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KIMBERLY DEAN
Courting Suspicion
A division of HarperCollinsPublishers
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Mischief
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
The News Building
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An eBook Original 2016
1
Copyright © Kimberly Dean
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Kimberly Dean asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
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Ebook Edition © 2016 ISBN: 9780008181055
Version date: 2016-03-02
Table of Contents
She never should have agreed to this. She was enjoying herself too much.
Nina looked around Nationals Park and took it all in: the smell of freshly cut grass, the feel of dirt under her Prada sneakers, the sound of the crack of a bat, and the sight of the ruggedly handsome man at the batting cage. Her date for the game was actively chatting up the Nationals’ batting coach, an All Star himself back in his playing days.
She’d known the detective was a baseball guy. He just had that hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet thing about him. Plus, that sexy, loose-hipped walk was a signature of a natural athlete.
Whatever she thought of the man, she’d noticed that. She was used to seeing him in suits, ties and a badge, but it was even more apparent with the jeans and Nationals T-shirt he was wearing. It was a good look on him.
Not that she was looking …
‘Hey, Niña,’ the centre fielder said as he stepped into the batting cage for some practice swings. ‘How’s it goin’?’
‘Can’t complain, Andre.’
She felt the detective’s gaze slide over her and land on the Nationals’ star player. She could practically hear the gears in his head start clicking, but she refused to react.
‘Good luck out there,’ she said.
The switch-hitter turned on an inside pitch and laced it down the right field line. Nina was aware she was one of only a handful of people in the world who knew he switch-hit off the field, too.
He threw her a grin when the ball rattled around in the corner of the stadium. ‘Luck from a pretty lady always works.’
The game was scheduled for under the lights. It was still early enough in the season for there to be a nip in the air, yet Nina felt nothing but heat along her entire right side when Detective Morgan moved a step closer.
‘Niña?’ he muttered under his breath.
‘It’s just his accent.’
‘It