Convince Me (Holton Series #1) (3 page)

He walked slowly into his office,
savoring the image.  He definitely wanted to see Ms. West again.  Now
all he had to do was convince her.

"Good morning."

Anna looked up from her desk at the
sound of the voice. She hadn't heard the door open and was surprised to see a
woman standing in the doorway holding what smelled liked a basket of banana
bread.  Anna gave her a polite smile.

The woman was her fourth visitor of
the morning.  When she had first opened that morning, she had thought that
she would have plenty of time to set up her office and organize her files but
she had been wrong.  Anna had forgotten what a small town was like when a
new person arrived.  Within minutes of unlocking her door, she had been
visited by the bank manager from across the street and by the owner of the gift
shop next door.  An hour later, the insurance agent, whose office was next
to the bank, also stopped by to meet her.

Most of the businesses were located
on the main street in town, which contained three blocks.  Anna's office
was on the end of the first block.  Directly across the street was the
bank, then the insurance company, and at the other end was Charlie's
garage.  On Anna's side, there was the law firm, the gift shop and her own
office.  She thought it was the perfect location.

The next block contained the
library, the city offices, a local bakery and the town park.  The final
block of downtown Holton consisted of a grocery store, two small clothing
stores and a gas station.  It was a friendly town and Anna felt right at
home.

Although only two rooms, her own
office was quite spacious.  There was a huge front window, right next to
the door and she could see most of Main Street.  She had set up her desk
in the front room and decided to use the back room for her files.  Her
desk faced the window and she had two large over-stuffed chairs in front of
it.  As there was still quite a bit of space, Anna wanted to find a couple
of large plants to sit in the corners. It was a simple arrangement but one she
thought would work well.

Currently most of her files were
scattered around the room as she was still trying to make sense of Mr.
Brockman's system.  It was an ordered chaos but Anna was eager to have
everything in its place.

As she had not expected to see many
people, Anna had dressed casually that morning in a modest denim skirt and a
heavy sweater.  She was pleased to see that most of the other merchants
were dressed similar.  The woman standing in her office now was dressed in
plain black slacks with a blouse and blazer.

She looked at her newest
visitor.  The other three had come bearing well wishes and offers of help,
all of which Anna was grateful for, but banana bread was even better.  She
rose from the desk and walked around to greet her.

"Good morning," she said.

The woman stepped into the office
and gave her a bright smile.  "I'm Julie Riley.  I work two
doors down at Carson and Moore.  I thought I'd stop by and welcome you to
the neighborhood, so to speak."

Anna had been in Holton for six
days now and had met a lot of people.  When she moved into her small
apartment, all her neighbors had stopped by to greet her.  Mr. Brockman
had introduced her to the mayor and several city counsel members before heading
off with his wife for a long awaited cruise. She had met several of the other
merchants in town before today but until now had managed to avoid anyone
connected with Steven Carson.

Carson and Moore had been mentioned
often enough.  Both Steven and his partner, Andrew Moore, were well
thought of in this small town and their law firm was one of the most prominent
businesses in town.  Anna had been told that they handled cases from all
over the county as well as some from Dallas.  She had been impressed.

Anna had not seen Steven since her
first day in town.  He had called her the next day to ask how she was and
if he could help her with anything but she had politely turned down his
offer.  He had also called everyday since then to see how she was doing
and to again offer his assistance.  She had turned down all his offers but
it had been difficult.  Steven had been charming and persistent.  She
had not heard from him yet today.  She had even convinced herself she was
glad.

"I'm Anna West," she said
now to the smiling woman in her office.  Julie had brown hair, twinkling
green eyes and a wide smile.  Anna liked her immediately.

Julie smiled again.  "I
know.  Word gets around.  I am on my coffee break and thought you
might like some company."

Anna smiled back.  If the
coffee included banana bread, she definitely wanted company.  "I
would.  Please sit down."

Julie moved across the room to take
the chair opposite the desk and Anna noticed she was pregnant.  A shot of
envy ran through her.  Anna's one regret was that she wasn't going to have
children.  She loved kids but she knew she would never marry and Anna just
couldn't see herself raising a child on her own.

She took her own seat opposite
Julie and watched with amazement as Julie unloaded her basket.  First, she
pulled out the banana bread, which looked as delicious as it had smelled. 
It was followed by plates, a knife, two forks and napkins.  Finally, a
thermos and two cups were set on the desk.

"You came well prepared,"
Anna said.

Julie shot her a grin. 
"When Steve mentioned how nice you were and your age, well, I couldn't
resist meeting you. I love Holton and I love working for my brother but other
then he and Steven, there are very few people my age who work here. 
Rachel Lewis, over at the library, is one but her hours are so irregular that
it's hard to know when she is free."

There was a small silence while
Anna tried to suppress the shot of pleasure at the thought of Steven talking
about her.  Anna was also flattered to know Julie had been anxious to meet
her.  She didn't quite know what to say.  No one had ever been simply
happy to meet her before and she was shocked at how good it felt.

"I hope I am not overwhelming
you," Julie said cautiously.  "We are all pretty close here but
I don't want to seem pushy."

"Oh, no, you're not.  Not
at all.  I'm just not used to everyone being so friendly but I like
it."

"Good," Julie said
picking up the thermos.  "I'm afraid it's decaf.  I had to cut
back on the caffeine because of the baby."

"Decaf is fine," Anna
replied.  "When are you due?"

"Not for four more
months."

Anna was surprised.  She
thought Julie looked further along than that but she was afraid to say anything
in case it showed her ignorance.  Anna didn't know much about babies or
pregnancy.  Julie noted her surprise.

"I know.  I look bigger
than that but it always happens this way.  I shoot out right at first then
don't gain any more weight until the last six weeks or so.  Don't ask me
why.  I have no idea."

Anna was delighted.  Julie was
nice and friendly and very easy to talk to.  Anna tended to be a little
shy.  She was happy to talk but needed someone else to begin the
conversation.  Julie seemed just the type.  Anna gave her a
smile.  "You have other children?"

Julie nodded.  "Two
others.  One boy and one girl. Katie is four and Michael is two. 
Nick, that's my husband, and I love kids but this is going to be the last one.
I am tired of being pregnant."

Again, Anna felt a twinge of
envy.  She liked her new friend and was happy for her but hearing Julie
talk about her husband and her children made Anna wish for things she had long
ago decided against.  After watching her mother and her father, Anna knew
it would take a very special man to make her change her mind.

She and Julie talked for about
twenty minutes and Anna learned a lot about Holton and it inhabitants. 
Julie had lived in this town for almost twenty-five years and she knew
everyone.  Julie's family lived in town and she had a lot of interesting
stories.  Anna was laughing at Julie's description of the elementary
school's Christmas play when the door of her office opened again.

Her laughter died when she looked
up and saw Steven standing in the doorway.  He stood there watching her
with his serious, blue eyes not saying a word.  Anna jumped from her chair
and was followed more slowly by Julie.  She stared at Steven and he
returned her gaze.  Neither one of them said a word but just stood there
staring at each other.

"Hey, Steve," Julie said,
breaking the silence.  "Were you looking for me?"

Slowly, Steven took his eyes off of
her and turned to Julie.  Anna took a deep breath and slowed her
heart.  She watched Steven nod once.  She glanced away and took a
moment to collect herself.  Never had any man moved her in such a way. 
It frightened her.

"Yes," Steven was saying,
"Victoria is on the phone and she wants to talk to you.  Something to
do with the party.  As you left your cell phone on your desk again, she
called the office.  I told her to call back but she insisted on waiting
for you."

"That sounds like Tori,"
Julie said with a laugh.  "Steve, grab my things please and bring
them when you come.  Anna, I'll talk to you soon."

Anna watched helplessly as Julie
headed out the door and down the street.  She resisted the urge to call
her back.  Anna turned to see Steven watching her.  He gave her his
slow, gentle smile and Anna found herself responding in kind.  It was a
hard smile to resist.

"Hi," he said softly.

"Hi," she answered.

"How are you settling
in?" he asked as he began gathering up Julie's things.

"Just fine, thanks," Anna
replied.  Now that her heart was back to normal, Anna was able to think a
little more clearly.  "Look, you don't have to do that.  I'll
straighten up and then bring Julie's basket to her later."

He gave her a quick glance but
continued cleaning.  Soon everything had been packed away and Anna stood
fidgeting behind her desk.  She didn't know what to say to him.  She
hadn't been this tongue-tied since her first date with Willie Martin.

Steven seemed to fill the room and
Anna couldn’t look away.  Every time she tried, her eyes returned to
him.  He was dressed similar to the first time she had seen him but this
time the suit was gray.  It was neatly pressed and the white shit was
starched.  Once again, the tie seemed out of place.  This one was a
dove gray color and matched the suit well but it contained a large picture of a
giraffe.  Anna was fascinated by the fact that a man who appeared so
conservative and serious would wear such an item.  She realized she was
staring at it when she heard Steven chuckle.

“Hideous, isn’t it?” he said with a
smile, picking up the tie and looking at it.  “Victoria gave it to me so I
have to wear it.”

“Who’s Victoria?”  Anna tried
to stop herself from asking but her curiosity got the better of her.  She
knew Steven wasn’t married but he said the name Victoria with such affection
that she had to ask.  She wasn’t sure she really wanted to know the
answer.

“My sister.”

Relief flooded through her at his
simple statement.  Why she was so relieved?  She wasn’t interested in
Steven herself.  Was she?  No, that couldn’t be it.  Anna wasn’t
looking for a relationship.  She shook off the feeling.

“She has interesting taste. 
Did she give you the multi-colored one too?” she asked.

Steven laughed.  “Yes. 
Tori is always trying to update my sedate image.  She thinks I’m far too
conservative.  Since I refuse to let her take me shopping, she buys me
these crazy ties.  The worst part is I think she would really be offended
if I didn’t wear them and even though she lives over a thousand miles away, she
would know if I didn’t wear them.”

“Where does she live?” Anna asked.

“In Los Angeles,” Steven
replied.  “But she and Julie are best friends and no matter how far away
she is, Tori always know what’s going on.”

“So, you wear the ties,” Anna
stated, intrigued by this aspect of his character.  It would be
interesting to see how much he would do for his sister.  Anna, who had no
siblings, found it charming that he could care so much.

Steven smiled sheepishly and
nodded.  “Yeah, I wear the ties.”

It was a delightful gesture. 
This man is too good to be true, Anna thought to herself.  There had to be
a flaw somewhere.  He was thoughtful, charming, nice.  Maybe, too
nice.  Yes, too nice was good.  No woman wanted a man who was too
nice.  Anna knew she wouldn’t be attracted to a wimp.  She had
nothing to worry about.  Steven Carson was not a threat to her.  He
was too nice to break through her resolve.  She was so pleased with this
new discovery that she gave him a dazzling smile.

“Thanks for stopping by. 
Please tell Julie thank you for the coffee and banana bread.  It was very
kind of her.”

Silence reigned for a moment as
Steven studied her.  Then, without a word he picked up Julie’s basket and
headed to the door.  Anna gave a sigh of relief when he opened it. 
She wasn’t prepared for him turning around.  He leaned against the door,
his hand resting on the handle, and looked out at the now busy street before
looking back at her.

“How about having lunch with me?”
he asked.

Anna shook her head, smiling
politely.  “No thanks.  I’m much too busy setting up shop.”

“You have to eat, Anna.  I’ll
be back about noon.”

“No,” Anna said more firmly wanting
to make sure he understood.  “Thanks, but no.”

He looked at her with his serious
gaze.  “It won’t work, you know.”

Anna felt her heart begin to
thud.  The blood rushed to her head and her mouth was dry.  She
clenched her hands together to keep them from fiddling with the papers on her
desk.  She was suddenly nervous and didn’t know why.

“What do you mean?” she asked
cautiously.