Absolute Zero (28 page)

“Yeah, right. Rand says you were a brain surgeon. Is he full of shit?”

Anne shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Umm, no, he’s not,” she finally responded.

“Ok, now why on earth would you go from being a brain surgeon to a scientist? Do you know how weird that is?” Shay asked with an incredulous look on her face. It made Anne all the more uneasy.

“Just…some…it’s personal? Just some personal reasons…” she finally stammered.

“Is that Anne speak for ‘Shay, mind your own business’?”

“Pretty much,” Anne stated honestly.

“Gotcha. I’m sure you’ll tell me at some point. We’re going to be friends – good friends, Anne. I really like you,” she stated and her expression seemed so earnest it caused a smile to form on Anne’s face.

“Can we please start cooking? I’m getting about half a buzz on this wine and my stomach is growling like crazy,” Shay stated as she stood up and paused near the couch Anne was sitting on.

“Come on,” she jerked her head toward the kitchen and disappeared around the corner shortly after.

Anne took a deep breath and blew it out. It was a lot to absorb. She wondered briefly if the conversation affected her because it was so tragic or dramatic or if there was some personal connection she felt because of Ian. The information she received caused only more questions than answers and it was pretty obvious he wasn’t going to answer them. Not that she should care anyway. It was just intriguing – that was all. Just intriguing from someone outside looking in.
Nothing personal
…

*****

“So, I hear Ian’s back in town, which of course puts Rand in a foul mood. That’s why I had to get out of the house,” Shay said over the sizzling sound the chicken was emitting from the frying pan.

“Yeah. That was a…surprise. I guess,” Anne stated before adding another breast to the pan.

“You don’t sound very excited,” Shay commented. “I kind of thought maybe the two of you…I don’t know, I think maybe you guys would be kind of cute together.”

Her words caused an unflattering sound to erupt from Anne’s lips.

“What? No?” One of Shay’s brows lifted as well as one corner of her mouth.

“Let’s just say we resemble that salad dressing you’re making,” Anne nodded her head toward the cruet in Shay’s hand.

“What? Spicy? Zesty?” Shay laughed out.

“More like oil and vinegar. We don’t mix.”

“Well maybe…” Shay flipped the cap and pushed it down before shaking it vigorously, “You need to shake it up…” she stated with a smirk.

“I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean, but no thanks,” Anne stated with an involuntary smile.

A knock on the door caused both women to still as their gazes held. Anne’s stomach fluttered at the sound and she sincerely hoped her face didn’t register any emotion.

“I’ll get that,” Shay said quickly before she walked through the room leaving Anne to turn toward the stove and try desperately to gather her wits.

*****

Shay opened the door and almost barked out a laugh when she saw him.

Speak of the Devil…

“What are
you
doing here?” she asked slyly.

“What are
you
doing here?” he countered.

“Hanging out with my girl. She’s going to feed me,” Shay smiled smugly. “And you’re here because…?” she trailed off.

“Maybe I’m here to check on my property,” he replied as she opened the door wider.

“Uh, huh. The house or Anne?” she asked in an almost whisper.

“Just step aside. God, you’re annoying,” he breathed out in an amused tone as he walked past her. He wandered into the house as if he owned it, Shay thought as she followed him. Then again…he did, actually.

“Hello, Anne. Oh dear lord…” he stated as soon as he stepped into the kitchen.

“Don’t you look…lovely,” he stated as she turned toward him. Of course he was referring to her outfit.

He, on the other hand… He was wearing a baseball cap, a T-shirt that showed a portion of his biceps and low slung jeans. Amazing, but he actually looked even sexier than his usual dress attire.

Crap. Hopefully her cheeks weren’t burning.

“So what
are
you doing here, Ian?” Shay walked past him toward the salad she was preparing.

“Well, I was just stopping by to see if Anne wanted to catch a bite. We’re neighbors, after all. Just being neighborly,” he shrugged before crossing his arms and leaning against the cabinets.

“Mmm hmm, right,” Shay stated before snorting.

“It’s true. She’s alone, I’m alone. Who likes to eat alone?” he shrugged as his eyes caught and held Anne’s.

“I do,” Anne stated in a soft voice as she held up her hand like a kid in class.

That caused a small laugh to escape him. “What’s that smell? That smells great,” he commented as he pushed from the cabinets and walked further into the kitchen, never taking his eyes from her. It almost appeared as if he was planning on walking right up to her and kissing her; at least from the intense expression on his face.

He wouldn’t.
Not in front of Shay.
Would he?
It caused her to step back and bump into the stove.

“Bruschetta chicken, cannelloni beans and salad,” Shay supplied. “If you ask nice, maybe Anne will let you stay.”

“That was…my lunch…tomorrow…” she mumbled as she watched him warily. He stopped, luckily.

“I’ll buy your lunch,” he stated in a low voice.

“Do you want a glass of wine?” Shay interrupted. Actually, you’ll have to go grab another bottle.”

“You’re drinking my stash?” He asked as his eyes finally drifted over to Shay.

“Somebody has to,” she responded. “Go and make yourself useful. Maybe a Reisling or…Pinot Grigio?” She looked toward Anne who just shrugged in answer. Her solitary life was being invaded in the worst way and she was powerless to stop it.

“Rand said you were coming to the house to watch the game!” Shay yelled out him as he descended the steps.

“Maybe later,” his muffled reply drifted from the bowels of the basement.

Shay turned to Anne with wide eyes. “Oil and vinegar, my
ASS
…” she whispered then swatted Anne’s arm with the back of her hand.

“What?
I
didn’t invite him,” Anne whispered back.

“Mmm hmm. He just shows up out of the blue…”

“Shut up,” Anne stated as her eyes narrowed.

“Chicken’s burning,” Shay stated with a nod toward the frying pan.

*****

“So I asked Rand what you were doing in town and he said it was between you and him. Care to elaborate on that one?” Shay asked.

“Nope.”

“Well, how long are you planning on staying?” Shay pressed on.

“As long as it takes,” he answered in a low voice before taking another bite.

“As long as what takes?” Anne heard Shay ask. She refused to look up from her plate. If he was looking at her she would blush for sure.

“How about you shut yer geggy and eat?” he huffed out.

“Did you really tell Rand to have a bake sale to raise funds in the middle of a meeting?”

“Rand has a big mouth. You two are so perfect for each other,” he breathed out causing Anne’s eyes to flick up at him. Apparently he was joking based on the upward curve of his lips.

He looked almost…boyish in his hat. Incredibly…
nothing
.
Don’t go there.
She gave a small shake to her head to try and clear it. Incredibly present at her kitchen table – that was better.
His
kitchen table.
Don’t look at him.

“So what do you need funds for?” Shay asked.

“Shay!” his tone was pure exasperation. It was almost comical, Anne thought as she listened to their exchange.

“What? What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is: it
is
no big deal. It’s not going to happen so we don’t need to talk about it,” he stated in an arrogantly smug tone causing Anne’s pulse to pound.

“Some people need to look at the big picture,” Anne mumbled before she could stop herself.

“Big picture? I
live
the big picture. Some people should recognize that maybe there are reasons why some people don’t just throw money at every whim their employees cook up.”

“Maybe some people should be able to tell the difference between a whim and a sound business proposal,” she returned as her eyes shot to his.

“Business proposal? Where was that at? I didn’t catch that,” he responded in a cool tone that grated on her nerves.

“That might have been presented at some point if it weren’t for a certain person yapping about a bake sale and pulling money out of his ass,” Anne shot back.

“Hmm. Some people might have a tendency to respond in a ridiculous manner to ridiculous things.” He leveled his eyes at her.

“Wow. So hey, this is fun,” Shay interjected looking from Anne to Ian as she shifted in her chair.

“Maybe some people could look outside the box they’ve very conveniently settled themselves in.” Anne stated as she leveled the same stare back at him.

“Maybe some people should worry about doing their
own
job and not everyone else’s,” he replied in a flat voice.

Shay raised her arm and started making cutting motions with her knife in the air in front of her.

“Ah…what are you doing?” Anne asked as she watched the knife.

“Oh, I’m cutting the tension in here. It’s pretty thick,” Shay quipped before placing the knife back on the table with a grin. “You know, I probably need to get going. I’d love to stay and listen to you two go at it but this is
AWKWARD
.” She placed the last bite of chicken in her mouth before pushing back from the table and grabbing her plate.

Anne and Ian looked toward each other silently as Shay walked to the sink, rinsed her plate and opened the dishwasher to place it in the rack.

“Besides, you can only leave Rand with the kids by himself for so long. He’ll let them eat every damn cookie in the pantry if I’m not there,” she chattered as she walked back to the table. “Anne? Thanks for a wonderful meal. Ian? Are you coming or what?” She cocked her head to side with an almost knowing smirk on her face.

She was completely annoying, he thought as he looked at Shay and then down to his plate. “I’m not done yet. I’ll see you there.”

“Uh huh. If you’re not there in a half hour, I’m sending the cops over here. Try not to kill each other after I leave, OK?” she quipped before ruffling the top of Anne’s head with her hand. She turned and wandered through the living room as Anne’s eyes followed her.

As soon as the door clicked, her nerves returned full force. She felt something feather light on the top of her head before she jerked to the side dislodging McClellan’s fingers from her hair.

“Sorry, love. Your hair was sticking up,” he explained before settling his arm next to his plate. “You’re a bit…jumpy,” he added gently.

“Can you blame me?” she mumbled as she looked down toward her plate. Suddenly the food left on it was completely unappetizing to her. She pushed away from the table before grabbing the plate. She needed to put as much distance between the two of them as possible.

“This is really delicious, Anne,” she could hear as she scraped the small amount of uneaten food into the garbage before straightening up. “Thanks,” she responded lightly as she turned on the faucet. Her fingers were actually shaking as she attempted to rinse the dish she was holding. She dropped it with a clang as soon as she felt his hands snake around her abdomen from behind. His body was pressed against her and his warm breath tickled the skin beneath her ear.

Her eyes fluttered closed when she felt the soft caress of his lips on her neck. His grip tightened when her knees decided to weaken from the sudden flood of sensation racking every last nerve in her body.

“Let me taste you, Anne,” he breathed into her ear, as his hands turned her toward him. Her eyes squeezed shut as her lips did the same.

“Mmm mmm,” she grunted through clamped lips. His hand gripped the back of her head gently as his lips touched hers. He trailed them over to the side of her mouth, planting the softest kiss there before letting out a small groan of frustration. His forehead touched hers. “Open your mouth, Anne,” he commanded as his fingers lightly massaged the back of her neck. The feeling was divine but not enough to cause her to lose her mind. Not quite yet, at least.

“Mmm mmm.” She shook her head to emphasize her words.

“This works so much better if you actually nip me back, you know.” His thumb swept across her bottom lip leaving a tingling trail. She sucked her bottom lip in and held it in place with her teeth.

“Not going to let me kiss you, hmm?” he whispered against her lips.

“Mmm mmm.”

“Such a wee defiant thing you are, darling,” he stated before planting another kiss to her clamped mouth. He straightened up and looked down at her face. Her eyes were squeezed shut. A small snort escaped him at her scrunched up features.