Stonehill series collect.., p.57
Stonehill Series Collection, page 57
“I wish you’d met him a long time ago.”
Annie took a few sheets of packing paper and started wrapping up Mallory’s collectables. “I wouldn’t have given him a chance a long time ago.”
“Why?”
“Because I was focused on you.”
Mallory stopped wrapping a ceramic pony and frowned at her mother.
“Don’t look at me like that. I was happy with my life then. I’m happy with my life now,” she quickly corrected.
“Are you?”
“Yes.”
Silence fell between them as they focused on emptying the shelf of sculpted plastic comic book heroes. “I always felt guilty. Like you didn’t date because of me.”
“I did date, Mallory.”
“No, you didn’t.”
Annie put her hand on her hip and tilted her head. “Just because I didn’t rotate father figures in and out of your life didn’t mean I wasn’t dating. I never was with anyone long enough to introduce you, but I did date.”
“When?”
“Plenty of those sleepovers with your uncles were nights out for Mom. I just wasn’t going to tell my kid that. Look, I may not be one to cling to men or jump in and out of relationships, but I haven’t exactly been sitting on a shelf for the last twenty years, Mallory.”
She frowned. “How did I not know this?”
“Because associating your parents with dating is creepy? Did you see how Toby and Sean were cringing the first time they came to a family dinner with Paul and Dianna? Every time Paul put his arm around Di, they both looked like they were going to be sick. Parents and sex don’t commingle in kids’ minds. Besides, I’ve never been serious enough about anyone to include them in our family.”
“Until Marcus.”
“Well, the two of you aren’t giving me much choice, are you?”
“That’s the plan.” She smiled and added another wrapped breakable to the box. “I just need to know that you’re taken care of so I can enjoy California.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Not as well as I can. Or Marcus can.”
Annie frowned as she tucked a strand of hair behind Mallory’s ear. “Who is going to come over and eat all my ice cream on her lunch break, hmm?”
“I can probably find someone. I’ll ask my friends to take turns raiding your fridge while you aren’t home. Meg thinks you’re awesome. I’ll have her drop in unexpectedly so it feels like I’m still here.”
She smiled. “Do you remember your fourteenth birthday party?”
Mallory moaned and pulled away from her mother. “Don’t.”
“You and six of your closest friends camped out stuffing every piece of junk food you could find down your throats. Then Amber got sick. Which made you sick.”
“Mom.”
“Before it was all said and done, each and every one of you had vomited. Uncle Matt had to come over and hose off the back porch because I couldn’t stomach it.”
“Why are you bringing this up?”
“Because, honey, I don’t want your friends coming to my house to eat junk food. They throw up.”
Mallory laughed before hugging Annie. Leaning back, Annie frowned as her heart grew heavy.
“Marcus is about to start his new job. I don’t know when we can come out, but I bet he’ll work it out somehow. He wouldn’t miss a chance to come see you.”
“Or to be with you. I hope you give him a chance, Mom. A real chance. He’s earned it.”
“Maybe if we run off to elope, we’ll do it in San Diego.”
Mallory’s face split into a huge smile. “That would be awesome.”
“I was kidding.”
“I’m telling him you said that.”
Annie grabbed Mallory’s cell phone before she could and held it out of her daughter’s reach. “I don’t care if you are about to move, Mallory Jane, I will ground you.”
Marcus looked at Matt with a frown. “All this is supposed to fit in Annie’s guest room?”
“Annie said to leave the living and dining room furniture. She’s going to help Mal buy new when you guys take her stuff out.”
Marcus’s chest puffed a bit at Matt’s comment. For the first time ever, Annie had asked for his help instead of her brothers’. She said she’d understand if he couldn’t take the time from work to drive to California with her. She said she could always get Matt or Paul to help. She said she’d hire movers if she had to. But Marcus was having none of that. He didn’t care if he had to quit his new job and find another when they returned. He was not letting this opportunity to step up for Annie and Mallory pass him by.
He was even excited about the idea of moving her stuff into an apartment, helping her unpack, and the possibility of carrying a new couch up however many flights of stairs it might be. Wasn’t that what parents did? Moved their kids wherever their new lives were starting?
Matt chuckled and patted him on the back. “Come on. Let’s get started. I’d rather not spend my entire Friday night moving boxes.”
“We’re going to have to make several trips to get all this stuff out of here.”
“I hope Annie holds up her end of the bargain. I’m starving.”
“She was pattying up the burgers when I left.”
Matt glanced at him. “When you left?”
Marcus grabbed a box and grunted at the unexpected heft of it. “Her place is closer than mine. I swung by and changed after work. Moving boxes in khakis didn’t seem like a good idea.”
“You could have changed here. Or at the office.”
Marcus ignored the logic of Matt’s comment.
“Donna says you two are official now?”
Marcus put the box in the back of Matt’s truck. “Yup. That okay?”
“Not my business.”
He laughed. “If there is one thing I’ve learned about your family, it’s that everybody’s business is everybody’s business. You O’Connell siblings don’t know how to keep your noses to yourselves.”
“Learned it from Annie.”
“No doubt.” They headed inside to get more boxes. “Yes. We’re official.”
“Does Annie know that?”
“Yes, she knows that. I practically had to beat her over the head with it, but she’s finally accepted that we’re dating.”
Matt shook his head. “You are a brave man.”
“She’s not nearly as scary as she tries to be.”
“I don’t mean her. I mean Paul and me.” He stopped with two stacked boxes in his arms. “We both trust you. We think you’re good for her. But if you hurt our sister, they won’t find your body.”
“I would expect no less.”
They managed to empty most of Mallory’s belongings from the house in two trips. Everything else, she was taking with her in her car or Annie was leaving in the house to rent as partially furnished.
Exhausted, Matt and Marcus sat at the table with Annie and Mallory, who had put together the promised moving fee of burgers, homemade potato salad, and beer.
“You all set, kiddo?” Matt asked his niece.
“I think so.”
Marcus piled two tomatoes on top of his burger. “When do you leave?”
“I was planning to leave tomorrow morning, but we decided to have a big dinner to welcome Paul and Dianna home.”
“They’ll want to see you before you go,” Matt said.
Annie looked at Marcus as she grabbed a bottle of pickles. “Donna is making reservations somewhere. She said she’ll let us know when and where. I let her know it had to be after seven since we have an open house.”
“My last one,” Marcus said with exaggerated disappointment.
“Doubtful,” Annie commented. “I’m sure you’ll be keeping me company at plenty of those things in the future.”
“But I won’t be working them.”
She snorted. “If you think quitting your job means I’m not putting you to work, you are in for a rude awakening.”
“I know all about how to stage an open house, and I’m not even a real estate agent,” Matt said. “You can’t escape.”
“If you aren’t at open houses, you’ll be mowing lawns,” Mallory said.
“That’s not necessarily true.” Annie held her burger inches from her mouth. “I’ve finally found a decent landscaper.”
“Who found a decent landscaper?” Marcus asked.
She playfully narrowed her eyes at him. “My knight in rusted armor found a company who actually knows how to follow a schedule without being harassed to do their job. I just keep them up-to-date on the places that need care, and they do it. It is amazing.”
Marcus creased his brow as he looked at her over his sandwich. “Rusted armor? Tarnished, maybe. But rusted?”
She grinned. “Trust me. It’s rusted.”
“You are so mean to me.”
“You obviously like it.”
He winked at her. “You have no idea.”
“Are you staying at the house tomorrow night, or do you want to stay here?” Annie asked, returning her focus to Mallory.
“I had thought about staying here, but maybe you two would rather I didn’t.”
Marcus chuckled, and Annie cut her gaze in his direction.
“Of course you’re welcome to stay here,” Annie said. “I want you to. We can have breakfast before you head out.”
“Sounds good,” Mallory said.
Marcus nodded. “I’ll make the bacon, though. Your mom is terrible at making bacon.”
“Hey,” Annie chastised. “My bacon is fine.”
“If you say so.”
“Who said you were invited anyway?”
He swallowed the bite in his mouth. “Oh. I just assumed since you’ve asked me to stay here every night this week that you had no intention of ever letting me go home again.” He grinned at her as she lifted her brows, clearly stunned by his comment.
“Mom,” Mallory teased. “You ho.”
Matt laughed and shook his head. “Forget what I said, Marcus. You don’t need Paul and me threatening to kill you. Annie’s going to rip you to shreds.”
Chapter 8
“You know,” Marcus said, leaning against Annie’s office door, “considering today is my last day, you could have bought cookies or something.”
Annie smiled. She couldn’t help it. This sappy feeling was annoying as hell but completely out of her control. Every time she saw him, her cheeks warmed and her heart did that crazy flip thing.
She cleared her throat and sat back in her office chair. “I did.”
“Because you’re dragging me to an open house. Not because you are trying to show me how much you’ve appreciated my service.”
She smirked. “I’ve shown you that plenty in the last week.”
He grinned as he crossed the room. “That you have.”
“Don’t do it,” she warned as he rounded her desk.
“We’re the only two here,” he reminded her in that low tone he used in the bedroom. As always, he left her breathless.
“We’re at work.”
Leaning down, he pressed his lips to her neck and whispered, “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve wanted to take you right here in this office?”
She wanted to be shocked, but she’d had plenty of those thoughts herself. Heat rushed through her, and for a moment, she considered how much time they had before having to rush off to the open house. She couldn’t believe she’d entertained the idea, even for a moment. That wasn’t like her. He was such a bad influence on her. Even so, she smiled as he kissed just below her ear.
“You’re terrible,” she said.
“You love it.”
As he nipped at her neck, she saved the document she was working on and then turned her chair to face him. “We should go.”
“We have plenty of time.”
Putting her hand to his chest, she gently pushed him away. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet and right into his arms. She didn’t struggle. She simply wrapped her arms around his neck and let him kiss her. His tongue pressed into her mouth and a moan rumbled in his throat. Breaking the kiss, he met her gaze, and Annie’s heart swelled with the way he was looking at her.
His hands slid down her body, and she shook her head. He ignored her and lifted her onto her desk.
“Mr. Callison, this is highly inappropriate.”
He sighed. “Oh, Ms. O’Connell, I’m aware.” Stepping between her knees, he traced her lips. “If you only knew how many times I’ve wanted to do this, you’d allow me this one moment as a reward for all the times you made it out of this office unscathed.”
She giggled. “I should reward you for not seducing me sooner?”
“Yes,” he whispered and kissed her neck again. “Yes, you should.” He smiled when she gripped his hips and pulled him closer to her. “I’ve had more than my fair share of fantasies about you and this desk.”
She inhaled and slid her arms around his neck then whispered in his ear, “Me too.”
Marcus’s body instantly reacted.
“I’ll tell you sometime.”
“Now?”
She leaned back and shook her head. “Just because I’m unethical enough to have sex with my employee doesn’t mean I’m unethical enough to have sex in the office, and we both know where this little show of yours is headed if I don’t put an end to it now.”
“I love you so much,” he whispered. “But I don’t love this set of ethics you keep throwing at me.”
She ran her hand over his hair. “Thank you.”
“For kissing you?”
“For not giving up on me.”
“You keep saying that, Annie, but I’m never going to give up on you. You’re stuck with me.”
“I hope so. I probably won’t make your life easy.”
“I don’t expect you to.” He grinned as he lowered his hands and cupped her bottom. “I enjoy the challenge, and my persistence always pays off. It may have taken me years, but not only have I gotten you to admit I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to you, I finally got you to cross the lines of decency right here in your office. That has been my goal for the last five years.”
“Well”—she pressed her torso into his—“it is your last day, and I do want you to know how much I appreciate your years of service. I thought you deserved more than a store-bought cookie.”
He smiled as she threw his words back at him. “Are you absolutely certain we have to go to this open house?”
“I am. Unfortunately.”
He started to pull away, but she held on to him. “I’m going to miss having you here. You really have been an invaluable asset to me. I hate that you’re leaving.”
“Reconsider your no-sex-with-employees stance, and I’ll consider staying.”
“I’ll have you know, I’ve thought about it a time or ten this week.”
He lifted his brows, clearly surprised. “Really?”
She nodded. “Here’s the problem, though. Things are great with us now. But what if in a year or two, they aren’t so great. And I’m your boss, your roommate, and whatever other titles get thrown in there. There would be no escaping each other, and things at the office could get very ugly. I can’t allow that to happen.”
“I get that. I respect it.” He caressed her cheek. “I’m happy to move on to this new job, if you feel it’s best to keep our professional lives separate.”
“I hate losing you here, but I really do think we shouldn’t work together if we’re going to be together.”
“Then that’s how it will be.” He kissed her softly and stepped away. “Get your things and let’s go. If we stay in here alone too much longer, I’m going to have my way with you right there on the desk.”
She laughed softly. “My sweet-talking man.”
“You know it.”
She watched him leave before reaching into her desk drawer. She dug in her purse, removing her sunglasses, driver’s license, and credit card to pay for dinner. Shaking the gloom from her mind, Annie dropped her purse back in the drawer, locked it, and left to meet Marcus. He already had the cookies and a stack of papers.
She settled into the passenger seat as he drove the short distance to the house they were showing. A hint of depression hovered over her heart as they prepared for the open house with perfect synchronization that reminded her of the day they’d shared their first kiss after putting chairs away. She knew he would attend open houses with her in the future—whenever other agents weren’t available, she would ask friends to step in—but it wouldn’t be the same.
“You okay?”
She looked over to where he’d finished staging the countertop with flyers and her business cards. “Mm-hmm.”
Stepping to her, he kissed her forehead. “I’m going to miss this, too.”
She grinned. “Get out of my head.”
“I love your head.” He kissed her again and looked at his watch. “I’m going to get the sign up and the door open. It’s about time to start.”
“Hey.” She put her hand on his waist, catching him as he walked around her. She grinned slowly as he looked at her curiously. “One more inappropriate kiss before the open house closes and you’re officially out of my employ?”
He smiled and pulled her to him. “I love it when you’re naughty.” Dipping his head, he covered her mouth with his, and her toes practically curled.
The hair on the back of Annie’s neck stood up the moment the young man walked into the house. She smiled graciously even though something inside her wanted to tell him to leave. Though he was dressed nicely enough, in jeans and a button-down shirt, he wasn’t old enough to have a job that would afford him a house in this neighborhood. She wasn’t stereotyping the kid; it was simply a fact. Even with the baseball cap pulled down low, she could tell he wasn’t more than nineteen.
All the valuables in the house had been locked away before they opened the doors to the public, so he couldn’t steal anything of value, but she was concerned he might be there to case the house and come back another time. She glanced toward the kitchen, where Marcus was chatting with a couple who looked like they could actually afford a mortgage. She silently hoped to see them coming through the doors so the kid knew she wasn’t there alone, but the short hallway remained empty.
