Undercover Protector. Cassie Miles

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      Chapter Three

      The palm of Annie’s hand stung from slapping the grin off Michael’s face. He reacted immediately. His jaw tightened. His fists clenched. She could tell that his instinct was to slap back, but he held himself in check.

      She should have exercised the same degree of restraint.

      “I was wrong to hit you,” she said. Physical violence never solved anything.

      “Is that an apology?” His voice was cold.

      “I’m sorry.”

      But she didn’t turn tail and run. Though he hadn’t physically lashed out at her, Michael and her grandfather had been bullying her emotionally, forcing her into positions that were more and more untenable.

      He’d grabbed her and kissed her without permission. Though the aftershocks of that incredible kiss still trembled through her body, he’d had no right.

      Annie straightened her backbone. Like an athlete who had strained a muscle, she tried to shake off the lingering effects of Michael’s kiss. She had to regain control of the situation.

      “I want both of you to listen carefully. I’m sick and tired of having things sprung on me.” She frowned at her grandpa. “Lionel, you should have told me ahead of time that Michael was going to stay with us and help out. For that matter, you should have told me you’d kept in touch.”

      “You’re right, honey.” He yawned again. Now that the excitement was over, he was ready to go back to sleep.

      She dared to look at Michael. His eyes were hot. His lips invited her. It took all her willpower to confront him. “You had no right to kiss me. And claiming to be my fiancé? It wasn’t fair.”

      “Agreed,” Michael said.

      “I want no more lies. No more games. This phony engagement thing will be the last decision either of you will make without consulting me first. Is that clear?”

      Michael nodded. “You’re the boss.”

      “Good.” If she could get her body to stop yearning toward him, everything would be fine.

      She went to her grandpa’s bed and fussed with his covers while she scolded, “You need more sleep, Grandpa, because I’m going to wake you at eight tomorrow morning. Your physical therapist is scheduled for ten o’clock, and you need to bathe before he gets here.”

      “There’s one more thing.” He pointed to the bedside table. “Open that drawer and reach way in the back. There’s a cigar box.”

      Now what? She removed the battered rectangular box of heavy cardboard decorated with a garish picture of a Spanish señorita with red flowers in her impossibly thick, curly black hair.

      “Open it,” Lionel said.

      She eyed him suspiciously, half expecting an explosion of confetti when she lifted the lid. “If this is some kind of joke, I will not be amused.”

      “Just open the box, girl.”

      Inside, resting atop a clutter of buttons and lapel pins, Annie found a three-by-four-inch sepia photograph of a smiling woman with pale eyes and long, light-colored hair swept back from her forehead in a style popular in the 1940s. She was Annie’s grandmother, Elizabeth Callahan.

      “The engagement ring is in there,” Lionel said.

      Gingerly Annie picked up a little velvet-covered box. “Grandpa, you don’t have to give me this.”

      “Nonsense,” he said. “I buried Elizabeth with her wedding band twenty-three years ago, but I kept this little diamond for you, Annie. I always thought you might like it.”

      Annie snapped open the box. A small bright diamond winked at her from its ornate setting of tiny, twining wild roses. “It’s beautiful.”

      “You remind me of her. Sometimes when I look at you, I see Elizabeth.” He cleared his throat. “You were only seven when she died, but do you remember her at all?”

      “Her laughter.” Mostly she recalled stories other people had told her about Elizabeth, but one memory belonged to Annie alone. “She took me fishing on the river in a rowboat. We didn’t catch anything, but we laughed all afternoon.”

      “That woman had one hell of a sense СКАЧАТЬ