"That sounds great. When does she want to meet?" Dylan asked, already anticipating the visit.
"She said make it two weeks from Monday," Jack said.
Dylan deflated in disappointment at the delayed meeting. Maybe she wasn't as excited to meet him as he thought.
Jack went on to explain the circumstances. "I think the little talk I had with her caused her to have a breakthrough. She said she's ready to turn over a new leaf and start a new life. I can't wait to see how it turns out, but she wanted the two weeks to get things in order before you meet. She's always been a treasure, and I want this to work out for her. She deserves it."
"I'll do the best I can to make sure she gets everything she wants," Dylan said, heartened by Jack's words. He couldn't wait to meet the new Anna either, and he'd make sure he was part of her new life.
"All I ask as that you take care of my little girl and make her happy," Jack said before hanging up.
"Oh, believe me, sir, I will," Dylan said to an empty line.
Jack Hollis hung up the phone a very happy man. Young people were so gullible these days. Dylan and Anna must think him the dumbest man on the planet to not feel the sparks that flew between them every time they were in the same room. Their chemistry was practically electric.
Dylan Maguire didn't look like a man to let a good opportunity pass him by, and Anna was a late bloomer just like her mother had been. She just needed a little encouragement to grow. He knew her shyness was a result of her mother's death. It was the only way she could protect herself from the pain of the loss. Hell, she'd only had him as an example, and he'd been doing the same thing. It was all his fault, and he'd do anything to repair the damage that had already been done. There was still a chance for his baby.
Anna was ready to be swept off her feet, and in his opinion, it was high time Dylan settled down with a good woman. A man past thirty needed a woman to help settle his wild ways. They were a perfect match and both were primed for the pickings.
He thought of his wife and knew she'd skin him alive for messing with their only daughter's future. But he had a good feeling about those two. "You'll see, sweetheart," he said looking towards the sky. "Everything will work out all right."
Chapter Two
Anna drove her sensible Volvo down Baker Street, smack dab in the middle of Paradise-population 3,231.
The Baker sisters had been prostitutes in the late part of the nineteenth century, and apparently they'd been popular enough to warrant having the main street in town named after them. The more she thought about it, maybe the Baker sisters were the reason the town was called Paradise.
The two-story Victorian house where they'd run their business still sat on the corner of the Towne Square, only now it was used as a bed and breakfast. Anna always felt the town trivia added character to an otherwise unremarkable place.
She waved to a couple of familiar people along the busy cobblestone street and waited while pedestrians crossed back and forth, unmindful of the no jay-walking signs posted.
Mr. Larson and Mr. Duffy played checkers on the wooden walkway in front of Howard's Grocery, and a mother held the hands of her two small children and led them into the ice cream parlor. Everything was just as it always had been, and Anna couldn't imagine living anywhere else. It really was paradise.
Hollis Tools was on the corner of the opposite street and brought in business from the other towns close by. It had helped Paradise survive during many a hard time by employing as many local workers as possible. The other stores and restaurants on the street lined up, straight as soldiers, next to it. It was a town rich with tradition, and hardly anyone was a stranger in such a small place. Unless they stayed secluded from everyone like she had attempted to over the past ten years.
Anna maneuvered her Volvo around the corner and through the Towne Square, and then headed in a straight shot towards Mel's house. The Volvo was going to be a thing of the past. She needed a new car to fit with her new image, something sexy and sleek. Of course, she didn't have a new image yet. She was still wearing the same baggy clothes and tight braid she always wore, but she'd changed on the inside.
Mel's house was located in Paradise's historic district, right across from a large park, full of trees, a jogging path and playground toys.
Mel had taken over her family's bookstore after she'd graduated from college, and she'd promptly added a café to one side of it to attract more customers. It was a homey place where you could end up staying for hours. Fortunately, Mel was off on Sundays, and she'd agreed to help a friend in need.
Anna hadn't told Mel the real reason behind her change. She didn't know how her friend would react if she found out she only wanted to quench this sexual need that consumed her body. Two weeks seemed like an eternity, and that was if Dylan was even interested.
She beeped the horn, and Mel came bounding out of the house, her shoulder bag hanging over her arm, as energetic as ever. Anna envied Mel's original style. Her jeans had holes in both knees, and she wore a long-sleeved t-shirt that was just short enough to show off her bellybutton ring.
Maybe I should get a bellybutton ring.
"I'm so glad you called me," Mel said, slamming the car door shut and putting on a pair of aviator sunglasses. "It's been too long since we've gotten together."
"I want to apologize for that," Anna said. "I haven't been a very good friend, but I'd like to change that. If you don't mind?"
"Of course I don't mind. We've been friends our whole lives, why should that change now?" Mel asked, shaking her head at the silliness of it all. "Now let's stop all this mushy talk. I want to know the real reason for this change you're so insistent on. It's a man isn't it?"
Anna took a deep breath and decided to go for the truth. "There's this man that's been coming into the store for months . . ."
"I knew it, I knew it had to be a man," Mel interrupted. "What does he look like? Is he hot?"
"Well, if you'll let me finish I'll tell you," Anna said, exasperated.
"Sorry, but don't leave out anything," Mel said, unfazed.
"I can't even begin to describe what looking at this man does to my body. He's really tall, probably 6'5", and he has this amazing body that's muscled in all the right places. He's got dark hair that never seems to be tamed. It always curls a little bit around the collar, and God. . . his eyes are this silvery blue that just captivate me with one glance. He's just so . . . so full of testosterone and heat."
"Geez . . . Now I'm having hot flashes," Mel murmured in reverence.
"I'm going to do everything in my power to make him notice me," Anna said.
"I don't think it will be as hard as you think. You've always underestimated your looks. All we need to do is punch them up a little bit."
"Speaking of that, where are we going first?"
"I made an appointment for you with my hairdresser at DeLucia's."
"But you usually have to book weeks in advance," Anna said as worry of what she was about to undertake creased her brow.
"Well, she slipped you into her schedule as a favor. Plus, I told her you had loads of money and would make it worth her while."
"Thanks," Anna said wryly, raising her eyebrow in exasperation.
Mel's cropped locks caused a small niggling of doubt enter her mind. Mel changed her hair like it was day of the week underpants. Right now, her dark hair was short and managed to stick up in every direction, but look stylish and chic at the same time. She'd also had some blonde highlights put in since the last time they'd seen each other. "Are you sure she'll do a good job?" Anna asked tentatively.
"Oh yeah, she's the best."
They were headed to Fort Worth, the closest city, because as much as she loved Paradise, it wasn't the place to reinvent herself. She wouldn't let Della at Della's Salon do her hair for any amount of money in the world. If she wanted gossip, then that's where she'd go, but never for a hairstyle unless she wanted to end up with blue tinted poodle curls like every other senior citizen in the town.
Anna pulled into the parking lot of De Lucia's Spa and Salon and felt a little better. The sign wasn't in neon, and people weren't running out the front door screaming, so she guessed it was safe. It didn't look like a place that appealed to punk rockers despite Mel's hair.
Anna dragged her feet, nervous for the first time since she'd gotten the hair-brained idea to reinvent herself in her head. What had she been thinking? She'd let her hormones do the thinking, that was the problem.