head. You have all the qualities I’ve been looking for in a wife, but you’re right. There’s no zing.”
It took her a few seconds to realize what he was saying. “So you’re okay with me breaking up with you?”
“Okay? Annie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh, but this is just so ironic. I’ve been trying to get you to break up with me for over a year now.”
She reared back. “What?”
“I tried to make myself as disagreeable as possible. I thought for sure you’d get tired of me canceling dates and putting my job first. But nothing I did seemed to matter.”
“Let me get this straight. You don’t want to marry me?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m sorry, but I don’t.”
“And you don’t want to date anymore?”
“What would be the point?”
“Why didn’t you tell me this months ago?”
“Everyone in town knows we’ve been dating for three years now. If I was the one to break up the relationship, then …” He left that dangling in the air.
Ah. She got it now. “It would be like the Unfortunate Incident all over again?”
He looked relieved that he didn’t have to say it out loud. “I didn’t want to be the one to put you through that kind of public humiliation. I care for you too much.”
Annie’s throat clogged up, making it hard to swallow. “Oh, Walter, that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”
“Really?” He perked up. “So that’s it? We’re broken up now? No hard feelings?”
“Yep. We’re through. Kaput. Finis. And definitely no hard feelings.”
“So, you and … Sam, did you say his name was? Are you two going to start seeing each other?”
“Oh, no, no, that isn’t going to work out.”
“Why not?”
“He lives in Texas, and I’m looking for a new job, which means I have no idea where I’ll land. Maybe in the future something might happen, but the timing is all off right now.” If she said it enough times, maybe she’d believe it.
Walter looked as if he was about to say something when Connie brought them their food, along with a refill for Walter’s iced tea. “Can I get you anything else?”
“Nope,” Annie said. “We’re pretty much perfect right here.”
Connie studied their expressions. “What’s going on? You two look as if you’re talking about something serious.”
“Walter and I just broke up. Isn’t that fabulous?”
“Oh!” The wilting relief on Connie’s face was almost comical.
Walter shrugged, but he was sporting the same goofy expression of pent-up elation that Connie wasn’t bothering to hide anymore.
Wait a minute. Connie and Walter? All this time, Annie had thought their Tuesday-night banter was just a bit of meaningless flirtation, but the way they were looking at each other … It looked like Walter wasn’t the last one to know everything, after all.
“I’ll go get the bill.” Connie glanced longingly at Walter before heading over to the cash register.
This probably wasn’t the best time to ask, but Annie had to know. “Walter, do you have a thing for Connie?”
“A thing?”
“Yeah, you know, do you like her?”
He cleared his throat, something Walter did whenever he got nervous. “Connie is a lovely person. Perhaps in the future, I’ll ask her out. When the timing is right.”
“The timing might never be right. You should go for it.”
He gave her a look.
“Oh, yeah, I get it. Pot meet kettle.”
“Exactly,” he said. “Maybe we should both go for it.”
14
Sam pulled into the ranch’s circular driveway seconds behind the limo bringing Mom and Becks home from the airport. Talk about timing. He hugged his mother, then turned to greet his sister. But her attention was strictly on the little red car he’d driven all the way from Florida. She leaned her head into the Mustang’s open window. “Sweet! Where did you get the convertible?”
“Where do you think?”
She popped her head back out. “You bought this from Annie’s car dealership?”
“That doesn’t seem like your kind of car,” Mom said.
“It’s not.” He tossed Becks the keys. “Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, and don’t say I never gave you anything.”
“For real? You’re the best!” Then her brow furrowed. “This isn’t a bribe, is it? I go to college and you get me a car?”
“That’s what Annie thought,” he said.
“Speaking of Annie …” His mother looped her arm around his. “Let’s get in the house and catch up.”
“I take it you watched Friday’s edition of Good Morning, USA?” he asked them.
“You two go ahead,” said Becks, avoiding his gaze. “I’ll just take this baby for a spin.”
“Not so fast. We need to discuss