Everyone thought Mr. Smith was an affable guy, too…until he opened fire on your parents.
I shove the thought aside and get into my car in the underground garage across the street. The one in the OWM building was unavailable when I arrived. Something about a minor incident in the garage, although I don’t know exactly what happened. There hadn’t been any time for gossip before Jana dropped an Everest-sized pile of papers on my desk and told me to go over every single one of them for information about potentially lucrative leveraged buyouts.
When I arrive home, I dump my purse and crumple onto the couch.
“That bad?” Elliot teases.
“Ugh,” I moan. “My god. I didn’t know a firm like OWM could generate so much paperwork. I thought only lawyers did that.”
He laughs and arranges us so I’m lying with my head in his lap. He undoes my ponytail, fanning my hair over the soft fabric of his camouflage shorts. The bright green shirt he wears is loose, but can’t hide the impressive breadth of his powerful shoulders.
And just like that, all my fears disappear.
He is perfect, inside and out. And he’s mine through the love we have for each other.
I look up at him with a slightly bemused smile. Reaching up, I brush the tip of my index finger over his chin.
He catches my finger and kisses it. “What are you thinking?”
“That I’m lucky to have you. We don’t travel in the same social circles. We should have never run into each other.”
“It’s not luck, it’s fate. I was meant to run into you, and you were meant to be mine.”
“For a logical man, that’s awfully whimsical.”
His eyes darken, and he lowers his head
. “A better word would be ‘grateful.’”
My breath catches, and I tilt my face, my body warming with anticipation. But before our lips can touch, Nonny bursts out of her bedroom. “Anna, can I have a twenty?”
Elliot straightens with a sigh. “Your sister has shitty timing,” he mutters. “I’m getting her a credit card.”
“Don’t even think about it.” I give him a stern look, then turn to Nonny. “What happened to all your money?”
She shifts her weight from side to side, not quite meeting my eyes. “I…bought some candy bars.”
Elliot gapes at her. “Were they wrapped in gold?”
I have to agree. Her allowance is exceptionally generous, especially given that Elliot pays for her clothes, food, all school-related activities and so on.
“Some junior high school kids came up to sell stuff… You know, for a fundraiser? So I bought, um, three boxes.”
“Good god.” Elliot shakes his head. “You’re going to get diabetes.”
I lay a hand on his thigh. I know why she did it. She used to have to sell stuff too, and she was always the worst salesperson in the class. “All right. Bring me my purse.”
She does. I fish out my wallet and pull out a twenty. A card slips out of one of the pockets and falls on the floor.
Nonny takes the money. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it, but next time buy one bar, not three boxes.”
“Okay. Sorry.”
Before I can grab the card, Elliot reaches down and picks it up. His face pales when he reads what’s on it. He glances at me sharply, then turns to Nonny. “Do you mind giving us a few minutes?”
Her quizzical gaze darts between us. “Um…sure.” She walks off to her room, watching us over her shoulder the entire way.