Kiss Me Katie! & Hug Me Holly! Read online

  From behind the counter where she was getting the drinks, she heard a drip, drip, dripping. Looking around she saw nothing, but when she walked to the corner for more ice, the floor squished beneath her feet.

  She tapped at the loose linoleum in the corner and water gushed in.

  A leak! They had a leak!

  Perfect!

  “Look at this,” she said loudly, with probably far too much glee. “We’ll need to evacuate right away before the place floods.”

  “Let me see that.” Lap dripping wet from the earlier mishap with Dora’s pitcher of water, the potential buyer came behind the counter. He squatted down, peeled back the flooring and frowned. “This is a terrible mess, it’s coming from—” He went into the kitchen, following the wetness along one wall to the back door, which he opened.

  Holly, Dora and Riley all crowded for space in the doorway to watch.

  Holly had accidentally left on the hose, hours ago now. Water was pooling against the building, seeping into the foundation.

  Holly bit her lip and looked at Riley, who blew her a kiss. She laughed, then covered the sound with her hand.

  “Would you look at that?” Dora asked sympathetically. “You know, I used to be a flooring contractor. That’s going to be a mess to fix, trust me.”

  The man glared at her. “Expensive?”

  “Oh, yeah. Astronomical.”

  Grumbling, he stalked past them, out of the kitchen and into the main room again, where he tripped over Buster.

  Buster lifted his nose and howled.

  Holly would never know why he reacted that way, but she could have kissed him right on his sloppy wet mouth. Inspired, she wrinkled her nose. “Oh, no.”

  “Oh, no—what?” the man asked. “What now?”

  “I smell rotten eggs.”

  “Hey, that’s lunch cooking,” Dora said.

  “No.” Holly shook her head, trying not to laugh. “It’s natural gas. We have another leak, folks.”

  “Another leak?” he squeaked. “As in you’ve had them before? That wasn’t disclosed to us by the Realtor.”

  “At least the gas company always responds to us immediately,” Riley commented. “Especially after the last incident.”

  “What?” The man swiped at his brow. “Oh, no. I think I smell it.”

  “Evacuate!” Dora screeched into the room.

  Bless the hearts of the people of Little Paradise. Every one of them, now Holly’s friends, leaped up and caused a nice little riot trying to get out of the café.

  Holly watched, pride and love brimming from her heart. From behind, Riley slipped his hands around her waist and hugged her close.

  “They like me,” she whispered.

  “They love you. So do I.”

  “I’ve finally found my home, haven’t I?”

  He turned her to face him and kissed her. “Right here in my arms.”

  HARLEQUIN DUETS

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-7135-1

  KISS ME, KATIE!

  Copyright © 2000 by Jill Shalvis

  HUG ME, HOLLY!

  Copyright © 2000 by Jill Shalvis

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

  Visit us at www.eHarlequin.com

  Table of Contents

  Kiss Me, Katie!

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Hug Me, Holly!

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11