Convince Me (Holton Series #1) (4 page)

BOOK: Convince Me (Holton Series #1)
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“It will take a great deal more
than a simple no to make me go away.  I am a very determined man when I
want something.”  He paused a moment then gave her that slow, tender
smile.  “And Anna West, I want you.  See you at noon.”

He closed the door softly and Anna
slammed her fist on the desk.  Nice!  Well, she had that one
wrong.  He was arrogant, pushy and controlling.  At lunch, she would
tell him exactly what she thought of him.  It frightened her how much she
was looking forward to it. 

Burying her head in her hand, Anna
whispered, “Oh, God.  What am I going to do?”

#

Steven chuckled as he shut the door
behind him.  He knew his last remark had been uncalled for but Anna had
refused to see him all week and he didn’t like it.  He had spoken to her
everyday but she refused to meet him or let him help her in any way.  She
had been polite but distant and Steven had feared that she truly wasn’t
interested in him.  But he had seen the pleasure in her eyes when he had
arrived at her office.  He saw the attraction.  She had quickly tried
to suppress it but it was there – that spark that he had felt the first
time their eyes had met.  He knew she felt it too and it was all the encouragement
he needed.

When he had opened the door to her
office and saw her sitting there with Julie, the laughter on her face, he had
been transfixed.  Had he really thought she was merely pretty?  With
her eyes dancing and a smile on her face, she was beautiful and Steven had
wanted her.  He had wanted her more than he had ever wanted any woman in
his life.  He had wanted to chase Julie from the room, pull Anna into his
arms, and take her right there on her desk.

The powerful attraction he felt for
her had scared him for a moment.  It was unlike anything he had ever felt
before and he knew it was more than just physical.  Although, the physical
pull was intense.  Even now, walking back to his office, his body still
burned for her.  Steven took several deep breaths, thankful for the cool
January day.

Thinking back to that moment, he
replayed Anna’s reaction to him.  Her eyes had widened, her breath
quickened, and a slight blush covered her face.  Yes, she was as attracted
to him as he was to her.

He had been grateful when Julie had
called his name and forced him to look away from her.  As soon as he did,
everything fell into place.  His mother had been right.  This was no
time to be questioning himself.  He knew Anna was the woman for him. 
She was the one he wanted to be with for the rest of his life.  Now all he
had to do was convince her.  It appeared it was going to be more difficult
than he thought.  For some reason, Anna was denying their mutual
attraction.

Steven laughed out loud as he
opened the door to the building where his law office was located.  Anna
had not been happy about his parting shot.  He had seen the anger flash in
her eyes right before he closed the door.  There was fire under that cool,
quiet exterior and it thrilled him.  There was more to Anna West that meets
the eye and Steven was looking forward to discovering all her secrets.

He walked quickly up the
stairs.  The offices of Carson and Moore were located on the second floor
of the building.  He and Andrew had rented them soon after graduating from
law school and it was an ideal location.  The space directly below
Steven’s office was storage space for the gift shop next door, which was
directly below Andrew’s office.  Both offices faced the street and gave
them a view of downtown Holton.  The lobby area contained Julie’s desk and
their file banks.

Steven entered the lobby and was
not surprised to see Julie on the phone.  He knew she was still talking to
his sister because Victoria never ended a phone call before she was
ready.  Julie flashed him a quick smile as she jotted down some
instructions.  Steven had already received his orders from his sister and
knew she was now passing on others.  Victoria was planning a surprise
party for their parents’ thirty-fifth wedding anniversary was a little over
five weeks away.

Victoria’s plans were always
elaborate but Steven knew it would be a perfect party and everyone would have a
lot of fun.  Unfortunately, he was already worrying about what crazy
scheme she might be plotting.  As much as he loved his sister, Steven had
never understood her.  She was flamboyant and outgoing and her mind never
stopped.  He had spent most of their youth trying to keep her out of
trouble and picking up the pieces when he failed.  Victoria had gone about
her business never really caring if things went smoothly or not.  Steven
knew she thrived on chaos but he had tried to protect her if he could and it
was a hard habit to break.

He entered his office and pick up
his own phone.  His office was basic.  It contained a large desk,
which faced the street, several filing cabinets, two large bookcases and three
chairs.  As Andrew did most of the actual courtroom work, Steven seldom
spoke directly to their clients.

Dialing the number of the local
bakery café, Steven let him mind wander back to Anna.  He would have to go
slowly there.  She was afraid of something.  Steven was not sure
exactly what but he could tell she was fighting their attraction.  He knew
he couldn’t rush her or he might lose her altogether.

When Mrs. Dorman answered at the
bakery café, Steven quickly arranged lunch for four.  He then returned to
the lobby and invited Julie and Andrew to join them.  Both of them were
amused at his predicament but agreed to lunch.  Anna would be more
comfortable with others present so he ignored their teasing and returned to
work.

Just before noon, Steven went to
pick up the food and then he, Andrew, and Julie made their way down to Anna’s
office.  When they arrived, Anna was on the phone so Steven had a chance
to study her.  Earlier he had been so wrapped up in his reaction to her
that he hadn’t taken the time to really look at her.  He took the time
now.

She was wearing a light peach
sweater made of a heavy material.  It enhanced her large brown eyes and
gave her face a soft, warm color.  Her dark hair was curled under just
touching her shoulders.  She looked up at the sound of their entrance and
her eyes shined.  When she saw Andrew and Julie standing next to him, the
polite smile that had been on her lips stretched into a genuine one. 
Steven tried not to be irritated at the thought of her being so glad that they
were not alone.  He knew she was uncomfortable which was why he had
invited his friends but it was hard not to be disappointed that she didn’t want
to be alone with him.

She quickly ended her
conversation.  Steven watched as she gracefully rose from her seat and
rounded the desk.  She smiled and stepped forward.

“Lunch delivered to your door,” he
said holding up the bags of food.

He returned Anna’s smile and then
introduced her to Andrew.  After they exchanged greetings, they all
gathered chairs around Anna’s desk and began to eat.  Steven let Julie do
most of the talking.  Although not nearly as outgoing as Victoria, Julie
was very good at getting someone to talk about themselves.  She was genuinely
interested in people.  She was also very curious.  People relaxed
around her and Anna was no exception.

They soon learned that both of her
parents were dead and that she was an only child.  She had lived in Mayville,
Texas, near Houston, all of her life before moving to Holton.  She spoke
warmly of her mother who had recently passed away but said very little about
her father.  Although Anna spoke easily about her college life and the
years since then, she seemed reluctant to talk about her childhood.

The lunch was pleasant. 
Steven was glad he had invited Andrew and Julie.  They were both
interesting people and the conversation flowed easily.  Anna seemed more
relaxed then she was when they had been alone.  Soon both Andrew and Julie
excused themselves to return to work and the tension suddenly returned to the
room.

“Anna,” Steven asked softly,
needing to know, “why are you so afraid of me?”

The shock on her face was
unmistakable and Steven wondered briefly if he had read her wrong.  He
didn’t think so.  Looking at her now, she was stiff and closed off. 
She did not answer his question and refused to look at him.  He knew he wasn’t
wrong so he repeated the question pushing her for an answer.

“I’m not afraid of you,” she said
quickly but without conviction. 

Steven slowly shook his head. 
“I find that hard to believe when you get so nervous and defensive every time
we are alone.”

“I don’t care what you believe,”
she said sharply, finally looking him in the eye.  He saw the flash of
anger and the resolve in her face.  “I’m not afraid of you.  That
would be ridiculous.  After all, I hardly know you.”

“You know that’s not true.  We
may not have known each other long but something happened between us the minute
that we met.  There was a spark between us and it is still there.” 
She was shaking her head but Steven wasn’t ready to let it go.  “You know
it’s true, Anna, why do you insist on denying it?”

He saw the anger flash again in her
eyes and was afraid he had pushed her too hard but he needn’t have worried. 
Anna was stronger than she looked.  She turned on him immediately. 

“I’m not denying anything,” she
said distinctly.  “There is nothing between us.  Just because you
have an ego larger than the whole state of Texas, that doesn’t mean I am
attracted to you.  I don’t know where you got that crazy idea.”

Steven grinned at her anger,
enjoying the fact that she could stand up for herself.  In spite of his
protective nature, Steven had never been attracted to women who could not take
care of themselves.  Andrew’s late wife had been like that.  Carolyn
had been totally dependent on Andrew and Steven had never understood the
attraction.

Anna was circling the room and when
she turned and saw the grin on his face her anger grew.  “This isn’t
funny!  I don’t know what to do with you.  You won’t take no for an
answer.”

Steven wiped the grin off his
face.  This was getting serious.  He didn’t want her to think he was
belittling her wishes.  “I would take no for an answer if I thought you
really meant it.”

“I do mean it,” she said slowly but
there was doubt in her voice.

“Do you?” he asked, rising from his
chair.  “Do you really want me to walk away from here and never look
back?”

He grabbed her by the arms, praying
she wouldn’t send him away.  “Tell me, Anna, tell me to go and never come
back and I will.”

There was confusion on her lovely
face.  She stared at him, her eyes searching his.  Steven waited,
holding his breath.

“I…You really…I’m just so
confused,” she said as she tried to pull away but Steven held her.  He
reached out a hand and cupped her face.  Anna went perfectly still. 
Leaning forward, he softly kissed her lips.  Just a brief brush across her
month leaving him wanting more but not willing to push her too far.  He
leaned back to look into her eyes and caress her face.

The desire shining there, matching
his own, was his undoing and he gathered into his arms and pressed his lips to
hers.  She hesitated at first and Steven forced himself to go
slowly.  He held her loosely in arms and nibbled at her mouth tracing her
lips.  Slowly, her lips parted and she began to respond.  Her body
relaxed into his and her arms crept around his neck.  Steven pulled her
closer and deepened the kiss.

He outlined the inside of her mouth
with his tongue, tasting her and wanting more.  The shy response of her
tongue caused such a strong wave of desire to flow through him that he had to
drag his mouth from hers.  Breathing deeply, he buried his face in her
hair as he willed his body back to normal.  He could fill her own heart
pounding and knew she was struggling to control her response also.

“Now tell me that there is nothing
between us,” he said softly.

It was the wrong thing to say for
Anna immediately stiffened and jerked herself out of his arms.  He
watched, confused, as she walked to the door.

“Thanks for lunch,” she said in a
stilted voice as she opened the door.  “It was very nice.”

Steven stared at her, unable to
believe the change in her.  One minute she was warm and soft in his arms
and the next she was polite and distant.  He gathered his things and for
the second time that day he walked out her door.  He turned back and
reached out an arm to stop her from slamming it in his face.

“I don’t know what just happened
here but it makes no difference.  There is something special between us
and now we both know it.”

On that parting note, Steven turned
and walked back down the street.  How he was going to make it through the
rest of the afternoon he didn’t know but he had learned one important
thing.  Anna was as attracted to him as he was to her.  It gave him
hope.

Chapter 3

The rest of the week went by
slowly.  Anna tried to hang on to her anger but Steven made it very
difficult.  He stopped by to see her almost every day.  She knew she
was only angry because Steven had been right.  There was something between
them but Anna refused to acknowledge it because it frightened her.  She
was falling for Steven and she couldn’t let that happen.  She would never
be like her mother, so in love with a man that she lost all sense of self-worth. 
Anna wouldn’t let that happen.

Her anger soon faded because Steven
was at his most charming.  It was hard to stay angry with him when she
knew she was really angry with herself.  She usually managed to remain
detached but twice he broke through her carefully erected barriers.

The first time was the day after
their luncheon.  Julie had stopped by for a coffee break again and once
more Steven had come looking for her.  Anna wasn’t sure he had a
legitimate reason but she did know that he did not have to come personally.

BOOK: Convince Me (Holton Series #1)
12.53Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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