3
“F isher?” she said as they made their way up the back stairs to the apartments above.
“Yeah?”
“You really believe in marriage, don’t you?”
“You bet,” he said, unlocking the door. “If you love someone, you should be able to commit your life to them. Only them. When I find the right woman, there’ll be none of that wishy-washy living together stuff for me.”
“How can you be sure?” she asked. “People change. One day you could be perfectly content with someone and the next you want to strangle them because they left the seat up.”
“Then you tell them if they leave the seat up one more time you’re going to glue it down permanently,” he said.
Annie felt her breath halt in her lungs. He was serious. His dark gaze was as steadfast as a promise. It was also cocky, arrogant and completely mesmerizing. Oh dear.
“I...I guess, that’s an option,” she stammered, feeling numb from the neck up. She just couldn’t look away from his mouth. The dim light in the hallway accentuated his straight white teeth, and she saw them flash with his smile.
“There are always options, Annie,” he said.
“Not for you.” She glanced away from him. “You are the quintessential good or bad, right or wrong, no maybes kind of guy.”
“You think so?”
“I know so,” she affirmed.
“How do you know?”
“Marriage only. No living together,” she said. “And I’ve seen your apartment. A place for everything and everything in its place. No mess. No piles of stuff straightened to look neat. You’re probably one of those people who actually cares which way the toilet paper is unrolling, against the wall or out.”
“Always out, never against the wall. Hey, are you calling me uptight?” he asked, leaning toward her.
“Uptight? No, I was thinking more along the lines of anal retentive,” she teased. It was easier this way. The tension that had been building between them was defused by their banter. She inhaled, relieved. It would be a bad idea to have feelings for her tenant. Very bad.
“Anal retentive?” he repeated, his offended stance belied by the amused gleam in his eyes. “Just for that I’m going to booby-trap your door tomorrow. Then you’ll be sorry.”
“See? You don’t tell someone you’re going to booby-trap their door. You just do it. I’m telling you, you are Mr. By-the-Book.” Annie shook her head in mock despair.
“Oh, I am, am I?” he asked, leaning closer.
Annie felt the wall against her back and stilled. Fisher placed a hand on either side of her shoulders, until she was boxed between him and the wall. She felt the smile slide from her face. His dark brown gaze narrowed, and she felt him studying her with an intensity that left her shaking from the inside out.
“Would a by-the-book man make the mistake of kissing his landlord senseless?” he asked, his voice just a rasp against her ear.
Annie gasped as her insides clenched at the rub of his breath against her skin. Oh dear. His face was just inches from hers and she watched as he moved closer, until they were only a sigh apart. Then his lips met hers and she went completely still.
The feel of his mouth on hers was warm and firm and blocked out everything else around her. Her entire world narrowed to the feel of his lips. Slowly he opened his mouth, deepening the kiss. The rough, wet rub of his tongue against hers sent Annie on fire with a hot lick of desire. Wow!
Crash!
One moment Fisher was there and the next he was gone. Annie leaned against the wall and hugged herself. She heard Fisher’s shout to “wait right there” over his disappearing footsteps. Yeah, like she could move if she tried.
Her entire body had gone limp from the impact of his kiss. It was a moment before the sound of The Coffee Break’s front door slamming registered in her brain. Her first thought was to run down there, but Fisher had said to wait and she trusted him. That realization was more devastating than his kiss. She trusted him.
Annie pushed off of the wall, surprised to find that her legs, which felt like noodles, could support her. The jittery feeling inside of her was a bad omen she knew. It was the start of a completely ridiculous, juvenile infatuation. Fisher’s grin flashed through her mind and she started to pace.
It was just a kiss. It didn’t mean anything. So what if it was spectacular? It would be completely irresponsible of her to develop a crush on her tenant. Irresponsible? It would be downright dumb.
She reached the end of the hall, spun on her heel and paced back toward her door. Okay, it was a kiss, a great kiss, but that didn’t mean anything. It could have been a fluke. A moment in time. Nothing else. Yeah, right.
She reached her door and spun on her heel again. The man had lived here less than a week. She was not going to have a crush on him. She wouldn’t. She couldn’t. Okay, she could, but that didn’t mean he had to know. She’d just put the kiss out of her mind. She’d treat him just like she always did. As for the kiss, she’d think of it as a gift. A spontaneous surprise that she could relive any time she wanted.
When she was old and gray, sitting on her rocker at the old folks home, she’d think about his kiss and smile. Annie stopped pacing and leaned against the wall. She slid down the wall, heedless of her yellow sundress as it bunched up beneath her.
What had happened? One minute the Earth was spinning just fine and the next it spun out of control, sending her into orbit. She sighed and wrapped her arms around her knees. Where was Fisher? What was taking him so long?
She was so shocked by his kiss, she didn’t think much about the crash. Something in the shop must have toppled over. Lord knew, she had enough stuff down there. But the front door had slammed. Had she been robbed? Her skin prickled on her arms, and she shivered. Where was he?
“Annie!” Fisher came racing up the stairs. “Annie?”
“I’m here,” she said, rising to her feet.
“Are you all right?” he asked, grabbing her by the elbows and helping her up.
“I’m fine,” she lied. “What about you? Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” he said. Tipping his head, he studied her. “You waited.”
“Of course,” she said. “I’ve seen enough horror flicks to know when someone says stay put, you do it.”
Fisher cupped the back of her head and pulled her close. Leaning against him, she could feel the heat and sweat radiating off his body and she sighed.
“Oh, Annie,” he chuckled, but then sobered. “I’ve got some bad news. It looks like you were robbed.”
“Robbed?” she echoed. Breaking away from him, she dashed for the stairs.
“Wait!” Fisher grabbed her hand, stopping her. “Let’s call the police first. We don’t want to mess up any evidence.”
“But...” she started to protest but stopped, knowing he was right. She felt as if someone were squeezing her heart tight with their fist. Her shop. Her store. Who would rob her? Sure, she had some antiques, but it was mostly quirky old stuff, nothing of any real value. And what little cash they kept in the shop was always locked up at night so there was no money around. Who would do this? And why?
“It’ll be all right,” he promised, leading her into his apartment. “Come on, let’s check on Harpy and call the police.”
“All right,” she agreed, feeling cold all the way down to her bones.
“Are you sure that’s all you saw?” The officer questioning Fisher was young, fresh out of police school and damp enough behind the ears to grow mushrooms. He studied Fisher as if he doubted him. Fisher felt like pulling out his badge and hitting the kid over the head with it, but he couldn’t reveal his identity, not yet.
“Yes, the guy was shorter than me, maybe five-ten,” he repeated his story one more time. “He had a stocking over his face, but his hair was gray. He was big, around one hundred and ninety pounds. He had on a sweatshirt, could have been blue or black and jeans. He took off down the street the minute he saw me coming. I lost him about a block and a half away. There was a car waiting for him. A big, green Impala with no plates.”
“You’re pretty observant.” The officer tapped his pad against his chin and narrowed his gaze at Fisher. “How long have you been living here?”
“Less than a week,” he said, feeling his teeth clench.
“Interesting,” the officer drawled and turned to Annie. “Ms. Talbot, have you ever had any kind of trouble before?”
“None,” she said. Her voice was just above a whisper. Freckles Fisher had never noticed before stood out on her pale skin. She looked as if she were trying very hard not to cry.
“Interesting,” the officer said again.
Fisher resisted the urge to smack him. The kid was just doing his job, but Fisher couldn’t wait to have Van Buren sit on this prepubescent’s superior tomorrow. The first rule to any investigation was never jump to any conclusions, otherwise you spent all of your time trying to fit the crime to the easiest suspect, instead of gathering actual facts and finding the real culprit.
“Can I go into my shop now?” Annie asked.
Fisher glanced at her. In the streetlight, she looked about as strong as a buttercup. He wanted to hug her. He didn’t.
“Sure. We’re done in there.” The officer stepped away. “If either of you think of anything that might help us with this investigation, here’s my card. Just give me a call.”
Fisher didn’t bother to tell him that he wouldn’t be on this investigation very long.
“Sure,” he said and slid the card into his pocket.
Following Annie into the shop, he winced. The place looked as if it had been hit by a tornado with an attitude. Tables and chairs were overturned. Pottery smashed. Even the baked goods in the display area had been mangled.
“Oh no!” Annie whispered in a strangled gasp. “Eve’s cake!”
She raced through the store, vaulting over the wreckage in her path, to the kitchen in back. She slid to a stop in front of the walk-in cooler and yanked its massive steel door open. She sagged against the doorjamb. Fisher looped a supportive arm around her shoulders and glanced over her head. Eve’s cake stood in all of its five-tiered, ivory glory in the center of the cooler.
“Thank Heavens,” she sighed. She turned and glanced around the kitchen. It was a mess. Flour, sugar, bottles of extract, all of her spices, even her cooking utensils were strewn across the floor. It was like being on the inside of a mixing bowl peering out. “I just don’t understand. Who would have...?”
Fisher couldn’t take it anymore. Opening his arms, he let her walk into them. Holding her close he breathed in the sweet scent of her hair while he ran a hand up and down her back, trying to give her comfort. He could feel her shaking and he knew – there was no way Annie Talbot was a criminal. She was a victim and whoever was using her business to launder money was more vicious than he and Brian had imagined.
“It’s going to be all right,” he said, promising himself that it would be. “I’ll help you clean up.”
“No, it’s all right,” she said, stepping out of his arms. “I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve already done.”
“It’s no...”
“No, it could have been dangerous. You could have been hurt or worse...” Her voice broke and she took a long steadying breath. She walked back out to the main room as she spoke. “You didn’t sign on for this when you signed the lease. If you want to move out, I’ll understand.”
“No!” Fisher snapped more forcefully than he intended. She frowned at him, and he stammered, “What I mean is...I...I’m glad I was here. The thought of you here alone and what could have happened... Why the hell don’t you have an alarm system?”
She blinked. “I never thought I needed one.”
“Well think again.”
“But this is just a coffee shop.”
“Yes, in a city where crimes occur,” Fisher argued, feeling belligerent. “It’s not like you live in East Podunk, Nowhere. You have to be more careful. I’ll call tomorrow and see what I can arrange.”
“No!” she said. “This was a random incident. It will probably never happen again. I’m not going to bar the windows and buy attack dogs to patrol the grounds.”
“Annie, what do you think would have happened if I hadn’t been here?”
“I’d have called the police,” she said.
“No, you wouldn’t,” he shouted. “You’d have come down here to investigate and probably gotten yourself assaulted or murdered or both.”
“You don’t know that,” she said, shoving her curly hair out of her face. Her eyes snapped blue fire and Fisher took a moment to appreciate how pretty she was when she was mad. The realization only made him crankier. “Do you even own a personal protection device?”
“A what?”
“Pepper spray? Mace? A gun?” he asked.
“Never!” She shook her head and turned away from him. Lifting a chair from the floor, she said, “I don’t believe in them.”
“Oh, for crying out lo...” Fisher cut himself off knowing the angry outburst would gain him nothing. “What do you mean you don’t believe in them?”
He strode over to where she struggled to right a table and helped her lift it up.
Setting the table down, she turned to him and said, “I don’t believe in them.”
“You’re joking?” he asked hopefully.
“No,” she said and moved on to fix other furniture. Fisher moved along beside her, helping her. I don’t believe in guns. I don’t believe people should carry weapons of any kind.”
“But what about protection?”
“I don’t want to live in a world where I feel I need to carry a weapon if I’m by myself,” she said. “I won’t do it.”
“What if some scumbag broke in here or came in because you forgot to lock the door and attacked you?”
“So, I shoot him?” she asked. “Doesn’t that reduce me to his level? Doesn’t that make me just as much of an animal as he is?”
“No, you’d be protecting yourself,” he said.
“No, I’d be murdering someone,” she argued.
“And you call me the ‘good or bad, right or wrong, no maybes type of guy’?” he asked. “Annie, this is serious. This guy could come back. You have to take some precautions.”
She met his gaze and the fear in her eyes was as tangible as the destruction they stood in. She was wrestling with her beliefs and her fears. He hated to be the one to force her to choose, but he would if he had to.
“I’ll think about it,” she said.
“That’s all I ask,” he lied. “In the meantime, I’m just across the hall. If you need anything or if you hear anything come get me.”
“All right,” she agreed, but he knew she was fibbing. Cupping her chin, he frowned at her. “I mean it. Promise me you’ll come to me if you’re frightened.”
“What if it’s just a mouse?” she asked and then smiled. “Not that I have any in the shop.”
“Of course not,” he agreed. “But if you did, then I’d get one of those humanitarian traps and haul it away for you.”
“Really?”
“Really,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice as soft as a whisper.
“You’re welcome,” he said, hugging her close.
She felt right in his arms and he knew he could have held her like this for hours. How had this happened? How had she charmed him so thoroughly in such a short span of time? She nestled closer to him and Fisher felt his body tighten. Just the scent of her stirred him. He let his hand stroke down her back. She’d stopped shaking and he told himself it was just a hug of comfort, but he knew it was something more.
He’d protect her. He’d catch the bad guys. And then he’d tell her who and what he was. He could only hope she didn’t kick him in the teeth – or lower – when he did.
“Come on, you’ve got a wedding tomorrow,” he said and led her from the shop.
“You’re right,” she sighed. “I’ll have to close the shop tomorrow. There’s just not enough time to set it right before we open. I hope my staff is happy about having the unexpected holiday.”
“I’m sure they’ll understand,” he said, leading her towards her apartment.
“I hope so.” She stopped in front of her door. “Fisher?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for everything.”
“Any time,” he said and meant it. He waited while she let herself into her apartment. When she didn’t reappear, he let himself into his own place.
Crossing to Harpy’s cage, he opened the door. “Well, Harpy, what do we do now?”
The sleepy cockatiel bent over and Fisher scratched her neck while she cooed. Why weren’t all women as easy to understand as his bird?
Annie slid between the cool bed sheets and reached over to switch off the lamp on her nightstand. Lying in the dark, she knew she should be thinking about the loss of business tomorrow and why someone would have broken into her shop.
But she wasn’t thinking of those things. Instead, her thoughts were consumed with the man across the hall. The feel of his mouth upon hers. Maybe it was just more pleasant to think about that than the robbery or maybe she just hadn’t been kissed with that much passion in...okay, forever.
She felt her body grow warm. A smile parted her lips. She couldn’t help it. His kiss had been amazing. It would be wrong to get involved with her tenant. She knew that. It would be incredibly complicated. What if it didn’t work out and then they had to share living space and watch each other’s comings and goings. No, that would be bad.
Even though his kiss had been incredible, it would be foolish of her to become attached to him. She would take him to the wedding tomorrow and that would be that. No more kisses in the dark. No longing for things that shouldn’t be.
Rolling onto her side, Annie hugged her pillow close while she tried to wipe the image of him from her mind. But when she fell asleep, she was still thinking of him.
“What happened? Did you throw a party and forget to invite me?”
Annie turned from hanging the CLOSED sign in the window to see Denise standing behind her.
“We were robbed last night,” she said.
“You’re kidding!”
“I wish.” Annie shook her head.
“What did they take?”
“Well, fortunately, Fisher chased the person away before they made off with anything,” she said. “But they trashed the place before we got here.”
“I can’t believe this.” Denise gaped at the mess surrounding them. “When I closed last night everything was locked up nice and tight. I was out of here by eight-fifteen.”
“We got home from the rehearsal dinner just after ten. That gave the burglar more than an hour to do this,” Annie said. “The police will probably want to ask you if there were any suspicious characters hanging around at closing. Would you mind talking to them?”
“Not a bit,” she said.
“Thanks. Consider today a bonus day off,” Annie said. “I left a message on your machine, but you must not have gotten it. Sorry you came all the way down here for nothing.”
“Not for nothing.” Denise shook her head. “I’ll help you clean up.”
“Oh, you don’t have to,” Annie said.
“Yes, I do,” Denise argued. “You have the wedding today. You’ll never be able to clean this and get there on time.”
“Well, if you want to help.” Annie shrugged. “I’d be an idiot to refuse you.”
“Humph,” Denise grunted and went to put on an apron.
“Morning.”
Annie glanced up to see Fisher standing in the doorway. He was freshly showered, his dark brown hair was still damp. In jeans and a T-shirt, he looked every bit the Saturday man at play. Annie felt her entire body grow warm. Afraid she was staring, she glanced away.
“Good morning,” she said. “Want some coffee?”
“No, thanks,” he said.
She could feel his gaze upon her and felt her fingers begin to shake.
“How are you feeling this morning?” he asked.
“How do you think she feels?” Denise said as she returned from the kitchen. “The place is a mess. How would you feel?”
“I’m fine,” she said, glancing at Fisher and seeing his jaw set. “Really, I’m fine.”
“Can I help with the cleanup?” he asked.
“That’s why I’m here.” Denise hefted a broom and began to sweep around Fisher. “If you don’t mind.”
Fisher stepped away from her vicious whacks with the broom. Honestly, if Annie didn’t know better, she’d think Denise was trying to hit him.
Hopping over Denise’s maniacal broom wielding, Fisher grabbed Annie by the elbow and led her toward the door.
“What’s up with Stormy Weather over there?” he asked.
Annie winced. “She’s probably upset about the break-in.”
“I’d say it seems to be a chronic condition,” he said. “Are we still on for the wedding tonight?”
“If you’re willing,” she said, not wanting him to feel obligated.
“Of course I’m willing,” he said. “What time should I pick you up?”
“I have to meet Eve at the hairdresser’s this afternoon, and then we’re all getting dressed at her house. If you could just meet me at the church about five o’clock...?”
“Sounds good. Text me the address,” he said. “I’m going into the office for a bit. Are you sure you don’t want my help with cleanup?”
Annie glanced at Denise and back at Fisher. “I’m sure, but thanks for the offer. I really appreciate it, especially after last night.”
“Last night?” he asked. Annie felt her heart thunk in her chest. He was staring at her lips and she knew what he was thinking about. The kiss.
“Chasing away the burglar...and all,” she said, clearing her throat. “That was very brave.”
“‘And all’ didn’t require much bravery,” he said, still staring at her mouth. Annie felt her face grow warm and she cursed her pale skin. Dignity was lost when she knew she must resemble a tomato.
“Yes, well, thank you,” she said again, staring at the collar of his shirt. “I owe you.”
“No worries. You’ll pay me back,” he said.
Her gaze flew up to his and she was caught by his slow, devilish smile. The man could melt ice with a slow burner grin like that.
“With some Death by Chocolate?” he suggested.
She blinked. He was asking for dessert? She might have known!
“Sure. Anytime,” she said and stepped away from him. What did she think he was going to ask for? A kiss? Yes, a kiss! Leave it to her to find a man who valued her baking skills more than her body. Ugh!
“See you at the church,” he promised and disappeared out the door.
She watched it close behind him.
“Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for him,” Denise said from behind her.
“No, I haven’t,” she said, trying to convince herself. “He’s just helping me out by playing escort for Eve’s wedding.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s true.”
“Right. And the sparks flying between you are just static electricity.”
“Sparks?” Annie asked.
“Yes, sparks. The way you two are staring at each other, I’m surprised you didn’t torch the place.”
Why this made Annie grin, she had no idea. Picking up another broom, she set to work beside her friend, whistling a happy tune.