Revealing Annie - Freya Barker Page 0,76
of your own,” she says before ending the call, proving that the Durango grapevine is alive and well.
I grab a quick shower; pull on a pair of board shorts and a shirt, and head downstairs, my heart heavy.
The first things I notice are two large stacks of books on the coffee table. I’m just about to check them out when Annie walks in from the kitchen.
“What’s all this?” I ask her, indicating the odd collection of car manuals and romance books.
“Oh, I took Bryce to the library before I dropped him off.” I look up and see the smile on her face. “We both got library cards. I’d forgotten how nice it is to have my hands on an actual book.”
I stare at her. She got a library card. Not exactly what you’d expect from someone who’s ready to pack her bags.
“Kyle? Is that okay? I hope I didn’t overstep taking him, but he seemed so—”
“No.” I clear my throat. “I’m…glad you took him.”
“Okay.”
She seems uncertain at my reaction and I’m not so sure what to think myself at this point.
“We need to talk.” She blinks those blue eyes, looking like I just slapped her. “Please,” I add, reaching for her hand and pulling her down on the couch.
“I wanted to talk to you too,” she admits. “I talked to my agent last night and I think we need to figure out where we’re at. I’m grateful you let me stay here, but—”
“Whatever you want,” I snap, dropping her hand.
Fuck. I knew it. The entire remainder of my shift Blue tried to convince me I was wrong, but this sounds like the start of a brush off.
“What is wrong with you?” she suddenly flies off the handle. “You’ve been weird for a couple of days now—moody—and I don’t know why. I feel like I’m walking on eggshells. If I did something wrong, I wish you’d just say it. Are you tired of having me around? Then tell me.” She jumps up and starts pacing as she rants. “Jesus, it’s a good thing I didn’t bring home Hunter yesterday. What a mistake that could have been.”
“Another dog? And what happens when you leave?”
She stops in her tracks and stares at me slack-mouthed.
“When I leave?” She grabs handfuls of her hair and growls. “You know you could’ve just told me I’ve outstayed my welcome, and I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of getting my agent to send all my stuff here.”
Wait. What?
I get to my feet and hold my hands up.
“Hold on. What did you talk to your agent about?”
She rolls her eyes and lets out a harsh breath. “I have some things that have sentimental value in storage I asked him to send here. He’s not happy, but he knows I’m not coming back.”
“You’re not?”
She looks stunned as she drops back on the couch, looking at me like I’ve gone mad. Maybe I have.
“Kyle,” she says, and it sounds like she’s mustering up all the patience she can find. “Why don’t we take this from the top, because right now I feel like we’re speaking different languages.”
I hate to admit it, but I get the sneaky suspicion Blue may have had a point. I sit down on the coffee table across from her.
“A couple of days ago you mentioned handing in your notice at the bakery, right after we found out Parsons was in custody. I assumed you were getting ready to head back.”
“Are you nuts? What were you thinking?”
I guess she didn’t have a lot of patience left because her eyes are shooting angry darts at me.
“I was thinking how much it was gonna suck to watch the woman I’m in love with walk out that door,” I confess, laying it all on the table, but Annie can’t hear for the steam coming out of her ears.
“Why didn’t you ask? I wanted to hand in my notice because I don’t need the money.” She’s agitated, talking with her hands. “I took that job because it allowed me to do what I enjoy, but I figured I could just as easily bake here, for you guys. I don’t need the bakery for that. I’m at a loss how you translated that into me leaving…” All of a sudden her face goes slack and her wide eyes come to me. “You’re in love with me?”
I grin and shake my head as I lower it.
“You’re gonna make me repeat it, aren’t you?”
“Well, yeah. I wanna make sure I heard it correctly. Unless,