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  LIFE IS BETTER BRUNETTE

  by

  DIANE BATOR

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  Copyright © 2016 by Diane Bator

  Cover design by Estrella Designs

  Gemma Halliday Publishing

  http://www.gemmahallidaypublishing.com

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  To the many amazing women who have blessed my life with their presence, including:

  Dawn Dowdle—my fabulous agent who has believed in me from the start

  Gemma Halliday—my wonderful publisher who has given me great opportunities

  Crystal Andrus Morissette—for the direction and strength to turn my life around

  and of course my MOM—without her I wouldn't be here or be writing…love you always!

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  CHAPTER ONE

  A knock at the front door early that morning sent a jolt of tension through Gilda's shoulders. Obviously, she wasn't as at peace with her life as she thought if a mere knock at the door sent her shoulder muscles into spasm.

  All she'd wanted was to meditate, do some light yoga, then sit and relax with a cup of tea for the next three hours before she had to go to work at the Phoenix Martial Arts school. To get back into a routine and focus on what she should do next now that her entire world, romance, work, and martial arts training was settling like dust back into place around her, like the snow that would fall in a couple more months.

  She left the candle burning and the soft music playing, determined to get rid of whoever was at the door before they dragged her into any new form of chaos. In the past she wouldn't have bothered to even answer, but since her door had been both kicked in and knocked off its hinges a few times over the past four months, she wasn't taking any chances.

  The instant she opened the door and peered outside, Kane Garrick rushed past, knocking her aside. She'd first met Kane, one of the instructors at the karate school, on the local beach. He was swinging a sword and she'd flattened herself into the sand to keep from losing her head.

  "We need to talk," he said in the pseudo-Australian accent he'd adopted that always made her swoon. "Is Mick here, love?"

  "No, he's not. He went to see his parents, remember?" She shut the door behind him and sighed.

  Her boyfriend, Mick owned the karate school. Currently, he was struggling with a partial loss of hearing from an explosion less than a month earlier and had gone to visit family in Detroit for a few days while he saw a specialist. Lucky for him, his father, a surgeon, was well-connected.

  "What's going on?"

  "Candles and soft music." He grinned. "It looks like you were expecting me."

  Gilda sighed. "I was attempting to meditate. What do you want?"

  "I need help." Kane, his hands on his narrow hips, turned to face her. With his shoulder-length blond hair twisted into dreadlocks that dangled all around his head and a two-day growth of stubble, he looked like he should be sleeping a rough night off on a tropical beach rather than teaching martial arts in a small town on the southern shores of Lake Erie.

  He snorted. "I'm stuck with a stupid purple rock shop, no thanks to my lousy ex-girlfriend, and I have no idea what the heck to do with it."

  The Healing Spirit Gift Shop opened barely a month ago and currently sat silent on Armadillo Street now that Kane's former girlfriend lounged behind bars. Since she'd put Kane's name on all the paperwork, theoretically he was part owner. Gilda didn't feel an ounce of pity for the woman. After all, she'd once held both Gilda and her best friend Marion Yearly at gunpoint. She did, however, have a twinge of compassion for Kane, who was like an overgrown koala bear.

  "Maybe you should sell it," she said.

  "Sell it?" Kane huffed. "You want me to get rid of the store I hate that I'm stuck with a one-year lease on? Is that your solution? Wow. That's so helpful, love."

  "Oh, give it a rest." She blew out the candle, all hopes of getting rid of him anytime soon extinguished with the flame. "What are you really doing here?"

  His turquoise eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

  "What do your problems with the store have to do with me?"

  Kane grimaced as his broad shoulders slumped. "Nothing really, love. I've just missed hanging out with you. You know, hunting down bad guys, kicking butt, and kissing in the rain."

  "We never kissed in the rain." Actually, they'd come inside first. Gilda's face warmed as she sat on the couch, tucking her feet beneath her. "You saw me last night in karate class, and you'll see me back at the school in less than two hours. Now, what do you really want?"

  He sat in the armchair across from her, dwarfing the chair with his brawn. "Look, love, I don't have the first clue about running a business of any kind, let alone one that sells little rocks and things in bottles that look and smell so weird I don't want to know what they are or if they're even legal. I hoped you could help me figure it all out and maybe find someone to help me run the joint."

  "Wait a sec." She narrowed her eyes. "Now you're planning to keep the place?"

  Kane winced. "I'm waffling."

  "Well, that part I got."

  "I don't know." He threw up both hands. "Maybe I can give the place six months and see what happens. If I added some martial arts stuff to sell, I might actually be able to turn it into something I like and make a go of it."

  "I don't see why not." She shrugged. "That could actually work."

  "Good." He grinned. "Then you won't have a problem helping me run the place while I get some suppliers lined up and figure a few things out."

  "Of course, I should have known." Gilda groaned then dropped her head back to gaze at the ceiling. "Why me? I have enough to keep me busy with running the Phoenix school and keeping track of Mick, not to mention all the other instructors."

  "Like me?"

  She flashed a saccharine smile. "Like you."

  Kane drew in a deep breath. "Okay, love, I didn't want to have to do this."

  "Do what?"

  He lunged around the coffee table to sit on the couch next to her then looked her in the eyes. "Gilda, my darling, you are the only person I trust to help me get this train wreck back on track. My ex-girlfriend left me with a disaster, and I could really use your…um…" His gaze darted down her tank top. "…expertise to help me build the kind of place I want to run."

  Damn those gorgeous eyes and phony Australian accent. Kane probably knew he had her intrigued the second he set foot through the door. No way was she going to make this easy.

  "No." Her voice wavered, like her entire body. She closed her eyes and used thoughts of Mick as a shield between them. "I have enough on my plate trying to keep an eye on things at the school while Mick's out of town."
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  "When does he come back?" he asked, his breath sweet with peppermint like he'd planned to get close.

  If she told him Friday, she'd set herself up for problems. Today was only Tuesday, and Kane would salivate at the thought of planning out her entire week, both at work and outside of the martial arts school. "Tomorrow."

  "I see. So what time do you have to be at work today?" His gaze never left hers.

  Her palms grew moist. "Noon."

  "Then we've got lots of time." Kane stroked her jaw with one finger. "And I have you all to myself for at least the next three hours, love."

  Gilda backed away as far as she could. "Whoa, Kane. I don't think this is such a good idea."

  "Come on, love, it's a great idea. What are we waiting for?" He grabbed her hand and yanked her off the couch toward the front door. They were halfway to the door before her feet actually hit the ground.

  "No!" She stopped cold and slapped her hand onto his wrist, twisting his hand off hers. "What do you think you're doing?"

  Kane ran both his hands over his dreadlocks. "Sorry. I've got so many thoughts going through my head, and I keep forgetting you can't hear any of them. I need you to come to the rock shop and give me a few ideas on how to fix the disaster. How should I paint it? What should I call it? What the hell do I do with all those fancy rocks and creepy bottles?"

  She took a step back from the barrage of questions. "First, you need to slow down and stop acting like a caveman."

  He frowned, lowering his gaze toward the floor. "Please."

  Gilda sighed. "Let me grab my purse, and then we can go to the store and check things out."

  "Oh yeah?" The way his face lit up, she half-expected him to wag his tail and lick her face. "You'll do that for me?"

  "Yes, I will. Just give me a minute to get my things."

  He sat in the armchair, laying his large hands on the upholstered arms. "Right."

  She walked into the kitchen to take several bracing breaths in private. Kane knew she was in love with Mick, so why did he keep coming on to her like he even stood a chance of winning her over? After she stuck a pad of paper, a pen, and a water bottle into her purse, she grabbed a pale pink hoodie from her bedroom closet and rejoined him in the living room.

  "Okay, let's go." She tapped the back of his chair. Even as she headed to the door, he didn't move.

  "Kane?" Gilda glanced back over her shoulder.

  He still didn't budge.

  "This isn't funny." She moved toward him slowly, her heart racing. She'd stumbled across too many dead bodies over the past few months to have him fool around like this. "Kane? What's wrong?"

  Finally, he said. "Do I really act like a caveman?"

  She released her anxiety and fear in one fast breath. "You're an idiot."

  "Well, do I?"

  Gilda winced, not sure if he'd lose his mind or just accept her criticism as a friendly suggestion. "Yes, sometimes, you do."

  "Then I guess I'll have to work on that, won't I, love?" He walked past her and opened the door. "Let's go then. I have a few ideas for the store."

  Gilda had never particularly liked to go anywhere near Armadillo Street. Besides the vandalism and litter, the shops were comprised of an eclectic blend of a fabric shop, a smoke shop, a kitchen shop, a few small restaurants, and a sex shop that always made her blush and face the other direction. While Armadillo Street wasn't far from where she lived and worked, it seemed to be a world away.

  The old smoke shop, which sold everything from smokes to cigars and paraphernalia from around the world and badly needed a paint job, stood across the street from the store Kane's ex-girlfriend renovated and opened a short time ago. The Healing Spirit Gift Shop stood between the On Pins and Needles fabric store and the tattoo parlor, which had animal skulls peering out from beneath the bamboo blinds half-covering the front window.

  Kane's former girlfriend had painted the Healing Spirit storefront black with bright purple trim. The front windows were still covered in dust and grime but were bare except for the rolled-up purple cloth blinds at the tops. When he pushed the front door open wide, the mingled perfumes of a variety of incense sticks hit them in a stifling wave.

  "Oh, wow, that's strong." Gilda fanned the fumes away from her face as she adjusted to the smell.

  Kane held a hand over his nose and muttered as he propped the door open. He stood inside near the doorway, hands on hips, while he looked around. The purple walls were dotted with black shelves lit by bright spotlights that shone down on assorted crystals and colorful bottles of liquid. Shiny glass display cases containing books, statues, and assorted jewelry stood staggered around the room.

  He sighed. "This place is downright ugly. That woman really liked purple, didn't she?"

  "Yup. She liked rocks too." Gilda gazed across the black-painted hardwood floors toward the heavy purple curtain that covered the doorway to the back room. To her left, at the front of the store, sat a black granite-topped counter adorned with glittering purple and blue tiles all the way around. She'd always had a hunch the New Age store was simply a front created for something more devious but had never bothered to explain her concerns to Kane.

  "Cripes, I keep waiting for a ghost to walk across the room." Kane shuddered. "This place gives me the creeps."

  "It gives you the creeps?" She walked behind the counter. A dark computer and printer, both dust-covered, sat on top with unopened packages of paper and pens below. "The last time I was in here your ex-girlfriend pulled a gun on me."

  Kane paused as he pulled a book half off a shelf. "You never told me about that."

  "I didn't think it was important at the time." She swiped one finger over the countertop. At the very least, the place needed a good cleaning.

  "Considering the police had accused me of murder, I think it might have helped my case a little." He met her gaze. "You really didn't trust me though, did you?"

  "At the time? No."

  "I get it, love. Hell, I still don't trust me most days." He walked across the room. "Shall we see what's behind door number one?"

  "Why not?" Gilda already knew since she'd been back there before, but she followed him anyway.

  Kane tugged the heavy purple curtain aside to reveal a small office. Inside sat a bare metal desk and a folding chair. At the far end stood a dark purple door, possibly a back exit. No file cabinet, no drawers, not even purple pens.

  He glanced over his shoulder. "Knowing the way you think, Sherlock, I'll bet you thought this store was a front for something illegal, didn't you?"

  "Yeah." She averted her gaze. "For a while."

  "I'm not mad at you." He reached over and pulled her into a hug, squashing her face against his muscular chest. "In the end, you got me off the hook, and I'm in debt to you forever. You're the best thing that's happened to me since I set foot in this place and I love…"

  Gilda's heart hammered. She wanted to scream "No, you don't! I'm with Mick!" but couldn't even breathe. When he didn't say anything more, she glanced up. His wide-eyed gaze was on something behind her. She turned to look back over her shoulder.

  A tiny, blonde woman stood in the doorway, her long white skirt swirling around her ankles and a floppy beach hat hiding most of her face. "Excuse me. Someone up the street told me you might have some patchouli oil, but…well, I don't want to interrupt anything."

  Kane cleared his throat as he released Gilda. "That's okay, love. You're not interrupting anything. Now, what the hell is this patchouli oil stuff?"

  "I use it with other essential oils to relax me in the bath. It's great for massages and headaches too." The woman's smile seemed to light up the entire room as she adjusted the strap of the large blue purse on her tanned shoulders. "That's okay. I can come back later."

  "Actually, that might be a good idea." He ran a hand over his hair. "By then maybe I can figure out what you're talking about."

  "No." Gilda scurried toward her. "My friend just inherited this shop, and neither of us has any idea where or ev
en what everything is. Why don't you take a look around and see if you can find what you need? We'll figure the rest out while you shop."

  The woman lifted one edge of her hat and seemed to give Kane a once-over as she licked her lips. "Oh, I will. Thank you."

  Kane flushed but didn't move. His gaze followed her as she wandered around the store, taking coy glances in his direction from beneath her floppy hat as she shopped.

  Gilda's emotions seemed to have stumbled into a blender. She wasn't sure if she was drawn by the woman's palpable warmth or repelled by the way she ogled Kane. On some level, Gilda had actually appreciated Kane's attention, and now it was gone with the bat of another woman's fake eyelashes. She should be happy for him, but her stomach churned.

  "Oh, perfect. You do have some." The woman held up a small amber bottle. "I've looked all over town for this stuff. Yours is the only store that has any. How much do I owe you?"

  "Uh…" Kane's jaw dropped. "Isn't it marked?"

  She made a show of searching the bottle and the shelf. "Apparently not."

  Gilda approached the till and rummaged through the papers below. "Ha. Found a list."

  Kane joined her behind the counter. He pulled out a small, purple paper bag while Gilda took the woman's cash. "Glad we could help you. I'm Kane."

  "Oh wow. You're Kane Garrick, the MMA fighter," she said. "I heard you're planning to make a comeback in the new year."

  Gilda stared as her jaw threatened to drop open.

  "You're a fan?" His face and throat reddened. "I've never seen you around before."

  The woman smiled. "Actually, I came to town for the grand opening of the new martial arts school with a friend of mine. He was one of the fighters and couldn't stop talking about you the whole weekend. I dumped him but decided I kind of liked it here. I went back home, packed my things, and found a cute little place to live in so I could be near the beach."