted teeth, she replied, "It was a regular wave."

"Well, we can't all get the royal treatment."

With a tight smile, she said, "Which royal treatment? A nice, elegant wave? Or the kind that ends with a severed head in a basket?"

I drew back. What the hell?

Now, she was smiling for real. In a voice that was far too sweet to be genuine, she said, "Hey, I'm just asking. You know, trying to get a sense of it."

I had to give her credit for the comeback – not out loud, because hey, there was no need to encourage the insane.

Instead, I made a forwarding motion with my hand. "Go on. Tell me the rest."

"So, anyway…she comes over and asks for a quick favor."

Now this, I had to hear.

As I listened, Mina went on to tell me that Laura's niece had agreed to pose for some sketches that Laura was doing for the festival's promotional materials. But the niece had backed out last-minute, leaving Laura short a model.

When she'd spotted Mina by chance, she'd asked Mina to pose for a few photos to fill in the gaps.

Photos, huh? It was a nice story, but full of holes. I said, "I thought she was doing sketches."

"She is," Mina said. "But those take time, and I had only a few minutes. So she took some pictures with her phone instead. She'll do the sketches based on those."

"And the crown?"

"What about it?" she asked.

"Was it yours?"

"No," Mina laughed. "Laura had it in her satchel. It was a prop for the session with her niece."

Forget the niece. I hadn't seen Laura or a satchel. But Mina, it seemed, had an answer for everything.

I gave it another shot. "So where was Laura? I didn't see her."

"Yeah, because she was standing under the awning. You know, because of the glare. It was a sunny day, remember?"

It was another good answer, but I remained skeptical. Probing for holes, I said, "So your picture – it's gonna be on what? A poster or something?"

"Me?" she laughed. "No. Like I said, she's doing some sketches. When she's finished, nobody will know it was me."

"So that's your story, huh?"

"It's not a story," she said. "It's the truth."

Maybe. Maybe not.

It was hard to say.

I was still debating when Mina said, "And now, I've got a question."

"Yeah?"

"This happened what, two weeks ago? Why didn't you ask about it?"

"Why would I?"

"Well, you must've thought I was nuts."

"Thought?" I smiled. "As in past-tense?"

"Oh, that's nice," she said. "So you think I'm crazy."

I lifted my hand and made a waffling gesture over my desk. "Eh, hard to say."

Looking less than flattered, she said, "I don't get it. If you think I’m unhinged or something, why would