Deadly Deception - By Andrea Johnson Beck Page 0,5

don’t know how to explain it. I mean, at first he came off as really arrogant.”

“Men!” Casey quickly interjected.

“But when he said Anneliese, I swear my legs went numb and all the blood drained from my head.” Anne placed the palm of her hands on her cheeks, feeling the flush engulf them.

“Wow, maybe it’s love at first sight,” Casey said. “Why don’t you have him give you a ride home?”

“Why? I drove here.”

“Really, Anne? Lie and say we brought you here. We’ll pick up your car tomorrow, unless you’ll be too exhausted to go anywhere.”

“No! That is way too desperate!” She hissed.

“You need desperate. When was the last time you went out on a date?”

Anne actually had to think about that. It had been months.

“I’ve been busy and besides, I wouldn’t constitute sitting at a bar with a complete stranger for an hour as a date.”

“You better come into the twenty-first century. Trust me – he’s into you.”

“I’m doomed.” Amused, she rested her head on Casey’s shoulder.

“He’s looked over here at least a dozen times so head back over there and just go with it. Stop over-analyzing everything, even though that’s your job,” Casey whispered.

“I’ll try.”

They hugged and exchanged kisses on the cheek. She walked back to Carter, who was coolly leaning against the bar, flashing those irresistible dimples.

“Did you blame me for your absence at the party?” he asked.

“Absolutely! I threw you right under the bus.” She smiled, feeling her body flush with heat once again.

“I really should get home. It’s late.”

She felt awkward and out of practice.

“Would you like to meet for coffee in about—,” he paused to look at his watch, “eight hours? I didn’t get all my twenty questions in.”

Anne laughed, exposing her edginess.

“Sure. Where?”

“How about my place?” A fiendish look graced his face.

“Presumptuous much?”

Her pulse quickened, almost certain he was able to hear the rush of blood course through her veins.

“Not at all Miss Dirty Mind, I’ll pick you up and bring you back to my house and cook you an amazing breakfast. I’ll even give you my social security number and date of birth so in the meantime you can run a background check on me.”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

Smiling, Anne pulled out one of her business cards and wrote her address on the back of it. Carter did the same. They swapped the cards and walked to the front entrance, stepping out into the sultry summer night air.

“Are you parked close by?” Carter asked, looking up and down Eighth Street.

“Just a few cars up the way.”

“Let me walk you.”

Their arms brushed against each other. Anne bit down on her lip, stifling a school girl giggle. A pang of disappointment hit her when they reached her car.

“Thank you for the escort. It was wonderful meeting you.”

She backed up, feeling the metal push against her spine. Carter curved down just inches from her ear. She could feel his hot breath run down her neck, giving her goose bumps.

“Good night, my Anneliese.”

Then he placed his chaste lips on hers. Casey was right; it was indeed love at first sight.

***

Anne was biting down on her bottom lip as she exited the bittersweet memory. She slowly pulled into the sea of cars that stretched the length of a football field. In big bold letters, the sign on the front of the three-story ancient brick building read LEEDS IMPORTS.

She pulled into Carter’s old spot that sat between his mother’s Cadillac and his father’s Mercedes. Anne grabbed her purse and the envelope and walked toward the front entrance of the building and opened the heavy tempered glass door. Standing before her in the metallic and enamel reception area was Carter’s mother.

“Hello, Anne.”

CHAPTER 3

Once upon a time Carter’s mother was vivacious. She had exuberated youth and radiance; now, she had a delicate frailty about her. She had beautiful thick black hair that fell right over collarbone, skin that was flawless and a figure that was 1950s sexy. Now, Rita Leeds had aged roughly twenty years in a short three. Losing her only son had dismantled her existence.

Her dry, brittle hair had succumbed to streaks of white and her skin told tales of sorrow in the lines and wrinkles that engulfed her sunken face. Rita was skeletal in Anne’s embrace.

“You sounded so urgent on the phone. What’s going on?”

Rita’s lackluster eyes stared at Anne. They were trying to figure out the necessity of this meeting. She hadn’t seen Anne in months.

“Can we go someplace private?” Anne looked around the reception area, knowing