Cold Case Reopened, my March release from Harlequin Intrigue, is very much a mystery as Rhea and Jackson try to find out what happened to Rhea’s twin sister, but it’s also a romance since working on the case draws Rhea and Jackson together. As you can imagine, that attraction couldn’t happen at a worse time. Today’s teaser is from a later chapter in the book when that attraction is starting to flare into something more. In this scene, Rhea and Jackson are trying to recreate a bonfire to test out one of their theories on the case and they are also just finishing up dinner.

Excerpt

He paused with a forkful of apple pie halfway to his mouth and glanced at her. His steely gray gaze glittered with a heat she hadn’t thought possible. “Not always.”

The warmth that had kindled in her core earlier grew ever higher, like the flames in the fire a few feet away. It was so intense, she had to cool off with a few sips of icy lemonade.

“What about you, Rhea? I know you’re talented. Determined,” he said, the latter word followed by a playful chuckle.

She considered him over the lip of the glass, thinking about how to answer. After a pause, she said, “I know some people think artists can be temperamental and flighty. You probably did.”

He smiled as he scraped the last of his pie from the plate and then licked the fork clean. “I plead the fifth,” he joked, but then quickly added, “But you probably thought I was uptight and by-the-book.”

She felt the urge to shake him up a little. “I still do, but I look forward to you proving me wrong.”

His glass rattled against the tray as he set it down and, when he fixed his gaze on her, it seared her with its fire. “I look forward to that also.”

She gulped down the rest of her lemonade to cool the blaze he’d ignited and turned her attention to her pie.

Another collapse of the logs in the bonfire had them both bolting from their chairs to the wood pile. They almost collided there, forcing Jackson to reach for her to keep her from falling over.

Electricity sparked between them, and Rhea rushed back to her seat.

Jackson took his time feeding the fire, needing to control what he was feeling for Rhea. Banking the flames burning inside because he worried that if he released them, it might consume him. He was unused to such feelings, being, as Rhea had said, normally uptight and by-the-book.

But Rhea had loosed those bounds he’d lived with all his life, first as an athlete, then as a Marine and finally as a cop.

It couldn’t have happened at a worse time, he thought. Rhea’s emotions were too fragile, and he had to stay focused because so much was at stake, including his career. But more importantly, he had to keep Rhea safe.