Authors: Unknown
DevilishlyHot (7 page)
Genuine fear tightened Annie’s chest, making it hard to breathe. She glanced at Tristan, even though she already knew there would be no help or sympathy there. In fact, his usually unreadable face looked almost amused.
“Yes, I can get the information.”
“Good. Now go away,” Finola said with a wave of her hand. “I have work to do, and so do you.”
Annie nodded, wasting no time leaving her boss’s presence and making her way back to her own desk. She had no idea how she was going to get this information, short of actually stalking the man. Sadly, she knew if that was what she had to do, she would.
Seven years. Just keep ticking off the days, the hours, the minutes.
Chapter Six
“E
xcuse me, I’m looking for Annie Lou Riddle.”
xcuse me, I’m looking for Annie Lou Riddle.”
“Just one moment, please,” Annie answered without looking up from her computer. She was right in the middle of searching city records to see if Detective Nick Rossi was or ever had been married. She typed in the last word of her search, then hit the ENTER key with a resounding tap.
Ah, cyberstalking at its best.
She spun in her chair, preparing to get rid of this person as quickly as possible, since she knew Finola would expect new information in her usually unrealistic amount of time.
But as it turned out, her search had come to her.
Detective Nick Rossi stood on the other side of her desk, waiting patiently, watching the bustle of the
HOT!
staff.
HOT!
staff.
But as soon as he saw her, recognition dawned in his dark eyes and that naughty smile that she was sure she must have idealized in her memory appeared. Nope, she hadn’t improved him with memory; he was every bit as attractive as she remembered.
But he was the focus of Finola’s interest. Not hers.
“Hey there,” he said, his voice deep and husky, also just as appealing as she remembered. “I know you. We’ve bumped into each other before.”
She blinked, amazed at how even his voice made her body react.
Her bewildered gape didn’t deter him. “Are you, by chance, Annie Lou Riddle?”
It took her another moment to gather herself, but then she nodded.
Get focused here.
His arrival had just made her life a lot easier. Now Finola could find out
everything
about him herself. Certainly a much better option than Annie having to walk into a police station to interrupt his work and ask him important questions such as what his favorite color was and could she have the names of all his childhood pets.
His arrival had just made her life a lot easier. Now Finola could find out
everything
about him herself. Certainly a much better option than Annie having to walk into a police station to interrupt his work and ask him important questions such as what his favorite color was and could she have the names of all his childhood pets.
“You must be here to see Ms. White.” She automatically reached for her phone to page Finola, but his rich, throaty voice stopped her.
“Actually, you’re the lady I came to see,” he said, with another charming smile, his nicely shaped lips framed by a goatee that just made him look more enchantingly rakish. His brown eyes, the color of sweet tea, twinkled. And for just a moment her belly fluttered like a teenage girl, discovering for the first time that the boy she had a crush on liked her back.
Stupid, she told herself. So, so stupid. He wasn’t the boy she had a crush on. He didn’t like her. She was a grown woman with a boyfriend, an all-consuming career, and a demon boss who
did
have a crush on him.
did
have a crush on him.
But he’d said he wanted to talk to her.
“Are you sure you aren’t here to see Ms. White?” she asked again, still holding the phone receiver.
A smile tugged at one side of his lip. “I’m definitely sure.”
She hesitated a moment longer, then hung up the phone.
“Okay,” she said, knowing she didn’t sound pleased. “How can I help you?”
His eyes twinkled at her resigned tone. “Why do I get the feeling you aren’t happy to see me? Was our elevator collision that unpleasant for you?”
“No,” she said automatically.
His smile widened and he moved a little closer to her desk. “Yeah, it wasn’t in the least bit unpleasant for me either.”
Annie felt her cheeks grow warm. Was he flirting with her? Again her stomach did little somersaults.
No. No, she warned herself again. He wasn’t, and even if he was, she wouldn’t react. She couldn’t react. And whether this man knew it or not, he belonged to Finola White.
“I never thought I’d see you again, actually,” he said, drawing her attention back to him.
“You didn’t?” she said, knowing she sounded as bemused as a silly schoolgirl.
Stop it, Annie! Now.
He shook his head, then leaned forward to add, “But I wanted to.”
Her whole body tingled at his admission, her heart joining her tumbling stomach. She stared into those golden brown eyes of his, wondering what it would be like to be with a man like him.
“No,” she stated, not realizing she’d even said the word aloud, until his smile faded.
“No, what?”
“No—” She struggled to collect herself, to find something to say that would make sense and stop this man from looking at her as if she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. “That is—no, I didn’t expect to see you again either.”
“But you wanted to, too, didn’t you?”
Annie was sure if any other man had said that it would have sounded arrogant and cheesy, but this man made it sound adorable.
Annie, you have got to stay focused.
“No, I’m just surprised. That’s all,” she said, managing to sound calm and not in the least bit interested.
He feigned a brief look of hurt, but then nodded, accepting her explanation without further comment. Probably sympathy for the poor muddled woman.
They both regarded each other for a few moments, then she again managed to rally her thoughts.
“So what did you want to talk to me about?”
He sobered completely, his expression now all business. “I wanted to talk to you about the disappearance of several employees over the last few years.”
He was here doing an investigation. That was why he’d been here yesterday. He must have come to talk to Finola about these missing people. Funny, she hadn’t even considered why he’d been in the elevator or how Finola had met him. But suddenly it all made sense.
“Missing employees?”
He nodded, his brown eyes regarding her for a moment, assessing her reaction. But she couldn’t tell what he was thinking as he said, “I know you are working, but it would be great if maybe we could go get lunch and talk.”
Her first instinct was to say no. Go to lunch? She didn’t have time for that. She usually wolfed down a sandwich whenever she could find a minute. Her days were too busy for things like actual lunch breaks.
But then she realized this was the very person Finola wanted to know about, and going to lunch with him would be an easy way to find out all the details of his life.
Of course, she didn’t want to answer the questions he’d likely have for her, but maybe she could keep him busy with questions of her own. She told herself she wasn’t agreeing because she wanted to know more about him herself. This was work. Work and keeping her soul one more day.
She managed a slight smile. “Sure. Lunch would be great.”
“So what’s your favorite food?”
Nick looked up from his turkey sub, getting the definite impression he was the one being interviewed here. On the walk to the small diner just a few blocks from both her work and his station, she’d asked him at least a dozen questions. Did he live in Manhattan? Did he have family in New York? Did he have siblings? When was his birthday? Did he like winter? What was his favorite season? What were his hobbies? Did he have pets? What was his favorite color?
“I like just about everything. I’m not a very picky eater,” he said, not bothering to hide his wry smile.
She nodded, oblivious to his expression, her own very serious—focused, even. She took a bite of her chef’s salad, then reached for her cell phone, acting as if she was simply checking her messages. She typed something on the screen, just as she had after every few questions since they’d left the office. She might think she was being subtle, but he’d long since figured out she was making notes about his responses.
As if reading his mind, she looked up, giving him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I just need to answer this email.”
He nodded, not keeping the amused disbelief from his eyes, but again she didn’t seem to notice. Whatever she was doing, it was her total focus.
She looked up from her phone. “Do you drink?”
This time he openly grinned. “Every day.”
Annie’s gray-blue eyes widened with dismay.
“Oh,” he said slowly, pretending to just now understand her question, “you’re referring to liquor. Yes, I do, sometimes.”
She nodded, again oblivious to the fact that he’d been teasing her. She typed on her phone.
Well, one thing was for sure, Annie Lou was living up to her last name. He definitely didn’t understand what she was doing, but he planned to find out. He took a bite of his sandwich, chewing slowly, watching her as she now focused on her lunch again.
The only thing he knew for sure was that she was just as pretty as he remembered. Wide eyes the color of stormy skies, long dark lashes, full lips, her brown hair pulled back from her face to reveal lovely cheekbones and a perfect complexion.
She might possibly be the nosiest woman he’d ever encountered, but her constant, random questions didn’t bother him, especially asked in that sweet voice with just a hint of Southern twang softening the words. And her occasional smiles that made her face even more adorable. Although so far, her smiles had been far too infrequent. And laughs, well, he’d definitely like to hear more of those.
“Oh, I forgot,” she said suddenly after swallowing a bite of her salad. “Are you married?”
Forgot? He frowned, now truly curious about what was motivating all these questions, but he answered her, because this one he definitely wanted her to know.
“No, I’m not married.”
Another nod, and she was back to her phone. She glanced up at him, giving him another pained smile. “I’m sorry. Another email. You know how it is, always something.”
“No problem,” he said. “Although I didn’t notice your phone signaling you received one.”
Her finger paused on the touch screen.
“It’s, um, on vibrate,” she said.
He nodded, and for the first time, she seemed to realize he might not be buying her explanations. Still, it didn’t stop her.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” Her fingers paused on the touch screen as she waited for his answer. Did she really think he couldn’t tell she was taking notes?
He stared at her until she realized it had been several seconds, and he still hadn’t answered. She met his gaze, her eyebrow cocked as she waited.
“Why are you asking all these questions?”
She hesitated, then offered him a weak smile. “Just curious.”
He leaned against the booth seat, resting his arm across the back of it, regarding her for a moment. She regarded him steadily, but he could see their shared look was making her uncomfortable.
“You know,” he said, “you’d make a terrible spy.”
She looked away, her cheeks tinting to a delicate pink.
“So why are you asking all these things?” he asked again. “I’d love to believe it’s because you’re wildly attracted to me and want to know every little detail about my life, but I don’t think that’s the case. Is it?”
Her cheeks grew rosier. She blushed easily, another thing that was very cute about her. One of the many things.
“No, of course I’m not attracted to you,” she said glancing at him, but then she quickly looked back to her salad, using her fork to roll a cherry tomato around her plate.
“So you just interrogate everyone?” he asked softly, not wanting to put her on the defensive. He was good at reading people; it was part of his job. And it was easy to see that Annie Lou Riddle had a wall around her. Her guard was always up as if she didn’t feel comfortable relaxing or letting anyone see too deep into her. And he was afraid if he pushed her too much, she’d simply shut down and he wouldn’t get any information at all. He didn’t want that. In fact, he’d like to see her open up to him a lot more.
His gaze dropped to her mouth as she nibbled at her bottom lip, an action Nick found so fascinating that for a moment, he forgot he’d even asked a question.
But then she stopped worrying her lip and straightened in her seat. “I’m just trying to make small talk.”
He didn’t believe a word she said, and he didn’t think she did either, but he’d definitely give her an A for effort.
“Annie, you do realize what I do for a living, right? I’m really pretty good at reading liars.”
Instead of blushing, this time her cheeks blanched, her eyes wide with worry and indecision.
“So why all the questions?” he asked, again keeping any confrontation from his voice.
She toyed with her tomato again, then to his surprise, she caved.
“I’m finding out information for Finola.”
Finola? He shouldn’t be surprised, but he was. “Why?”
“She asked me find out more about you.” She hesitated, worrying her lip again briefly. “Because she’s interested in you.”
He’d been aware of Finola’s interest yesterday, but he was shocked that she would go to these lengths to find out more about him.
“Finola White does not strike me as the kind of woman who’d really care about things like my favorite food or what season I like best. Is this really what she wanted you to find out about me?”
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