Annie’s heart clenched.
God, she looks so sad and confused.
She hesitated but fought the impulse to rush back and comfort Drew. If she went back to Drew now, things would get even more confusing. She fled around the barn and to the small parking area.
“Find her?”
The voice behind her made Annie jerk and whirl around.
Martin, Drew’s employee, crossed the yard.
“Pardon me?”
Martin stopped next to her, two buckets in his hands. “Drew. Did you find her?”
“Yes, thanks,” Annie said, trying to keep her voice steady. “I found her.”
But I think I lost my mind.
She dug her nails into her palms until it hurt.
Or my heart.
“Good,” Martin said. “She really needs someone.”
Before Annie could think of something to say, he walked away.
Annie leaned against the car and stared after him. Finally, she unlocked the car, dropped into the driver’s seat, and rested her head against the steering wheel.
Oh, God. What am I going to do?
Chapter 17
Annie kept her gaze on the road, not even peering at Drew for the first twenty minutes of their two-hour trip to Fresno.
Instead of being relaxing, the silence made Drew even tenser. She looked at Annie, hoping to catch her gaze.
What’s going through her mind?
With her controlled expression and wearing the elegant slacks and blouse she had bought during their shopping trip, Annie looked like the picture of confidence.
Drew took in Annie’s white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel before she studied her face. Annie blinked more often than usual as if she was trying to process something.
It’s a mask. She’s not really calm and collected. And how could she be, after what happened yesterday.
Was this starting to become more than a practical joke for Annie too? And if she had feelings for Drew, was she ready to act on them? Drew let her hands drop into her lap and studied Annie again. She didn’t know what to think anymore. Should she try to get Annie to talk about their almost-kiss?
No.
She had promised to give Annie time, and Annie was already as taut as a bowstring. Thinking about a bowstring reminded her of their archery lesson and started an instant replay of their near-kiss again. When the silence went on for too long, she couldn’t stand it anymore and cleared her throat.
Annie glanced at her and then back at the road.
“Are you nervous?” Drew asked.
Another quick glance from Annie. She opened her mouth, and Drew could tell the customary “I’m fine” was already on the tip of her tongue, but then Annie swallowed and nodded.
“Don’t be,” Drew said. “Nothing will happen that you don’t want.” She wasn’t talking just about the Thanksgiving dinner, and she hoped Annie understood that.
Annie’s gaze flickered to her. She nodded once and refocused on traffic. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened even more.
Silence filled the car, leaving Drew to wonder once again what was going through Annie’s mind. Was Annie still thinking about that near-kiss the day before? Drew hadn’t been able to think of anything else since then. Or was Annie worried about being affectionate with Drew in front of her family?
“You did tell your parents about our plan to trick Jake, right?”
Annie scratched her nail over the steering wheel. “I—”
A car honked behind them.
“Jerk,” Drew muttered without turning around.
Annie looked in the rearview mirror and stiffened. “It’s Jake.”
Drew turned.
Behind them, much too close for Drew’s comfort, Jake waved from the driver’s seat of his black Corvette. When his gaze fell on Drew sitting next to Annie, he stared for a moment and then grinned.
“I know that smirk,” Annie mumbled. “I bet he’s not buying our charade, and he can’t wait to watch me make a fool out of myself.”
Drew clenched her fists until her nails bit into her palm. She wouldn’t allow him to humiliate Annie. “Then he’ll be sorely disappointed, because the only one looking like a fool today will be him. We’ll make sure of that.” She lifted a hand to brush back a strand of hair that had fallen into Annie’s face but stopped herself before she could do so. When she remembered that Jake was watching, she finished her movement and tucked the strand of hair behind Annie’s ear.
A moment later, Annie touched the same lock as if to unconsciously retrace the path of Drew’s fingertips. The gesture had an unexpected sensuality.
Drew wrenched her gaze away from Annie’s hand and forced her attention back to the conversation. “We can do this. We’ll find a way to convince him. Now relax and smile.” She forced a smile of her own. “You’re a woman in love, remember?”
Annie glanced from the rearview mirror to Drew. “Yes.” She paused to swallow. “I know.”
Honk-honk! The powerful engine roared; then Jake’s Corvette overtook them and disappeared in the distance.
Instead of trying to follow at his pace, Annie kept to the speed limit. The closer they got to her parents’ house, the more Annie slowed down. She didn’t seem to be in a hurry to face whatever awaited them at their destination.
Her shoulders were tenser than Drew had seen them since their first meeting in the restaurant. As the weeks had passed and their tentative friendship grew, Annie had become more relaxed around Drew. Now the wariness was back in Annie’s eyes, and her body language had lost its openness.
Drew massaged her temples.
Every minute ticked by painfully slow. Drew blew out a breath when they pulled up to a white two-story house an hour later.
Annie turned off the engine and got out of the car.
Drew grabbed the bottle of wine she had brought and followed Annie along a gravel path through a landscaped yard full of sculptures and bushes. Annie walked slowly, giving Drew ample time to admire the well-cared-for lawn and the miniature stone fountain.
Annie didn’t seem to notice her beautiful surroundings. She stared at something to the left.
When Drew followed her gaze, she realized Jake’s car was parked crosswise in front of a two-car garage.
They reached the stained-glass door, paused, and looked at each other.
Neither said a word.
At first, all Drew saw was the nervous flickering in Annie’s eyes, but then she looked deeper. Another emotion glowed in the depths of those green irises.
The way she looks at me, is that—?
Annie lowered her head, interrupting their intense eye contact.
Don’t do this to yourself, Drew Corbin.
She would only end up getting hurt if she let herself believe that Annie had deeper feelings for her. Drew looked away too. Her gaze fell onto the dog hairs on her pant legs. With her free hand, she brushed them away.
As if following a silent signal, they turned back toward the Prideauxs’ front door.
Drew’s heart pounded in her ears, and every muscle in her body stiffened as she was reminded of being introduced to her first girlfriend’s parents.
Ugh. What a disaster that was.
That dinner had been the tensest hour of her life. She had sweated over mashed potatoes while the father glared at her, the mother sniffled, and the little brother tried to quiz her about their love life.
But today would be different.
Annie said she’d let her parents in on the joke, so they won’t put you through the advanced version of the Spanish Inquisition for turning their daughter gay.
She tapped her knuckles against her thigh.
Don’t be such a coward. You can do this. For Annie. Help her finally get one over on Jake.
But Annie didn’t look so determined. Her fist lingered in front of the door as if she was about to be electrocuted when she knocked.
“You really want to go through with this?” Drew whispered. “We could still—”
“Stop asking that,” Annie hissed.
Drew took a step back and lifted her free hand. “Don’t take my head off. I just don’t want you to put unnecessary pressure on yourself.” Annie was like a champagne bottle someone had shaken.
Annie breathed deeply. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. I just ...”
“It’s okay.” Being the target of Annie’s anger was unexpectedly painful, though. “I’m pretty nervous too.”
After gnawing on her bottom lip for a few seconds, Annie nodded, blew out a breath, and straightened. “Then here we go.” She lifted her hand to knock on the door.
At the last moment, Drew thought of something. “Umm ...” She waited until Annie looked at her. “Maybe we should hold hands when we walk inside?”
A deer-caught-in-headlights look appeared on Annie’s face. Her gaze flickered between Drew’s eyes and her hand. “Of course.” She held out her hand.
Giving her an encouraging smile, Drew linked their fingers. Annie’s hand was cold and clammy. Drew longed to rub her thumb along Annie’s index finger to soothe her, but under the circumstances, it might have added to Annie’s stress, so she stopped herself.
Annie stood looking at their linked hands for a few moments.
The door swung open before Annie could knock.
Drew straightened and put on her most charming smile, wanting to give a good first impression.
What are you doing? This is just for Jake’s sake. You’re not meeting the in-laws!
Still, she wanted the day to go well for Annie, and that meant getting along with her parents.
Instead of Annie’s parents, Jake stood in the doorway, a big grin on his face. “Hey, sis. Come on in.”
Annie peered over Jake’s shoulder. “Is Dad still at his concert?”
“Yes, and Mom’s in the kitchen, wrestling with the turkey.” When Drew passed, Jake patted her on the shoulder. “Nice of Annie to bring you. I’m sorry I didn’t think of that. You shouldn’t have to spend Thanksgiving on your own.” He followed them down the hall. “Hey, how about you spending New Year’s Eve with me, Rob, and the rest of the gang? We’re planning this big party at the gym.”
Don’t be nice now, Jake. As
long as he was his usual inconsiderate self, it was easy to help Annie take revenge. But now that he was acting like a supportive friend, Drew started to feel bad about tricking him.
“We’ll hire a band,” Jake said, “and—”
“Forget it,” Annie said and tightened her grip on Drew’s hand. “She’s spending New Year’s Eve with me. I didn’t bring her out of pity. I told you Drew’s not just a friend. She’s my—”
“Yeah, yeah.” Jake waved her away. “Want me to take that?” He nodded at the bottle of wine in Drew’s hand.
Drew looked at Annie. She would let her take the lead.
“No,” Annie said. “We’ll take it to the kitchen. I want to introduce Drew to Mom anyway.”
When brother and sister fell silent, Drew let her gaze sweep through the hallway and the adjoining living room. The interior of the house was a strange mix of styles. A heavy bookcase of dark wood towered over an orange-and-purple couch, and a piano stood behind a coffee table whose legs looked like a glass sculpture.
Annie pulled her toward the kitchen by their linked hands.
Drew tried to stay relaxed, but the closer they got to the kitchen and Mrs. Prideaux, the tenser she became. Her stomach roiled despite the delicious smells wafting through the house. She pressed closer to Annie and whispered, “So far, it’s not going so well. Jake’s not listening to what you’re saying. Maybe your parents can help us convince him.”
“Um ... yeah.” Annie paused in the doorway. “About that ... I—”
“Hi, darling.” A slender woman rounded the kitchen counter and headed toward them. She ran one hand through her short blond hair, but the unruly strands withstood any attempt to smooth them.
“Hi, Mom,” Annie said. She let go of Drew’s hand to hug her mother.
Drew instantly missed the contact. She stayed back and watched.
The embrace between mother and daughter seemed friendly, but it wasn’t anywhere near the bear hug Drew would have received from her mother after not seeing her for weeks or even months. Drew blew out a shaky breath. God, what she would have given for one of those hugs right now.
“How was the drive up?” Annie’s mother asked while she placed a bowl of green beans on the counter.
“Fine.” Annie turned. “Mom, this is Drew. Drew, this is my mother, Claire Prideaux.”
Fine blond eyebrows shot up. “You? You are Drew? But you’re not ... I mean you’re ...” Annie’s mother gestured at Drew.
Oh, shit.
Drew froze with her hand held out in front of her. Her gaze flickered to Annie, who stared at the floor.
You didn’t tell your parents? Great.
She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment.
Spanish Inquisition, here we come.
But instead of unpacking the torture instruments, Annie’s mother shrugged. “Guess your father must have misunderstood.” She chuckled and nudged Annie’s shoulder. “He thought Drew was your new boyfriend.”