Seattle Cinderella Part 13

Brent sucked in a deep breath. He didn't want Annie to go home alone. He'd planned on accompanying her to check out the house before she went in. Just because it was daylight didn't mean her house was safe. The way he figured it, the thief had put the car in the garage during the daytime while she was at work none the wiser. So he could be there right now-angry that the car was gone.

"Thanks." He snapped his phone shut and turned to Luke. "There's something I have to do. I don't know when I'll be back."

Because of the rising panic, it felt like he caught every light red on his way to Annie's house. When he arrived he found her car parked in the driveway, but the tightness in his gut intensified when she didn't answer the door. The sign still taped to the garage door that the Mustang was no longer there didn't calm him.

He was ready to kick the door down when he heard Annie's voice in the distance. Following the sound, he saw her next door, talking to her neighbor.

Knowing she was safe, he sank down on the porch step to wait for her.

She started walking home, and as soon as she saw him, her pace quickened.

He didn't want to admit how worried he was, so he pushed himself up and stood slowly, trying to appear casual as she approached. "What were you doing next door?"

She held up a key. "I asked Nadine for our house key back. I told her I changed the locks. She usually has it hanging on a hook by the door, but it had fallen down under the table. We found it, but it was covered in dust and obviously hadn't been used for years. This is the only spare key there is, so I'm right back to square one."

Instead of making him feel better, the confirmation that the only known spare key hadn't been used made him feel worse. "The reason I came is because I wanted to talk to you about something."

"You couldn't have phoned?"

"No, I have to show it to you. I need to ask you some computer-related stuff."

"I'm no expert. I really don't know much about computers."

He waited behind her as she unlocked the door then followed her in.

"I was wondering if part of the reason we've been having trouble is because of our old program and our new computer." He held up the program disc. "I wondered if you know someone who knows more about it."

"I might. Let me put the disc into my computer so I can get the dates and version number." As she accepted it, a smile broke out across her face. "Wait. I have a better idea. My mother has a really old computer. She says it works fine and has no need to upgrade it. Let's install it there and see if it works any differently. I even have all your data with me."

Brent sucked in a deep breath. "What do you mean?"

"I do a backup every week out of habit. I did one from your system a few days ago, so it's even fairly current. Let's see if this works."

Patience was not a virtue of Brent's; it seemed like forever while they waited first for the ancient computer to boot up and then through the grueling amount of time it took to install the program. Finally when everything was loaded, Annie called up the file. "Here we go. Let's see the most recent invoices entered." She hit the b.u.t.ton and recalled the last number used.

"That's my missing invoice."

Annie hit a few more keys, and a stream of numbers appeared. "Here's my missing journal entry." She sighed. "That means this is good news and bad news. It appears that the problems have been compatibility issues all along. So that's good news. But the bad news is that you have to buy the upgrade and hope that no data has been compromised. That doesn't really make sense to me, but we have the proof right here."

Brent tried to be happy, but all he could see was a lot of extra work, and expense, to get all the data fixed.

Annie stood. "If you don't mind, I have to get back to the office. There's still a few things I need to do."

Brent followed her out, then waited in his car while she locked up. He followed her back to the parking lot, but when she went back inside the m.u.f.fler shop, instead of going back to check on Luke, Brent followed Annie.

Cindy stood at the counter, writing in the appointment book. "Annie, what are you doing back? I didn't really expect you."

"I have a couple of things I wanted to finish up." She headed back to her desk, but didn't sit down. "My computer's turned off."

Cindy nodded. "I needed to put in a special order, so I shut down what you were doing and used your computer since it was already on, then I guess I automatically turned it off. I don't mind if you go home and finish what you were doing tomorrow." Without waiting for a response, Cindy turned and went into the shop.

When the door closed behind her, Brent saw it as an opportunity. "I think we have a lot to do tomorrow to re-enter the missing data, so let's take advantage of this as a break before the grueling work begins. Let me take you out for dinner."

"Dinner? But-"

"No buts. Let's reward ourselves for solving the problem."

Brent held his breath.

Annie sighed. "Okay. Let's go."

He turned and stared walking toward the door with his back to her, so she wouldn't see him smile. "We'll take my car."

Chapter 9.

Annie fiddled with her napkin, folded it neatly beside the water gla.s.s, straightened the cutlery, and then picked up the water gla.s.s, shaking it a little to see if she could get the ice cubes to settle.

Anything to have something to do with her hands. She listened woodenly when the waiter came to announce the special of the day and give them the menus.

She held hers up between them like a shield. Although she didn't know why. Since Cindy and Luke's wedding, she'd seen Brent nearly every day. Today was no different than any other day.

Except for the romantic music strumming in the background. And the flickering candles in the muted light. And the aroma of sizzling steaks and good food that could never be duplicated by a toss-in-the-oven lasagna. And the fact that someone else was going to do the dishes.

Not to mention that she was sitting across the table from a tall, dark, handsome man.

Annie shook her head behind the menu. That wasn't a thought she wanted to have about Brent. She wanted to work for him, not have his children.

She thunked her head to the table.

"Annie? Are you okay?"

No, she wasn't. She bolted upright. "Sure. Fine. I'm fine. Very fine. Couldn't be finer."

Long fingers wrapped over the top of her menu and gently lowered it down until all she could see were Brent's deep-brown eyes melting into her soul.

"Are you sure?"

She cleared her throat. "No, I'm not sure. I don't know why you'd want to celebrate that you have to spend hundreds of dollars for an update to your accounting program, or that you'll probably have to reenter the last week's worth of data. Or..."

His voice deepened. "Or?"

She gulped. "Or why you'd want to celebrate in a place like this." At her words, she ducked her head then jerked it a little to the right, pointing his attention to the couple in the booth beside them who were doing more smooching than eating.

"Because this place was highly recommended."

She didn't want to ask if whoever had recommended it happened to mention it wasn't a place to eat and run. This was a romantic hideaway.

Although, from the look of Brent sitting back in his chair, casually sipping his coffee and reading the description of every item on the menu, he didn't appear to be in much of a hurry.

"Don't you have to get back to work?"

"I texted Luke. I told him we were having a meeting and to cover for me. I'll do extra hours for him next time he wants some time off."

Annie scanned the area. It was rather early for suppertime, and while there were enough people there, none of the other couples were conducting business. At least not the corporate kind.

"Relax." Brent smiled. "I just thought we could talk and get to know each other better."

The waiter returned to take their orders, sparing her an immediate need to reply.

But when he left, Brent leaned forward, clasped his hands together, and rested them on the table. "So tell me about yourself. Something I don't already know. Who's your favorite author?"

She let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. This one was easy. She smiled. "T. J. Zereth."

His smile faltered. "Really? I would never have pegged you for a murder mystery reader."

Annie's smile widened. "But he's so great. There's always a mini-mystery within the big mystery, and it just keeps you hooked until the last page. Zella and I always fight over his new releases, about who gets to read it first. The last one, neither of us could wait, so we both bought a copy."

"Yeah, I enjoyed the last one, too. Any idea when his next one comes out?"

She didn't know, but they found plenty to discuss about the last book, barely pausing when the waiter arrived with their meals. While they ate, Annie learned as much about Brent as he learned about her, and she found it very interesting that they enjoyed many of the same movies and television shows.

She wanted the evening to last forever, except the staff was starting to give them not-so-subtle hints that they wanted to seat others at their table.

Brent's cheeks darkened when he glanced at his watch. It wasn't often she'd seen a man blush, and Annie found the trait quite endearing. Despite the fact that the night hadn't been a date, she couldn't remember the last time she'd enjoyed herself so much in a man's company.

What made the evening even less like a date was when instead of driving her home, he drove her back to m.u.f.ford Brake and m.u.f.fler so she could pick up her car and drive herself home. To her surprise, when she got out of his car, he turned it off and stood beside her while she fished in her purse for her keys in the otherwise empty lot.

"You don't need to watch me get in the car. I do this every night," she said as she flicked through her key ring for her car key and inserted it in the lock. "I hope you're not going to follow me home and spend another night sleeping in my front yard. I'll be fine. I've b.o.o.by-trapped every window, including the patio door, with a board, fishhooks, and marbles. I also have my cell phone fully charged and I'm going to sleep with it in the pocket of my pajamas, besides having the house phone beside the bed in easy reach. You don't have to follow me home. I'll be fine."

He broke out into a wide grin. "Fishhooks and marbles? That's pretty creative. I'm impressed. However, that's not the reason I'm walking you to the car and waiting for you to get in safely. What I'm really doing is waiting to ask if you would like to accompany me to church on Sunday."

She pulled the door open but didn't get in. "Church?" If he'd asked her for a real date, she didn't know what she would have done. Church she could handle. Annie flicked her hand in the air in her best imitation of a Southern belle, even though she'd never been farther east than Arizona. "Why, sir,"-she attempted to mimic a sweet Southern drawl-"are y'all askin' me for a date?"

Brent shuffled closer. Almost in slow motion, his hands raised until he rested them on her shoulders. "No. This was a date. And now it's over, so I'm going to say good night."

Annie's heart pounded. This hadn't been a date. This had been...What had it been? They'd talked, they'd had fun, they'd shared some laughs, and she'd had a good time. He'd even insisted on paying for her meal.

She didn't know what to think. Unlike Luke, Brent trusted her accounting skills, and he was the only one who truly believed she didn't steal Cindy's car. Setting up his tent for the night to watch for her safety had been valiant, even if it was over the top.

Still, she appreciated his concerns for her safety. Brent was a nice man, and she couldn't help but like him.

All thoughts disintegrated as she felt either Brent's thumb or a finger under her chin, nudging it up. "Good night, Annie," he muttered, and his lips covered hers. Not a peck. A real kiss. Like the kind that ended a real date. Tender, gentle, but insistent. Like he meant it.

His hands drifted down to her back, pressing her closer. Her brain turned to mush as she slid her hands around his waist and kissed him back, sinking into the heat of his kiss and the warmth of his embrace.

The blare of a horn from a car driving by jolted them apart, making her realize what they'd been doing-in the middle of the parking lot, no less.

Before he could say anything, she got into her car and yanked the door shut. She didn't look up at him as she inserted the key in the ignition and drove off without giving the engine any time to warm up.

She didn't want to think about what had just happened.

But she knew she was going to anyway.

Chapter 10.

Brent picked up the wastebasket under Luke's desk and dumped the contents into the green garbage bag then walked to his own desk to do the same.

He didn't mind working every second Sat.u.r.day; he loved his job. But as a co-owner, regardless of the number of employees, his joy didn't extend to cleaning the office. He didn't mind wearing his jeans to work and washing cars, but he drew the line at washing the floor.

Although, one day when he became a parent, he knew he would appreciate it if his son's boss gave him a day off to be with his family for a special day.

Brent had made a joint decision with Luke to cancel the contract with the janitorial service and give Evan the job of cleaning the office on Sat.u.r.days for extra money. It had been a good financial decision as well, because paying Evan by the hour was cheaper than paying a flat fee to the cleaning service. It was even cheaper on days Evan wasn't working, because both he and Luke had to do it for free. Like today.

While he was taking out the garbage, he wondered what Annie was doing.

Thinking of her, he looked into the parking lot, empty except for his own car.

He couldn't believe he'd kissed her in the parking lot. Yet at the same time, he couldn't have not kissed her.

His eyes drifted shut as he emptied Walter's wastebasket. She was a good kisser. He felt the warm fuzzies wash over him as if he were a teenager, making him want to kiss her again. He would see her again tomorrow, only this time he wouldn't kiss her in the church parking lot. He'd wait until he took her home. After he took her out for lunch.

The rustle of papers made him look at the floor. If he hadn't been holding the garbage bag in one hand and a wastebasket in the other, he would have smacked himself in the head. He'd been so lost daydreaming, he'd missed the garbage bag and dumped Walter's trash on the floor.

He hunkered down to gather the strewn papers, frowning that most of the things in Walter's wastebasket should have been put through the shredder.

He picked up a couple of second pages of invoices that were blank except for the customer's name and address and the total invoice amount. For this, he would have to speak to Walter. He shook his head as he picked up a receipt. After scanning receipts, the originals were supposed to go into a box to be stored for whatever length of time the IRS required. Brent stood and laid the paper on the desk to smooth it out then froze.

This was a receipt from the hardware store-for two keys.

He sank down into the chair to press it flat with his fingers to make out the date.

It was the last day that Walter had been in. The day before Cindy's car had gone missing.