Undercover Fiancee. Rebecca Winters
she liked it or not, she was part of that perspective.
At the thought, a sly smile broke out on his face and stayed there all the way to the old mining town of Park City which had been turned into a playground for the rich and famous.
The place seemed crowded, even for a weekday. Two blocks up the main street and he spied her BMW parked between two vans in front of the Dairy Freeze.
Rand rode around the corner and found a spot for his cycle. Wedging his helmet under his arm, he strode across the street. The local hamburger stand appeared to be a favorite retreat for teenagers.
After a cursory glance, he found her in the last booth and took the seat opposite her. “I ordered for both of us when I first came in,” she announced. “Two bacon deluxes, French fries and a chocolate malt. I hope that’s what you wanted.”
“I’m glad to see you still remember.”
Her head was bowed. “Rand? Shall we talk about your case? The only reason we’re together now is to try and figure out who is sabotaging your company and stop them. I know how much your company means to you, because of your dad.”
“You’re right. We were a very tight team. When he suffered that fatal embolism two years ago, I felt like I’d lost my best friend.”
He noticed she wasn’t saying anything. Good. He had her full attention.
“One of the reasons I wanted you to work with me on this case is because you understand things no one else does.” The waitress chose that moment to bring their food. “We connected on a very basic level from the first moment you arrived at the building to find that bomb.”
She took a long sip of the cola she’d ordered, then raised her head. “I think it would better to leave the past alone. By the way, while I was sitting here, I remembered some important business I have to do downtown. Why don’t you stay where you are and finish your lunch in peace.
“Since I assume you know my address, let’s plan to meet back at my house in an hour. We’ll discuss your case there. How does that sound?”
“An hour it is.”
Rand fought to contain his excitement. He’d purposely brought up the past to satisfy a hunch that she still had feelings for him. Judging by her behavior, the past was too painful for her to get into. That was all he needed to know.
As she started to walk away with her hamburger in hand, she paused to say, “When you’ve finished your meal, have a fun ride down the canyon, but a word of warning. Every trucker in America knows Parley’s is a death trap. In case you lose your brakes, there’s a road for runaway vehicles about halfway back on your left.”
He practically fell out of the booth. “Thanks for the inside information, sweetheart.”
“Since I read about the expansion of your company in Today’s Fortune, and found out you’re worth another ten million dollars since the last time I saw you, I realize you’re the wealthiest client I’ve ever worked for. I wouldn’t want to lose you now. I need a good bonus so I can take my trip to Florida next January.”
So that’s where she’d gone.
“By the way. Lunch is on LFK. Enjoy.”
I’m going to enjoy it all right. And then I’m going to enjoy something else even more.
In fact her mouth was about all he could think about as he roared out of Park City a half hour later. Catching the culprit responsible for the mayhem on his support lines might take weeks. Anything could happen while he fought to win Annabelle’s love all over again.
If his cycle had wings, he’d be flying about now because in a little while he’d be alone with her in the house she’d grown up in.
He’d driven past it yesterday, but he’d never been inside. Before he could take the time to visit Salt Lake with her, their engagement had ended in disaster. But that was history.
Rand realized he’d been given a second chance to make things work between them. As far as he was concerned, that meant being with her day and night, for as long as it took. After a year’s deprivation, he found her more beautiful, more desirable than ever.
Being with her made him feel like a much younger man in the throes of first love where anything and everything was possible.
He would never let her go again...
Once back in the city, Annabelle stopped at the police station to finish up some paperwork. With that accomplished she headed home, willing her heart to stop hammering because Rand would be meeting her there shortly. But where he was concerned she discovered she couldn’t dictate the state of her emotions.
As she turned onto her street, she could hear the bleeping of her house siren rending the air. Rand must have beaten her home and had started poking around her property.
She grinned, wishing she could have seen the look on his face when he triggered the alarm.
The siren was set to go off if someone stepped on either her front or back porch, or approached any windows. Roman had rigged her home with a dozen different devices so she’d feel safe. It shut off after thirty seconds, just long enough for everyone to look out their windows and see what was going on.
By now the neighbors were used to it, and her friends had learned to call first before dropping in. But it always gave any delivery people, or even the Girl Scouts selling cookies a good scare. That made her feel bad, but since she lived alone, she didn’t feel she had a choice but to protect herself.
The best part though was the first time Gerard had sneaked around her house at night unannounced, and it had gone off. After he’d recovered, he’d told her she’d better take out another insurance policy. The chances of a person suing her for giving them a heart attack were much greater than if they had slipped and fallen on the ice on her property.
He had a point, but she’d been putting it off.
As she pulled into her driveway she caught sight of Rand leaning against the brick wall at the back of the house, his arms folded.
When she got off her bike, she had to gaze a long way up to see his face. He’d never fit her image of a computer wizard, the nerdy kind of character in school who was painfully thin and wore glasses.
Rand’s big strong body, good looks and black curly hair put him in a class all by himself. He was her idea of male perfection. No other man came close.
CHAPTER THREE
NOW that she had arrived, Rand was trying not to laugh, but it was hard. The siren had caught him off guard and he’d let go with a belly laugh. He couldn’t remember laughing like that since before he and Annabelle had broken up.
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