"And that conversation gave you the confidence you needed to buy an engagement ring equal to some people's yearly salaries?"
"No, but I have confidence in Anna. I know she loves me, she just has to get over this fear of not being able to control what happens in the future and learn to trust me a little."
"I saw her this morning," Mitchell mentioned casually. "I took her through the house. She seemed pleased with the progress."
"How'd she look?"
"She looked sad. I told her I missed seeing her smile, and then I told her you were miserable and never let me get any work done anymore, so would she please come to her senses and give you a break. And then I kissed her passionately and made her forget all about you."
"In your dreams," Dylan said, laughing.
"And they were damn good dreams too, my friend. Now can we please get back to work? I'd like to be able to take my yearly vacation to Cancun. The women so look forward to my visits."
"I bet," Dylan said. "Why don't you ask Mel to go with you? I bet the women would start looking forward to her visits too."
"Shut up. Isn't that the dumbest thing you've ever heard? She's no more a lesbian than I am, but for some reason she's scared to death of me.
"Well, you're not as good looking as I am. And I hear there are other parts that don't measure up as well."
They were both laughing uproariously when Janet knocked on the door and walked in without waiting for an answer. She smiled at their antics, used to the relaxed atmosphere around the office.
"I see the two of you have already finished the contracts I put on your desk this morning," she said, glancing at the untouched folders that lay on Mitchell's desk.
"Oh, yeah," Dylan lied smoothly. "We're all caught up."
"Good, because I brought in a few more for you to go over. They need to be finished this afternoon," she said smirking at their grimaces. She was used to keeping her boys in line, and she knew just what buttons to push to get the results she wanted. You couldn't be an executive secretary and not know how to manipulate the people that worked there.
"Fine, fine. We'll get them done today. Looks like we'll have to postpone our trip to Shiney's until later tonight Mitchell."
"Whatever, as long as you're the one buying," Mitchell said, already reading the contracts.
"Oh, and the new contractor you hired stopped by earlier to pick up a couple of the new clients you don't have room for. He went out to the sites to get a better feel for what the clients want. I have to say, Dylan, you have great taste in men. He is something scrumptious to look at," Janet said, winking at a laughing Mitchell.
"I didn't hire him because he looked scrumptious, as you put it," Dylan said peeved. "I hired him because he's damn good at his job. I got lucky luring him away from the firm he was at before."
"Hey, let me ask you something," Dylan said before she could walk out of the room. "What do you think about this?" he said, pulling the ring out of his pocket for her to see.
"Why Dylan, I didn't know that you cared," Janet said, batting her eyelashes and drawing a laugh.
"No, I mean, as a woman, is this something you'd like?" Dylan asked, a little unsure of himself.
"It's beautiful. Any woman would love that. It's huge and it's sparkly, what more could you ask for? I didn't know you were thinking of getting engaged."
"I bought it for Anna."
"I didn't think the two of you were seeing each other any more," Janet said, confused.
"Thank you," Mitchell said applauding. "Everybody sees the pattern except for you buddy."
"She just needed some time off to think," Dylan said, looking at the ring once more before putting it back in his pocket. "She'll come to her senses soon enough."
They all watched in slow motion as Janet's bracelet flew off her wrist when she lifted her arm to touch the ring. The loose clasp made it easy to come off, and she was always surprised she hadn't lost it before now.
"Hey, you're welcome to come to Shiney's with us tonight if you want?" he told her. He picked up the silver bracelet that always seemed to come unfastened and handed it back to her.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I've got a hot date tonight, and I'm expecting fireworks."
"She really needs to get that bracelet fixed," Dylan said, putting the ring back in his pocket and looking at the stack of files in front of him.
"Well, what do you think?" Anna asked Mel as she twirled around.
"Of the dress or of the idea?" Mel asked.
"Both."
"Well, I have to say from a lesbian's perspective, the dress is hot. As far as the plan goes, I think you're an idiot."
"Great!" Anna said, admiring herself in the mirror. The dress was pale blue and form-fitting, held up only by thin rhinestone spaghetti straps. She needed to look her best for what she had planned.
"I've got to put myself out on a ledge if this is going to work. It's my turn to put pride aside. I've finally come to my senses."
"I never would have guessed," Mel said sarcastically.
"I've been completely unreasonable. Dylan loves me, and I threw it back in his face. I'm going to have to face my fears and put my trust in him."
"Hello. . .That's what I've been telling you from the beginning."
"I know, but it was something I had to figure out on my own. It was a mindset I'd ingrained since my mom died, and old habits are hard to break. But I'm going to knock his socks off tonight."
"I think he'll definitely be surprised, and I think you're father is going to kill you. But maybe people will stop talking about me."
"I could probably dance naked in the Towne Square and people would still talk about you," Anna said, laughing. "Lesbians are hard to come by in Paradise."
"What was I thinking?" Mel asked.
"I don't know, because it didn't work. Mitchell seems determined to make you admit that you like men."
"Yeah, he's getting pretty serious about it, almost like it's a contest of wills. Have you seen the new guy they hired earlier this week?"
"No. I didn't know they hired anyone."
"Mitchell told me they're getting too many clients to get the job done exactly the way they want it, so they're bringing in a new partner. I think he came from a firm in Houston. All I know is that he's not hard to look at. This could be it, Anna. This could be my one and only."
"You know the saying about how a watched pot never boils?" Anna asked.
"Yeah."
"Well, I think it works the same with love. I think it's supposed to hit you when you least expect it."
"Maybe, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to give it my best shot," she said, slightly deflated. "Do you really think you'll be able to go through with this tonight?"
"What's the worse that can happen?"
"That's what I'm afraid of.
Jack Hollis hung up the phone, his hand shaking slightly at what the sheriff had told him. Anna had been getting threats for weeks and she hadn't said a word to him about it.
In fact, since she'd become her "new" self, she'd stopped talking to him about everything. He kept up with her life just like the rest of the town-through the grapevine.
He knew that she and Dylan had a pretty serious relationship going on, only Anna was the one too afraid to commit. He never would have seen that one coming if Mitchell hadn't told him that piece of news.
Sure Dylan liked to play the field, but Jack knew from the first moment he met the boy that he had a sense of honor about him. Dylan was just waiting for the right woman to come along and settle him down a bit. And Anna was that woman. Surely if she looked deep down inside of Dylan, she'd realize he was crazy about her.
Jack had faith in his daughter. She'd come to her senses when the time came. She was just as stubborn and head strong as her mother had been, and lord knew it had taken him months to wear her down until she'd finally agreed to marry him.
Now as far as the matter of threats went, he wasn't about to stand by and let some maniac endanger his daughter. He'd already lost one woman he'd loved. No, if Anna refused to be in Dylan's company then she had no choice but to stay in his.
He watched as Mel and Anna walked down the stairs, arm in arm, giggling over some foolish nonsense just like when they'd been teenagers.
"Well, well ladies. Don't you look lovely tonight," Jack said beaming at them.
Anna had finally talked Mel into pulling the big guns out in the hopes of dissuading the rumors currently floating around town. Maybe she'd get lucky and find the man of her dreams. Mel's outfit was a bright contrast compared to Anna's pastel blue, and matched her bubbling personality. The hot pink halter top and hip hugging Capri pants showed off her curvy figure.