Miss Frost Ices The Imp: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 2) by Kristen Painter Page B

conversation I needed to have. “Nice try, though. Why don’t you call your genie and see if we can swing by her bottle, or whatever she lives in? I’d like to figure out what was in this box.”
    “Yes, Your Highness.” He pulled out his phone.
    I made a face at him, then twisted and leaned back on the arm of the couch so I could stick my toes under his thigh.
    He cradled the phone between his ear and shoulder so he could scoop my feet into his lap. Where he then proceeded to rub them.
    Pretty sure my eyes rolled back in my head. Cooper’s hands were big and warm and slightly callused. And the pressure of those hands on my feet was magical. Not sparks in the air magical, but close.
    “Hey, Imari, it’s Cooper. How are you?” He smiled in a sort of wistful way. Oh, he’d definitely liked her. “Great. No, my shoulder’s good, thanks. I was wondering if I could bring a friend by to talk to you. I know it’s short notice, but it’s a jinn-related emergency. Or might be. Not sure. That’s why we need your expert opinion.”
    His thumbs pressed into the ball of my foot, and I moaned softly, unable to stop myself. His brows lifted, and a look of self-satisfaction came over him. “Half an hour? That would be great. I owe you. Thanks.”
    He hung up, which required him to take his hands off my tootsies. “She said come on over. Unless you don’t want me to stop…”
    I didn’t. But my cat could talk. Figuring out what had caused that had to come first. I swung my feet off his lap and onto the floor. “Not that that wasn’t highly enjoyable, but I think I need to get to the bottom of this box business.” I stood. “I’ll put the box in a shopping bag and get my purse.”
    He drove, seeing as how he knew where she lived and I didn’t have a car. Turns out, she had an apartment at the Excelsior, the only real condo building in town. It was sleek and modern and not at all like the rest of Nocturne Falls.
    I stared up at the building as I got out of the truck, wrapping the long handles of the shopping bag around my hand. “This place doesn’t look like it belongs here.”
    “Word is it was built specifically for Julian Ellingham. The penthouse apartment is his. And not surprisingly, most of the other residents are women.”
    I laughed. “So he’s a bigger hound dog than you are?”
    Coop shot me a look. “You said you didn’t care who I dated.”
    “I don’t. I’m just amazed by the sheer volume.”
    We walked toward the building as he answered me. “Imari is one person.”
    “So is Toly’s granddaughter, and you dated her, which makes two. And she, I might add, tried to kill me.”
    “Hey, that had nothing to do with me.”
    “No, but if this chick tries to kill me, I may start thinking differently.”
    He pulled the lobby door open. “Imari is great, you’ll see.”
    We walked in, and Cooper gave our names to the doorman. “We’re here to see Imari Zephara.”
    Imari Zephara? That was a name and a half.
    The doorman nodded. “Yes, Miss Zephara said you’d be arriving.” He picked up a house phone and pressed a button, then put it to his ear while speaking to us. “I’ve called the elevator for you so you can go on up. I’ll let her know you’re here.”
    “Thanks.” Cooper and I headed for the elevators.
    I stayed quiet, just observing. The Excelsior felt like money. Chic and sophisticated and private. The elevator doors slid open with a sigh, the stainless steel exterior giving way to a sleek interior paneled in dark wood and brushed chrome. Cooper touched the button for the second floor, and the doors closed. I knew we were moving, but it was hard to tell.
    The whole joint struck me as the kind of place where people lived who wanted to control their interaction with others. Being the Winter Princess, I understood that.
    My parents might live in a place like this. Or my aunt and uncle. If any of them ever moved out of the North Pole, which they wouldn’t. It wasn’t their style