The Lawman's Convenient Family. Judy Duarte

nice to finally meet you.” His voice, whether authentic or altered to complement his costume, was laced with a slight Hispanic accent that set her senses reeling. “I’ve never really liked blind dates.”

      Talk about masquerades and mistaken identities. Before Julie could set him straight, he took her hand in a polished, gentlemanly manner and kissed it. His warm breath lingered on her skin, setting off a bevy of butterflies in her tummy.

      “Dance with me,” he said.

      Her lips parted, but for the life of her, she still couldn’t speak, couldn’t explain. And she darn sure couldn’t object.

      Zorro led her away from the buffet tables and to the dance floor. When he opened his arms, she again had the opportunity to tell him who she really was. But instead, she stepped into his embrace, allowing him to take the lead.

      His alluring aftershave, something manly, taunted her. As she savored his scent, as well as the warmth of his muscular arms, her pulse soared. She leaned her head on his shoulder as they swayed to a sensual beat, their movements in perfect accord, as though they’d danced together a hundred times before.

      Now would be a good time to tell him she wasn’t Lisa, but she seemed to have fallen under a spell that grew stronger with every beat of the music. The moment turned surreal, like she’d stepped into a fairy tale with a handsome rogue.

      Once again, she pondered revealing his mistake and telling him her name, but there’d be time enough to do that after the song ended. Then she’d return to the kitchen, slipping off like Cinderella. But instead of a glass slipper, she’d leave behind her momentary enchantment.

      But several beats later, a cowboy tapped Zorro on the shoulder. “Pancho, I need you to come outside.”

      Zorro looked at him and frowned. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”

      The cowboy, whose outfit was so authentic he seemed to be the real deal, rolled his eyes.

      Julie wished she could have worn her street clothes. Would now be a good time to admit that she wasn’t an actual attendee but here to work at the gala?

      “What’s up?” Zorro asked.

      The cowboy folded his arms across his chest and shifted his weight to one hip. “Someone just broke into my pickup.”

      Zorro stiffened. “Right now? Where?”

      “Here, in the parking lot. I had an envelope filled with cash donations to Kidville under the seat.”

      At that, Julie’s heart thumped, and she clamped her mouth shut. Someone had stolen money meant for the Hoffmans’ kids? Who would do such a thing?

      “Is the money gone?” Zorro asked the cowboy.

      “I don’t know yet. I didn’t look.”

      Zorro stiffened. “Any witnesses?”

      “A stray dog. But he ain’t talking.”

      “Very funny.” Zorro’s gaze returned to Julie. “I’m sorry, Lisa. I’m going to have to morph into cop mode.”

      Now it was Julie’s turn to tense. He was actually a police officer in real life? A slight uneasiness settled over her, an old habit she apparently hadn’t outgrown. Not that she had any real reason to fear anyone in law enforcement nowadays.

      When Zorro removed his mask, revealing the rest of his face, he was even more handsome than she’d imagined him to be. She stood mesmerized, darn near smitten by a face and persona that were movie-star quality.

      The cowboy, who’d been frowning when he’d approached, wasn’t bad looking, either. He tipped his hat to Julie. “Would you mind excusing us, ma’am?”

      “No, not at all.” Julie took a step back and glanced at Zorro.

      A smile dimpled his cheeks, and little gold flecks in expressive brown eyes sparkled as he handed his mask to her. “Hold this for me. I’ll be back.”

      She probably should have corrected his mistake then and there, but for the life of her, she couldn’t seem to utter a single word.

      As Zorro followed the cowboy out the side door, Julie held on to his mask as if it were a glass slipper and studied him from behind. He was both gorgeous and charming. A dashing ladies’ man, no doubt. She could tell by his self-assurance and flirtatious manner, both of which were interest-snatching and blood-stirring.

      They also set off flashing red warning lights. If there was anything Julie avoided these days, it was suave and flirtatious men who thought they were God’s gift to women.

      And Zorro, the handsome devil, was too darn sexy to be heaven-sent.

       Chapter Two

      As Adam followed his old high school friend away from the dance floor, he glanced over his shoulder and took one last look at Lisa, regretting he’d have to put off getting to know her. At least he’d finally had a chance to meet her.

      “I’m sorry I interrupted your dance,” Matt said as they slipped out a side door and headed toward the parking lot.

      “So am I. I’ve been waiting a long time to meet that woman, and after holding her in my arms and catching a whiff of her citrusy scent... Hell, I need to get back inside before someone else tries to take up where I left off.”

      “Hopefully, you can get to the bottom of that break-in quickly.”

      “If I can’t, I’ll call into headquarters and have someone on duty come out here.” Adam needed to get back to that gala. And to Lisa.

      The buddies crossed the graveled parking lot, their footsteps crunching on the pulverized granite. Unlike Adam, Matt didn’t look any different tonight than he usually did. He was sporting a pair of new Tony Lama boots, though. And he had on a spiffy new Stetson, too. But that wasn’t surprising. Costume parties weren’t Matt’s style.

      And normally, they weren’t Adam’s, either. So he’d planned to cut out early, but after dancing with Lisa, he’d changed his mind. Damn, she felt good—soft in all the right places. And she smelled amazing, too. Her perfume reminded him of lemon blossoms.

      Matt came to a stop and pointed to a shiny black Dodge Ram, the new registration sticker still taped to the passenger side of the windshield. “There’s my truck.”

      The driver’s door was open, the window shattered. On the seat, amidst shards of broken glass, sat a good-size rock.

      “It would have been easy enough for you to check and see if that envelope was still there,” Adam said. “Why didn’t you?”

      “Because I know how fussy you cops can be about disturbing a crime scene. But something else is definitely missing, which doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

      “What’s that?”

      “My food. I hadn’t eaten since the crack of dawn, so on my way here, I picked up something to tide me over at Bubba’s Burger Barn. The bag was on the passenger seat, and now it’s gone.”

      Adam furrowed his brow. “Someone took your leftovers?”

      Matt scoffed. “Hell, it wasn’t table scraps. It was a double bacon cheeseburger with large fries, and I didn’t get the chance to take a single bite. I was going to eat it on the way over here, but as soon as I pulled out of the drive-through, my cell phone rang. And by the time the call ended, I’d already arrived at the party. So I decided to check out the fancy, hundred-dollar food first.”

      Adam scanned the area. The ground was still damp and a bit muddy from last night’s rain, revealing small shoe prints—two sets, plus paw prints. All of which were fresh.

      “Amateurs,” Adam said. “Kids, most likely. Young ones. You mentioned the dog. It might