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  “Annie, please let me in. We need to talk.” His tone had softened. When she neither moved nor replied, he started knocking again, more insistently. She slammed her hands over her ears until the pounding ceased.

  “Annie, you’re scaring the shit out of me. Please let me in.” Hearing him curse was nothing out of the ordinary. Al had a temper. She bit her lip to keep from answering. The pounding started again, rattling the big door’s hardware.

  “Annie, if you don’t let me in, so help me God, I’m going to break down this door.” He was shouting now; she could picture his cheeks flaming with anger. He was not the type to bluff, so she stood and crossed to the door.

  “I’m fine. Now go away”

  “Annie,” his volume had lowered again and his voice sounded as if he’d leaned close to the door. “I’ve been going crazy not knowing where you were. Please open the door and let me in.” He sounded so sincere she was tempted to throw open the door and run into his arms, but remembering the look on his face before she’d left, she quelled the notion.

  “Go away, Al. I’m not opening this door. Go home.” She fully expected the pounding to resume. Too nervous to sit, she carried her glass to the kitchen sink, hoping to hear his retreating footsteps. But the continuing quiet brought on a case of shivers. Did she dare peek out the shutters?

  “Annie.”

  She started as her name cut the silence.

  Frustration saturated Al’s tone. “I’m not giving up. I’m not leaving. I don’t care how long it takes. I’m staying until you give me a chance to come in and talk.”

  She replied by turning off the porch light. It had been a mistake to answer. The man defined mule-headed. Annie crossed to the fireplace, hoping the heat would stop her quivering.

  But looking into the flames, it was impossible not to replay, for about the millionth time, the most embarrassing moment of her life. If she’d only learned to keep her mouth shut. If she had she’d still be . . . still be . . . working for Al. Having no life outside of her job. Longing for a man who would never see her as anything other than his loyal assistant.

  She overlapped the front panels of her sweater and rubbed her arms. Why had he gone to the trouble of tracking her down? Maybe he hadn’t hired anyone. Was he here to try to convince her to come back to work? She might not turn heads any longer, but she wasn’t too modest to say she was the best damned assistant in the building. Maybe the entire district. But going back to work for Al was not an option.

  “It’s getting pretty cold out here. How about letting me in before I freeze?” Al’s shuffling footfalls on the porch made it apparent he was moving around. Then suddenly, there was a loud tumbling sound and a crash.

  Oh God! Annie ran to the door and threw it open. In the light spilling from the cabin, there sat Al, covered with the soil and leaves from one of the old hanging geraniums. He rubbed his head. Genuine concern, along with longstanding habit, had her squatting next to him before she realized what she was doing.

  Too late now. She tried to harden her tone to sound indifferent.

  “Are you all right?” Her fingers itched to swipe the debris from his thick salt and pepper hair. Six weeks ago, if he’d had something in his hair, she could have brushed it off without him knowing she got a cheap thrill from the physical contact. But now, because of her emotional outburst, he’d know she was motivated by more than wanting to be helpful. She fisted her hands on top of her thighs.

  “Hell, no.” He sounded like a petulant child, albeit a very large, foul-mouthed one. Al stood, continuing to brush at the dirt. With his muscled body towering above her, radiating both frustration and anger, she backed toward the door.

  “Oh, no you don’t.” He stepped forward and held up one meaty palm, making her efforts to close the door on him as effectual as referee with a dog whistle. He pushed his way inside.

  Annie’s frustration suddenly outweighed her embarrassment.

  “Get the hell out.”

  Wondering if he might have a serious injury after all, Al pressed a palm to his temple and shook his head. His Annie didn’t curse. Not normally. He spun about to offer some retort but, setting his eyes on her for the first time since he’d arrived, the words wouldn’t come.

  Her hair. He couldn’t move his gaze away. She’d had it cut. A lot. The new style was so different. So . . . well, sexy. Still stunned speechless, he reached for the edge of a table. Not that he needed steadying, but perhaps feeling the hardwood under his hand would convince him he wasn’t in the midst of a dream.

  Annie’s eyes narrowed as she looked up at him.

  “What?” Her tone confirmed the word was more challenge than question.

  “Your hair!” he blasted. Too bad his brain hadn’t reengaged when his mouth had. When he realized he’d sounded less than complimentary, he added, “It looks great.”

  Her narrowed eyes told him she wasn’t convinced. She humphed and walked away, putting half the length of the room between them. The sway of her hips—which seemed a bit lost in that pair of jeans—combined with hair that made him want to run his fingers through it, heated his blood. Al still wasn’t fully convinced he wasn’t dreaming.

  She spun back around, crossed her arms and took what appeared to be a fortifying breath.

  “If you’ve come here to try and convince me to come back to work for you, you’ve wasted time and gasoline.”

  Huh? Wanting her back at work couldn't be further from his mind. Wow, he had a lot of explaining to do if that’s why she thought he was here. Besides, Gigi was doing a great job. She may not be Annie, but those standards could never be met by anyone else.

  No, he was here because of what Annie had said that day.

  “I’ve hired someone who’s working out nicely.” Was that disappointment that just flashed in her eyes? “Gigi’s doing a bang-up job.” Al watched Annie’s creased brow relax, and then her ramrod spine sagged.

  “I’m glad it’s working out.” Her hands gripped the top slat on a dining chair, and then her eyes widened. “But if that’s not why you came . . .”

  Al glanced away from the beautiful woman he had missed so desperately, needing a clear head for what he had to say. Then he met her gaze.

  “I came because I want to finish the discussion we were having before you took off.”

  Annie’s knuckles were white. His gut twisted for all the discomfort he had put her through. He was also sorry it had taken him all this time to pull his head out of his ass.

  “Al, I really don’t think there’s anything else to say.” Annie straightened her spine and steeled her determination. She would not cry. “As a matter of fact, I very distinctly recall your silence.”

  Al’s expression remained irritatingly controlled. Damn the man. She was tempted to slap him just to see some kind of emotion back on his face.

  “You’re right,” he admitted. “But you’d caught me totally off guard. Sometimes I think I still imagined what you said.”

  Oh, no. If he thought she would admit her feelings for him again, he was in for a serious disappointment. Embarrassment, along with vexation, sealed her lips together better than Super Glue.

  Al sighed, then slumped into her dad’s chair. It was a big man’s chair and he filled it in a familiar way that no one had for decades. He leaned forward with his hands clasped and his elbows propped on his knees. With his unceremonious posture, she relaxed her defenses enough to study him. His thick hair needed cut and his cheeks seemed thinner. There were shadows under his eyes, making the clear blue irises appear almost haunted.

  Annie breathed steadily through her nose, swallowing against the soreness at the back of her throat. It wasn’t her job to make sure he was well-fed and well-rested, no matter how much she wanted it to be.

  “Would you please sit down? You don’t have to say anything. Just please, sit.” He gestured with his hand toward the sofa. Curious, and resigned to getting this over with so he would leave, she slowly circled the sofa and sat at the far end. His gaze
followed her movements. She felt like a doe in hunting season. She folded her quivering hands in her lap.

  “Here goes,” he mumbled to himself, but then he met her gaze. “Annie, I was wrong about two things.”

  Her fingers loosened in surprise. She couldn’t believe her ears. Al was the most alpha man she’d ever met. He was strong-willed. Self-confident. He never, ever admitted to being wrong. At least not about anything important. Oh, he knew he wasn’t perfect, and Annie had been a genius at spotting, and ignoring, his cover-ups. But this admission was unprecedented. Now it was her turn to be rendered speechless.

  “No. I’d better back up a little. A lot actually.” He straightened in the chair and rested his hands on his knees. “I want you to understand my reasons for telling Sean that he shouldn’t become involved with anyone at the school.”

  Annie felt her muscles tense. That stupid speech was what had pushed her over the edge. Oh, she knew last year’s scandal with the football coach and cheerleading advisor hadn’t sat well with many community members, but if Al thought he could persuade her into thinking his brow-beating Sean was okay, he was very, very wrong.

  “Now just hold up.” His hands shot up, palms forward in a placating gesture. “I can tell by the look on your face you’re getting worked up again. But just hear me out. All I’m asking is for you to listen. If, when I’m finished, you still want me to leave, then I will. I swear.” He looked at her expectantly and after a few moments, took her silence as acceptance.

  He continued with a single nod. “Thank you.” He looked at the fire and his brow creased.

  “I guess it really started about fifty-six years ago. When my mother was a first year teacher.” Something in his voice at the mention of his mother softened Annie’s heart. Al had lost his mother seven years ago; the year after Annie had lost Jack.

  “Mom started teaching fourth grade in a small town in Illinois. She was right out of school and on her own for the first time.” He shifted his hands to the armrests. “The principal at the school was highly educated, the son of a wealthy, state senator.”

  Sickening suspicion immediately snaked through her middle and soured her stomach.

  “He took a special interest in Mom. Too much interest.” Al met her gaze, his blue eyes filled with sadness. “By May she was pregnant and he’d denied any connection with her outside of their working relationship.”

  Annie’s heart cracked. Back then, in that day and age, his mother would have been ostracized.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “Yeah, well, me too.” He got to his feet, obviously needing movement. “That summer she moved to Chicago to live with my great aunt until I came along. My grandparents had been killed in an automobile accident during Mom’s senior year of college and being a single mother was difficult. Eventually she got another teaching job, but Aunt Joyce was too old to watch an active toddler. Much of mom’s salary went to pay for childcare.”

  Annie wanted to go to him, to offer him comfort, but she knew he wouldn’t welcome her touch. Besides, his pacing confirmed he needed a physical outlet, so she remained seated, her eyes tracking him.

  “Did your father ever establish a relationship with you?”

  A bitter chuckle escaped him. “No. The son-of-a-bitch never acknowledged me.” He halted and met her gaze. “No big loss as far as I’m concerned. He died in 1975, but in all those years he’d never made any contact with Mother or me.” Al shoved his hands into his trouser pockets and moved to the stand before the hearth, staring at the flames. She’d seen this gesture thousands of times. Him gathering his thoughts before speaking. Touched by his story and willing to give him the time he needed, she said nothing. After a minute, he turned.

  “The scandal last spring was a nightmare, but I was wrong to tell Sean that entering into a personal relationship with a coworker was unprofessional.” He crossed the room and sat back down in the time-worn leather chair.

  “I told you all this because I wanted you to understand what my opinion was based on.”

  Fighting the urge to touch him, to caress his chiseled cheek and take him into her arms, she stood and walked to one of the windows. She toyed with the shutter, speaking without looking his direction.

  “I wish I’d known all this that day, Al. I probably wouldn’t have reacted the way I did, had I known, but it’s all water under the bridge now.” She took a deep breath. If his history had been the sole reason for the visit, then surely he would understand this was his cue to leave. Annie didn’t know how much longer she could hold it all together.

  The floor vibrated with his footsteps as he moved, halting a few feet behind. Was he deliberately keeping his distance so she wouldn’t get the wrong idea about his trip here?

  “I want you to know that I spoke with Sean, and Gigi.”

  His closeness was instantly forgotten, as curiosity snagged Annie’s attention. What had he said? She turned and he continued.

  “The two of them seem to have become pretty close right under my nose.” A chagrined smile played across his lips. “I must admit, my mind has been so occupied, I didn’t catch on until I saw them together yesterday outside your apartment.”

  “What exactly did you say?” she asked.

  “I told Gigi that I didn’t care. As long as she keeps doing the good job she’s doing, her personal relationships are her business.”

  Again, Annie’s amazement paired with her relief. This was so unlike Al, to change his feelings on a topic. Perhaps he decided to simply tolerate the situation. But for Gigi and Sean’s sake, whatever had caused him to loosen his stiff standards was a blessing.

  “I’m glad you feel that way. They’re both lovely people and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t find their happiness together.”

  “You’re right, and the fact that one isn’t the superior of the other has me thinking the relationship could work.”

  Unlike the two of us. That’s what he was alluding to.

  It was also the reason that overhearing him lecture Sean had set her off. Although she’d known Al considered a romantic liaison with anyone at the school—say her—outside the boundaries of his moral compass, hearing him force his beliefs on Sean in such plain speaking had been like having a knife pierce her heart. Not wanting to relive their disagreement on the matter, she tamped down her feelings and crossed to the door.

  “Well, I appreciate you telling me all this. Rest assured, I won’t repeat any of it. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Her hand was on the knob but he stilled the door in its frame above her head.

  “Annie, please.” With him now scant inches away, the timbre of his deep baritone poured over her like a liquid embrace. She closed her eyes, fighting the urge to lean back into him. His breath stirred the short hairs at her temple, and she was afraid to turn her head. Surely he would read the desire in her eyes if he met her gaze. She needed to get him out of here before she burst into tears.

  “You said you’d leave when you were finished. You swore.” Thankfully her voice was steady, although everything inside her quivered.

  “I said when I’m finished, but I’m not.” His hands went to her arms and the electricity of his touch stunned her into stillness. He turned her like a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey participant to face him.

  “I haven’t told you the second thing I was wrong about.” The intensity of his blue gaze bound her more forcibly than his grasp, and something she saw in his eyes ignited a flicker of hope within her chest.

  “What?”

  “It was wrong, not to mention incredibly stupid, to pretend that I haven’t been in love with you for a very long time.” There, he’d said it out loud. After denying his feelings for years, proclaiming them to Annie had been surprisingly easy. Admitting them to himself had been the terrifying notion.

  Although she hadn’t said a word, her eyes glistened with moisture. Probably tears of frustration for all he’d put her through.

  “Annie, I know now that I’ve been the biggest fool on the planet
. I love you more than my life and pray to God that you haven’t given up on me.”

  Her silence dragged on, but when the corners of her mouth curled up, it was like the rhino that had been sitting on his chest got up and lumbered away.

  He gently squeezed her upper arms. “And so help me, if you don’t let me kiss you soon I’m going to break down and cry like a baby.” He waited for her to speak. To say something.

  Finally, her lips parted. “Well, we can’t have that.” Her teasing mouth spread into a wide smile. He eagerly circled his arms around her waist, lowering his head.

  Annie lifted her face to meet his. Their lips fit together as if they’d done so for years. He stroked her back; she pressed her body closer to his, wrapping her arms around his neck. When his tongue slid across the seam of her lips she opened to him, gifting him with a deeper intimacy. A sigh escaped her and he breathed it into his lungs, wanting to seize hold of every single aspect of this moment. She tasted of wine, and the thought of her drinking alone—something he’d done plenty of times over the years—made him ache for what he’d put her through. From now on they would raise their glasses together.

  When her fingers threaded through the hair at his nape, he forgot about guilt and growled with primitive enthusiasm. His hands slid lower to cup her bottom and press her to his arousal. God, she felt so good. So soft and fragile. He would have to be careful with his Annie.

  And she was his. Thank God she had lost her temper with him those weeks ago and let the cat out of the bag, cluing him in to her feelings. Otherwise they might have lost out on what he hoped, no, knew would be many happy years. And he wanted those years to begin now. Al broke the kiss and met her starry gaze, needing to hear her vow more than he needed air.

  “Annie, will you marry me?”

  Annie’s eyes rounded with surprise. Should she be concerned about whether this was what he really wanted? But the thought dissolved as swiftly as it arrived. No one made Al Matthews do anything he didn’t want to do. Moments ago when he’d declared his love, she’d believed him. She wasn’t forcing his hand. It had just taken him way too long to decide he had good cards to play.