Paradise Disguised(20)

She made a noncommittal sound in her throat because the truth was, she  hadn't laid eyes on the place since they'd broken ground. She'd let Mel  handle anything that came up just to avoid Dylan.

Everything in Paradise moved slow, conversations, courtships and  investigations included. It was the way of a small southern town, only  Anna was tired of moving slow.

"Then what happened?" the sheriff asked when he realized he wasn't going to get any interesting gossip from Anna.

"Well, that same day on my way home a black sedan tried to run me off  Hollis Bridge. It came right up on my back fender and then came around  to the side really fast. The windows were tinted dark, so I couldn't see  who was driving. They kept swerving closer, so I slammed on my brakes  and turned hard. I barely stopped skidding before I was on the edge of  the bridge. One more inch and I would have gone over. By the time I  looked up the car was too far down the road for me to see a license  plate."

"Why didn't you report the incident then?" Sheriff Haney asked.

"After it happened, I decided that I wasn't going to see Dylan anymore. I didn't think anything else would happen."

Dylan snorted at the reminder that she'd run from him.

"Looks to me like you changed your mind," the sheriff said.

"I was persuaded to change my mind," Anna said, smiling at Dylan. "I've  been out of town for a while and I haven't received anything else until  today."

"You said you received a call on your cell phone," Sheriff Haney said. "What did they say?"

"They just said that if I didn't stay away from Dylan the next time they'd make sure I ended up in at the bottom of the river."

"Did you recognize the voice?"

"No, I couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman. The voice was deep and gravelly."

"What was your response? Were you able to get them to say anything else that might jog a memory or recognition of the voice?"

"Umm. . .No not really," Anna stuttered. "I might have made whoever it  was a little upset. They slammed the phone down in my ear."

"What did you say?" Dylan asked, his face a mask of disbelief and anger.                       
       
           



       

"Basically, I said I wasn't going to stop seeing you. I might not have used those exact words though."

Both men had identical expressions on their face. Apparently, the  consensus was she was an idiot, much like the conclusion she'd come to  herself after hanging up the phone.

"Would you mind if I took your cell phone in?" the sheriff asked. "There  are things we can do to retrieve the number. Maybe we'll get lucky. In  the meantime, be careful. You should have come to me before. You might  also see if the two of you can come up with someone who could be doing  this."

"We'll do the best we can. Thanks for coming out Sheriff Haney," Anna  said, shaking his hand. "Oh, and sheriff, I'd like to keep this just  between us. I don't want my father to worry."

He grunted in what seemed like ascent and turned to Dylan. "Dylan, you  had a little trouble with a fire around the same time Anna started  getting threats. Could be both of you need to be on your guard."

"I didn't think the incidents were related at the time, but I'll keep an eye out," Dylan told him.

"Oh, and Anna" the sheriff said before getting into his cruiser, "Let's  try to keep from causing any more public disturbances in the middle of  town. You haven't been back more than a few hours and my phone's been  ringing off the hook about you all afternoon. I don't know how your  father puts up with the stress."

"Shut up," Anna said to Dylan when he started to laugh. "It was all your  fault and your name never comes up when people are dealing out the  blame."

"What can I say? The public loves me," he said getting his first real  look at her outfit. He let out a long wolf whistle and looked over the  length of her. "You look amazing."

"You don't look so bad yourself. I have to say that a suit and tie agrees with you."

"Well, I didn't always work in Paradise you know," he said leading her to his car.

"No, I didn't know," she said. "Which I guess is the point of this date, isn't it?"

"Partly," he said with a lascivious wink. He threw a box of seventy-two condoms in her lap, making her roar with laughter.

"My, don't we have high aspirations," Anna said, putting them back in his bag.

"I take it our past mistakes have been overlooked?" Dylan asked, referring to their previous trysts without the aid of a condom.

"Everything's great," Anna said.

The silence lapsed as the made their way out of Paradise, both thinking  private but similar thoughts. Would love be easier for them to grasp  with a child involved?

"Hopefully, we'll find out a little bit about each other on this  outing," Dylan said, breaking the ice. "I already know that you love  cars, which I might add happens to be a love of mine as well. You made a  good choice when you bought your little beauty."

"I can't imagine where we could be going that could do justice to your  car or how we amazing we look," Anna said. She smoothed her hands over  the plush seats and inhaled the smell of leather.

"Actually, I meant to ask you about that. How do you feel about flying?"

"I'm amicable to the idea," Anna said, raising her eyebrow in question. "Why?"

"You'll see," Dylan said, speeding across the city line. "I think we'll leave Paradise behind for tonight."





Chapter Eleven





"This is so cool," Anna said, looking down at the clouds below. "I had no idea you owned your own plane."

"Let's just say that business has been good over the years."

"Ah, yes. You said you haven't always worked in Paradise. What did you do before you opened Maguire Homes?"

"Well, you might have heard of a little business called TexAmerica Real Estate?"

"You own TexAmerica?" Anna asked in awe. TexAmerica was the biggest name in Real Estate in the southwest.

"No, I used to own TexAmerica. Well, Mitchell and I owned it together,  and then we sold it for a lot of money. I decided I liked the more hands  on approach to the business. He poured two flutes of champagne and  handed her one.

"Mitchell and I met in college, and we both knew exactly what we wanted  to do with our lives. He majored in architecture and I majored in  Engineering, and when we graduated we opened TexAmerica and hired a few  hungry Real Estate agents. Most of them aren't hungry anymore. We got  tired of the city life, sold the business and moved to Paradise."

He conveniently left out the series of events that had led to their  escape. Denise, his ex-wife, had left him for a doctor when she'd  thought the company was going to go belly up. She was cutting her losses  she'd told him in the divorce hearing. Then Mitchell's wife had died in  a horrible car crash. Both of them were looking for a way to get out.                       
       
           



       

"Wow, so you're filthy rich," Anna said.

"Pretty much. I hope that's not too much of a turnoff."

"I won't hold it against you if you don't hold it against me," she said, toasting him with her full glass.

"It's a deal. I took the liberty of having an overnight bag prepared for you. Mel was more than willing to help."

"Ah, bless her," Anna said. "I can only imagine the gossip tomorrow if I  returned in the same dress I left in. Where are we going, by the way?"

"No place too far. We should be landing in Dallas in about thirty  minutes. We have plenty of time to check into the hotel and freshen up  before dinner. Now why are you sitting so far away from me?" he said,  patting his lap playfully.

"Do you have any idea how long it took me to get ready for tonight? I  don't want to check into a hotel looking like I just rolled out of bed,"  Anna said, taking his hand and sitting across his lap as he directed  her.

"I promise not to muss you up too much," Dylan said, biting the back of her neck.

Anna shivered at the touch of his lips and teeth against her. It had  been so long since she'd felt his touch and if she was honest with  herself, she'd missed him terribly in the time she'd been away.

"I've missed you," he said, echoing her thoughts. He traced his fingers  lightly along the outline of her body. "And I've wanted you every day  that you've been gone."

"Mmm. . ." Anna moaned as she felt the zipper of her dress slide down  slowly. "What about the pilot?" she asked, worried that he'd come out of  the cockpit and find them.

"His orders are to stay in the cabin and leave us our privacy, but we  don't have long before we land." He helped her stand and slipped the  column of turquoise silk to her feet. "Oh my God. You have the most  amazing underwear I've ever seen."