Chapter 13
Anthony eyedthe wall of clocks in the diner, guessing he had another hour before Kira showed up for her morning coffee. Heat stirred low in his belly at the mere thought of her. He was falling fast, but it was hard not to; Kira was fascinating. And she’d really blown him away yesterday. Shown him exactly why Angelo had willed Studio Click toher.
Anthony hated to admit it, even to himself, but it had been a relief. The woman really did have a natural gift. And beyond that, she had a great business sense. He hadn’t expected her to put on a presentation of the images she’d shot. Heck, she even had framing bids from three different companies, each complete with special non-glare glass so the bright lights wouldn’t obstruct the view of each portrait. Talk about going the extramile.
He glanced over the old photos along the diner walls. He liked the posters of vintage cars, drive-in theaters, and the old-fashioned couple sharing a milkshake, but it was time for a facelift. Anthony could hardly wait for the frames to come in so he could get Kira’s photographs inplace.
The door chime rang, drawing Anthony’s eyes to the front of the store. He expected to see Chuck and Don shuffling in, arguing over whose joints and back pain were worse. Instead, a brown-eyed angel stepped inside. Slender, yet curvy in her fitted jeans and a sweater, hair pulled into a bun that put his to shame. He watched as she scanned the place before her eyes fixed on him. She smiled, but something wasoff.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as she rushedover.
Kira clutched a barstool and dragged it back a few inches. She climbed onto the stool, plopped an elbow on the counter, and sank her face into her hand, eyes closed. A strand of wayward hair bouncing as the vents kicked on overhead. “I knew I would mess thisup.”
The wall of clocks ticked behind her. A noise Anthony almost never heard during business hours. Yet it seemed her statement had caused everything else to stop in its tracks. The Tanners’ baby went from pouting to mute. Connie and the staff from CC’s Salon had been chuckling seconds ago, laughter loud enough to fill the room. But all of it stopped as Anthony took in Kira’s comment. The kind of thing he’d expect to hear from someone who could walk away with their hands in the air, declaring that things never went their way. They gave it a go, the old college try, failed, and now they were packing up and hitting theroad.
Kira pulled her hand from her face. Her eyes flicked open. Wide at first, but then they narrowed. “Is everything okay?” she asked. The concern he saw in her expression said he’d left his poker face athome.
He shook his head. “No. I mean,I’mthe one who should be asking that question.” Anthony had always been able to detect a lie with ease. There were things that changed in the person’s face after they’d spoken it. An odd tightness in the brow. The shift in their posture. Even the feigned sincerity on their face moments before as they plotted the structure of their words. He figured that’s why he was such a terrible liar himself. He could sense every tendency to do those very things as something less than true worked its way toward hislips.
He gulped as Kira searched his face, hoping she couldn’t see hints of the upset happening within him. If what he and Kira had was the meager starts of a promising fortress, it was already crumbling in hismind.
“What …” He shook his head, gulped, and dropped his gaze to a row of spotless glasses beneath the bar’s ledge. “You said you messed things up. How?” His heartbeat moved to his face in hot, frantic thumps as hewaited.
“I got a call from my mom this morning, who said Gramps’s lawyer called her and asked for my email address. He’d sent me a few things and, when he didn’t get a response, feared maybe he had the wrongone.”
Anthony glanced up at her. “Okay,” heencouraged.
She tilted her head. “Mind if I get a cup ofcoffee?”
He straightened up, working to pull out of the premature meltdown. “Of course.” Anthony snatched a clean mug and filled it with the dark, aromatic brew. Perhaps he should’ve stuck with decaf that morning; his heart was still racing hard. He set the steaming mug down before her and slid the cream and sugar packets her way, already knowing exactly what she’d use: two packets of raw sugar and one small cup of plaincream.
Kira tore open the first packet of sugar andpoured.
“So did he have the wrong email address? Hislawyer?”
The next packet of sugar went in before she peeled back the foil lid of the cream. “No, I just … had no idea he’d be trying to communicate with me by email. I hate email. It’s just not something I’m used to having on my radar, youknow?”
Anthony shook his head in irritation. “Would you just tell me what’s goingon?”
Kira looked up from her coffee, eyeswide.
A tap came to his shoulder. “Just checked the inventory,” Howie said. “The only thing that didn’t come in with this morning’s order were pickle chips. I already called and let themknow.”
Anthony glanced back. “Thanks,Howie.”
Kira caught his gaze. She didn’t have to ask; her eyes said it all.What in the world is wrong with you thismorning?
“Sorry,” Anthony mumbled. “I just … if something’s wrong, I want to help you. And if I’m going to help you, I might need to shift some things around with my crew for theday.”
True, but that wasn’t the reason he was acting crazy. He was acting crazy because he was terrified that—as promising as things between them were—it was all about to end. It felt like she was taking her first steps toward that ominous white flag. The one every woman in his life seemed destined towave.
“Well, it turns out that the duplex wasn’t paid offthroughApril; it was only paid offtoApril, meaning the payment was due a few days ago. There’s a grace period, so I don’t technically have a late penalty yet, but the concern was that I hadn’t even registered an online account, which is how I’m supposed to pay, so …” She shrugged, seeming to relax slightly, and brought the mug to herlips.
“We need to get your place rentedout.”
She nodded behind themug.
“And that carsold.”
