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.She lifted her gaze upward. What arewe parked under?Marshall followed her gaze, before giving her arakish grin. Why, Doc, that s our bedroom.Annie gave him a startled look. Our? sheinquired, crossing her arms.One finely shaped browactually raised a fraction higher than the other.Was she trying to intimidate him? He met hergaze head on. Since I only have one furnishedbedroom, we ll be sharing. He winked at her, whichonly gained him a bigger scowl.Here it comes.Marshall was surprised when Annie just quietlywatched him remove her things from the back of hisjeep.As he passed her, he was sure he heard herhuff of disbelief.She was getting ready to explode. Over my dead body! she murmured closebehind him, right on his heels as he climbed thesteps leading to a landing.The door he opened took them into the spaciouskitchen.It had recently been remodeled with noexpense spared.From the granite countertops,stainless steel appliances and hardwood floor, itlooked like something straight off the cover of a62All the Right Movesdesigning magazine. That can be arranged, he said, continuing to aroom further down the hall and dropping her bag onthe floor next to his bed. Where do you want this?He held Harold s cage up as if he was holding up adisgusting carcass.Annie s gaze explored the masculine room beforefastening on his bed.There was room enough forthree or four people in it, and he couldn t helpwondering, from the look on her face, if she d everslept on a waterbed before.He placed Harold s cageon the floor next to her bag before striding to thesliding glass door.He opened it, letting in the crispfall breeze.The view of the ocean was stunning, notunlike Annie s view from her condo.One of the reasons Marshall had purchased thisparticular home was because the whole ocean side ofit was nothing but hurricane-resistance glass.Nomatter where you were in the house all you had todo to get a spectacular view of the ocean was openthe blinds.Sliding doors opened so you could stepout onto a screen enclosed deck.There was a small table tucked in the cornerwhere he placed his mail until he had a chance to gothrough it.He snatched up the accumulating pile inone hand, before stepping onto the screened-in deckoff his bedroom. Seagulls coming. Apparently, Harold didn tlike seagulls.Marshall hadn t noticed themscreeching until now, which caused him to smile ashe looked at those overhead and back to the birdinside raising his concerns.Just as he ripped openthe electric bill, Annie stepped out onto the porchwith Harold s cage in her hands.She set it down onthe glass-covered, wicker table. Seagulls, Harold repeated as if she was blind,flapping his wings in agitation. Hush, Harold, they can t get you in here.63Tory RichardsAnnie met Marshall s eyes briefly before she glancedaway, taking in the view from his porch.Marshall glanced back down at the mail he dbeen going through.He couldn t put his finger on itbut she seemed different somehow.Distant, asthough she was afraid of being in his home, orhaving second thoughts over the wisdom of it.Hecouldn t blame her.He was having second thoughts,too.He didn t usually bring work home with him.And there was no question that s what she was, ajob.Someone he was responsible for until& ? Untilwhat? They needed to decide what to do with her.All he could think of was tossing her down onhis bed and having his way with her.More than once. I need to make some phone calls, she said,cutting into his fantasy. I d like to call my secretaryto make sure she s all right, and I want to see ifElliot has returned from California early.If he has, Ican go to his place.Elliot? It was on the tip of Marshall s tongue toask Annie who he was but he reminded himself thatit was none of his business. Use the phone on the nightstand by the bed.Marshall dropped the bill in his hand on the tableand followed her.He watched quietly as Annie picked up thephone and dialed a number, but she had to leave amessage in the end.Her message to someone namedAgnes was brief and to the point, yet her tonerevealed her affection for the woman.Her voicedidn t change much when she was also forced toleave a message for Elliot, leading Marshall to drawhis own conclusion that her relationship with theman was platonic.He decided to inquire for confirmation. Elliot?Since she was too far away to reach the nightstand,he took the phone from her and placed it back in the64All the Right Movesreceiver. Elliot Lancaster, a good friend, Annie replied.He raised an inquisitive brow. The famousartist who s been in the news lately? Annie nodded. How did you come to be such good friends with thegreat Elliot Lancaster? Before Elliot became the great ElliotLancaster, Annie mocked with a flicker ofamusement in her eyes. He was the not so greatjanitor in our office complex.Before that, we went tothe same high school.We have a long historytogether, fifteen years to be exact.He only recentlyput his struggling artist days behind by selling hisfirst major piece at a local art gallery. I bet you bought it.Her mouth dropped open with surprise and hereyes widened. That s a good guess, Detective.Yes, Ibought it anonymously, of course. Help! Help! Harold screeched from the porch,the sound of his wings flapping against his cagereaching them. Call the cops!Marshall s gaze shot in that direction, his mouthturning down with irritation. Why couldn t youhave chosen a normal pet? I could see you as thefluffy kitten type. He wondered if she d take offense. Why? Because I fell in love with Harold theminute he opened his mouth in the pet store andtold me he loved me. Annie explained with a softsmile. The fluffy kitten I d been contemplating inthe next cage was pushed to the back of my mindafter that and promptly forgotten.I wrote out acheck for two hundred and seventy-five dollars anddidn t look back.Thankfully, she didn t take offense to hiscomment. Now you re stuck with him. In spite of all his irritating ways, I love him,Annie clarified. He ll grow on you.There was a teasing quality in her violet eyes65Tory Richardsthat Marshall found hard to ignore. Don t count onit. When you live alone, it s nice to have someoneto talk to. Incoming.Incoming.Incoming.Annie s eyes widened with alarm at Harold sannouncement and grabbed Marshall by the arm. That means someone is coming! she whispered,frightened.She started to get up from where she wasperched on the frame of the bed.Marshall held her back. Stay out of sight, heordered in a firm tone, his jaw tightening. I ll checkit out. He turned toward the door to leave the room. But Harold saw someone on the beach, whereare you going?He paused in the threshold and glanced back ather. There s only one entrance to this place, Annie.Unless they can fly, they re not getting in by way ofthe porch.The design was another reason he d chosen thehouse.There was more than one way of exiting theplace.And if you jumped off the deck and landed inthe sand the right way, you d be okay, but thekitchen door was the only entry with steps.He closed the bedroom door behind him andwalked quickly down the hallway to the kitchendoor [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]