All Grown Up Read Free Page A

of
heartfelt curses brought his lovely guest running. “What is it? What’s
wrong?”
    They stood shoulder-to-shoulder gazing out into a world of
swirling snow. Already Annalise’s tire tracks were being erased. And her car was
coated in white.
    She punched his arm. “Did you know this was going to happen?
Why didn’t you tell me not to come?”
    His eyebrows reached his hairline. “I’ve been a little busy,
damn it. Did you even bother to look at a
forecast?”
    “This is your fault!” They shouted in unison, with two
identical expressions of dismay and disbelief.
    Sam closed the door and leaned back, his arms folded across his
chest. “I can’t tell for sure without checking The Weather Channel, but having
spent a lot of years in Virginia, I’d say we’re in for a big one.”
    “I’m sure it’s not going to be more than a few inches.” The
unflappable Annalise Wolff was definitely rattled. A pulse beat visibly in the
side of her swanlike neck.
    The urge to make an inappropriate sexual comment was strong,
but he squelched it. “You seem upset,” he said mildly.
    It was her turn to do the eyebrow thing. “Seriously? Aren’t you
the man who doesn’t leave the office until nine most nights? You could be stuck
here. For hours…maybe days…” Her voice ended on a high squeak.
    Oddly, the more she freaked, the greater his sense of
amusement. “Don’t worry, Annalise. At least we have each other.”

Two
    G laring, she thrust out her chin and fisted her hands. “I absolutely will not be locked up in this house with you. No way, no how.”
    He shrugged. “I promised Gram I’d stay the weekend and get you oriented. But if you’re worried about being stuck and alone with me, we can leave right now. She’ll be really disappointed….”
    He was goading her, and not even trying to hide it. Frustration knotted her belly, even as her recalcitrant imagination conjured up images of the two of them entwined beneath one of Gram’s handmade quilts. “I’m not worried about myself. You’re the one who needs to get back to work.”
    “What do you propose we do? I drove the Porsche. You’re in a Miata. If we stay here any length of time, neither of us has a prayer of making it back out to the interstate.”
    His expression was veiled, unreadable. Was this some kind of game where Sam waited to see if she would cry uncle? She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
    “Fine,” she said abruptly. “The weather doesn’t bother me. But I’d like my bags now, if you don’t mind. So I can get settled in.” She handed him her keys.
    She was pretty sure his jaw dropped a millimeter. Clearly he thought she’d go running back to the city. But Annalise Wolff never backed down from a challenge.
    He scowled. “Are you sure about this, Princess? If the power goes out, we’ll be roughing it.”
    Annalise gulped inwardly. Her idea of rustic was not staying on the concierge floor at the Four Seasons. “I’m sure there’s a generator…right?”
    “Of course. But it won’t run forever. Did you even bring any warm clothes besides your coat?” His gaze felt like a caress as he did a visual inventory of her silk blouse and thin slacks.
    “I have everything I need. Do you want me to help you retrieve the suitcases?”
    Her snarky question deepened his frown. “I think I can manage.”
    She watched through the window and grinned as Sam opened the trunk and did a double take. Hiding her smile, she stayed out of the way while he made three trips in a row, grousing audibly at the mounting pile of luggage.
    When he was finally finished, he closed the door behind him and locked it, looking for all the world like a sexy abominable snowman. He shrugged out of his thick jacket and ran a hand through his hair, sending droplets of water flying as melting snowflakes dampened the floor.
    Annalise leaned against the wall, trying not to go weak in the knees when his muscles flexed beneath the fabric of a thermal weave shirt in a