Love Makes the Difference (Sully Point Book 1) (15 page)

She acknowledged to herself that she was worried about
Patrice. Someone so vicious as to set fire to a house was completely out of
control. It made her worry about Sam, and also about herself. Before her sister
had left the bakery, Anna had told her about Sam's concerns and Holly agreed
that bodyguards might be in order. Holly was headed back to the city and her
job, but Anna could tell she wanted to stay in Sully Point to see how things went.

"Remember you can call me anytime," Holly said as
she gathered up her purse and keys. "Anytime about anything. I want to
hear what's going on with you. And Anna--I think he does care about you, a lot.
For what it's worth."

Anna hugged her sister good-bye and watched her drive off.
Holly had mentioned getting some kind of apron that could be worn over the
jeans and t-shirt outfits. Anna wasn't optimistic about the idea. She'd called Kayla
to tell her to wear a white shirt with jeans to work.

She looked out the window of the bakery around noon to see
her car driven to the curb by a guy she didn't know. Sam pulled in right behind
it, in a new red SUV. He jumped out of the vehicle and came into the bakery
with the other man.

"Anna this is Joe from the car place. Got me a great
deal on the SUV."

Joe seemedstunned. "First time I ever had someone pay
in full with a credit card."

Anna arched an eyebrow at Sam. "It was convenient,"
he said.

"Thanks for bringing my car back, Joe. Can I get you
something?"

"Uh, sure. One of those muffins."

She got Joe situated at one of the tables with a coffee and
muffin, and went back to the counter to talk to Sam.

"Okay, I agree about the bodyguards. We both should
have them."

"Good, because Norm is arranging it. He's also got a private
investigator on board, an ex-policeman, to track her down. Oh and Stanley is
going to call you about the paintings."

A frisson ran through her at the thought of the gallery
owner coming here. Excitement, fear and just plain nerves were all combined
inside her.  

Sam took her hand in his, running his thumb over her palm. "I've
decided to have a press conference and go public about my real name. I hope it's
not too big a deal. Is there any way you could go with me for the afternoon?
You don't have to be on camera or anything. I'd just like you to be there. I
need to take care of this before Patrice springs it on the press in a negative
way."

Anna thought it probably would be a big deal, simply because
his series was a huge bestseller, and because of the movie tie-ins. "Of
course I'll go. Kayla should be in here any minute now. Then I'm free for the
day."

He smiled at her and raised her hand to his lips to kiss it
softly. The bell clanged on the door as it opened with customers and he let go
of her hand with a mischievous look. "We could always give people more to
talk about."

"No way! Go sit with your friend there."

He grinned at her and walked over to sit with Joe, while
three people waiting to be served all watched curiously. As all three were
women who were watching Sam, Anna had to ask a couple of times what they wanted
before getting a response.

They left and Kayla showed up. Anna called Frank to let him
know she'd be out of town for the afternoon. "And Dad, Sam and I will be
over later to get some of my clothes and stuff to move into the loft. It looks
great. Thank you so much."

Frank said, "I heard he's living there since his house
burned down."

"Yes, that's true."

"All right, Anna. You know what's best for you."

"Keep an eye out for Patrice, Dad. We don't know what
she might do next."

"Will do. And you two, be careful."

* * * *

The ride into the city with Anna had been the best part of
the afternoon, Sam thought. Holding her hand, talking about everything under
the sun, finding music they liked on the radio.

The press conference, on the other hand, had been more trying
than he'd expected. It was  crazy to him how reporters could twist something
innocent into something nefarious. The other bad thing was that someone had
gotten a photo of Anna with him as they left the building. He'd wanted to keep
her out of it. He should have realized having her go with him was a bad idea.

They were at his apartment in New York to pick up clothes
and other necessities that had been burned up in the fire. Anna stood facing him,
hands on her hips. "Sam Carter, what are you so glum about?"

"You know, the press conference--they got a picture of
us. I know that you're more introverted than I am--"

"Hold on a minute. I've never really been an introvert.
I just always preferred to live in a world of my own making. It's not that I
don't like being around people so much as I'm not all that used to it. As far
as the picture being taken, well, that was bound to happen eventually. And I
thought your press conference went pretty well overall. Most of them seemed interested,
plus you sounded very sincere when you talked about wanting to be honest with
your readers."

He was a bit taken aback. "I was being sincere about
that."

"I know that...sweetie."

"Did you just call me sweetie?"

"I think I did, yes."

"It sounded kind of strange."

"Yes, it did."

They laughed together, and Sam felt his world right itself
around him once more. She was right, it hadn't been too bad. He continued
packing a large suitcase. When the doorbell rang he noticed that they both
tensed up.

"Patrice?" Anna asked.

He shrugged. "One way to find out."

"Don't open it if it's her."

"Yeah."

But it turned out to be Norm. "Aha! Thought you could
get away without introducing me to this lovely young woman. You were in and out
of that press conference before I could do more than introduce you to the crowd
of hungry wolves."

"Norm how did you know where we were?"

"I pay your doorman to let me know when you arrive from
out of town."

Sam shook his head. "Anna, meet Norman Crawford, Norm
this is Anna Grainger."

They shook hands and Anna smiled at Norman. Energy seemed to
roll off him in waves.

"Got your bodyguards all set up. They should be
arriving here any minute. They'll take you back to Sully Point and stay there.
It's all arranged."

"They'll take us back? I drove the new SUV down here.
Surely I can drive it back."

"Put in the parking garage. These guys have special
armor in the doors of their vehicles and bulletproof glass."

"Holy hell, Norm. Just who do you think is going to be
attacking us? It's only Patrice."

"Ah, but did you know that Patrice has a license to
carry a gun?"

"What?" Both Anna and Sam said together.

"Yep, the P.I. already found that out. I know you hate
all this protection stuff, but you have to do it. This is not a stable woman.
So far we haven't been able to locate her. So I can't tell you that Sully Point
is safe."

Sam gazed into Anna's concerned eyes. "I guess we have
to. I won't risk you getting hurt."

"And neither will I risk you," she replied with
determination.

"That's settled then," Norm said with
satisfaction. "I already had five calls to set up interviews for you since
the press conference. I told them you were writing the next novel and couldn't
do interviews yet. At some point, when this one is finished, you'll need to do
some."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks Norm, for everything."

"No problem. It's why you pay me the big bucks."

"Won't the protection guys stand out in Sully Point?"
Anna asked.

"Yes, which is the point," Norm said. "Hopefully
it will scare away anyone, including Patrice, from trying anything."

"I only wish we knew where she was," Sam said,
feeling more worried than he had before learning she had a gun.

Norm looked satisfied. "Probably gnawing on her liver
over the fact that we've preempted her first line of attack by going public
about your pen name. Now she can't use that to threaten you with, although it
does narrow her options--which isn't so good."

Sam headed for the bedroom with the other two following him.
"I'm going to finish packing. Is there anything else I need to know?"

"The studio called. They want to option the next book
in the series so they can start work immediately after the next movie comes
out."

"As long as we use the same screenplay writer. Nobody
else. He and I work well together. You know all the other stuff I want in the
contract."

"Yes, I'll get it done."

Sam closed the suitcase. "I think we're ready to go.
Can you think of anything else Anna?"

"Do you have another computer here that we could take
with us?"

"Only my old desktop and I prefer to write on a laptop.
We can stop at a computer store on the way out of the city. Let's head on out."

Norm stopped them. "One last thing--did you think to
tell your family you would be doing this press conference today? Or are they
going to hear the news from the entertainment channel tonight?"

"Ah, damn. I knew I was forgetting something. Okay, I'll
call Mom and Dad on the way back to Sully Point."

"All right. You guys be safe, and I mean that very
literally," Norm said, practically bouncing on his feet as they followed
him out the door. "I'll hold down the fort here."

 "We'll probably be seeing you sooner than you think,
Norm," Sam said with a smile at Anna. "Stanley will be coming up soon
to see Anna's paintings."

"She's that good?" Norm asked bluntly.

"Yes, she is exactly that good."

Anna started to talk but Norm jumped in. "In that case,
Anna, you may need an agent."

Sam laughed. "Let's let Stanley look at them first,
before you start talking commission fees."

"Okay, okay, just think about it Anna."

"I doubt I'll need an agent."

"You never know," Norm suggested. "Most
people need an agent, if they only knew."

They opened the front doors of the building and went through
to see the row of black SUVs lined up.

"Good grief, Norm. Do we really need all these?"

"For now, yes, you do. They have backup people and they'll
work in shifts. I've already arranged their accommodations--some place called
Sully Point Lodge, which I think is just a basic motel."

"Oh dear." Anne said ruefully. "That's Maelynne's
place. It will be all over town that these men are staying there."

"We need a cover story," Sam said thoughtfully.

"The movies. Maelynne is already half convinced that
you're making a movie. We just encourage that idea a bit. These guys being associated
with that enterprise. Besides she'll see the announcement you made at the press
conference on TV tonight. It will make sense to her that you're making another
movie...which you actually are doing. We only need to keep secret that they are
security for us--wouldn't do for that to get out."

Sam said, "I like it."

Norm had been looking from one to the other of them. "Who
the hell is Maelynne?"

* * * *

Anna sat next to Sam in the back seat of the SUV, his arm
slung around her shoulders. Her seat belt didn't prevent her from leaning in
against his side, while he talked on the phone to his parents. She wasn't
really paying attention to what he said, until her name came up.

"I want you to meet Anna, Mom. She's a wonderful
painter and a great person...I know I've never brought any girlfriends home.
There's a reason for that. I was never actually in love with any of them."

By now, Anna was sitting up straight in her seat and turned
to look at him incredulously. Sam noticed, and said hastily into the phone, "Um,
anyway that's going to take a while to arrange, probably not until after the
novel is done. I need to go now, but I'll call back when I can."

He ended the call after good-byes were said to both parents.
Anna felt dazed. "What--what are you doing? You told them you were in love
with me?" she squeaked out.

"It's the truth," he said gently. "I'm
assuming from your reaction that it bothers you."

"I just thought--maybe--you could fall out of love with
me, you know?"

He reached out for her and snuggled her back up against him.
"No, I don't think that will ever happen. You're stuck with me, if you
want me."

It was quiet while Anna thought about what he'd said. She
felt like she didn't know how to react to his statements of love. She had no
experience at this! About the time she noticed him tensing up next to her, he
spoke again.

"That is...you do want me...right?"

"Yes, I do. Crazy as it seems to me that all this is
happening, I do."

He let out a breath he'd been holding. "Okay that's
good."

"We're pulling into town. We should direct them to
Maelynne's."

Anna gave the men in the front seats directions. When she
turned back to Sam she found he'd put on very expensive-looking sunglasses. "Ah,
the movie producer look."

"You know, that's not really a lie."

"What?"

"I am a movie producer. I'm one of the producers on
most of my films these days. Gives me more control."

Anna sat there feeling surprised once more. Finally, she
said, "I have no comment to make to that statement. Absolutely none."

He laughed.

* * * *

Sam listened as Anna explained to Maelynne that her new
customers were with a movie Sam would be producing. He tried to stand there
looking suave and somehow understated but flashy in his jeans.

"Well now, aren't they all big strong men,"
Maelynne said as she looked at the half-circle of men standing around them. "You
don't have to worry a bit, Mr. Carter, I have rooms for all of them and I'll
take real good care of them." She turned to look at the men again. "You
folks like a big breakfast in the morning? That's included, you know, in the
price."