Chapter Seventeen

“This place is incredible,” Annabelle gushed as Kellan gave her a tour of the compound. He’d pointed out all the buildings and facilities and now they were motoring along the back forty where the houses were located. She wanted to know who lived where. He felt like a guide for a celebrity home tour like the ones people paid big bucks for in Hollywood.

Though the houses were technically part of the compound, you had to pass through an electronic gate to move from one section to the other. It’d been installed when Luke and Logan purchased the surrounding property to divide into plots. A back entrance was used for construction crews, all properly vetted, but they wouldn’t be able to access the business end of the facility. He bumped the golf cart over the grass of an empty lot and then made a U-turn to face the lake. Though there was a line of houses in front of him, the land was on a ridge, almost like a second tier.

“It’s so peaceful and beautiful here.”

He’d thought so, too, when he purchased the plot. He envisioned a house nestled in the trees that blended into the surroundings, made of wood and stone with lots of glass, with a huge deck overlooking the water. “It’s mine.”

Her head snapped to him. “You own this land?”

He nodded. Would Annabelle be content living here with him? And what the hell—he barely knew her and already he was thinking long-term? He’d just decided this morning that them getting together had been a mistake…at least while they were bound by a contract.

“It’s perfect,” she murmured. “Have you designed a house?”

“Not yet.” He had an idea of what he wanted, and he’d perused floor plans, but nothing had been finalized. Starting up the golf cart, he headed back to the offices. Since he was on injured reserve until he healed and was cleared for duty, he had time to take Annabelle to the shooting range and show her how to fire a gun. He also wanted to teach her the basics of self-defense. But first, he had a surprise for her. He parked the cart in front of the building and opened the door, ushering her inside the structure constructed of locally quarried Indiana limestone. Since they didn’t entertain visitors or clients, there wasn’t a need for a receptionist. Bypassing the stairs, he headed for the bank of elevators and pushed the up button. When he realized she wasn’t beside him, he turned to see her mesmerized by the wall of glass.

“Impressive, isn’t it?”

“Are you kidding me? It’s amazing.”

He stood beside her and watched exotic fish swimming along the coral rocks and water plants. “This is BeBe’s pet project, no pun intended. It was recently completed.”

“I can see why there are benches. I could sit here all day.”

“There are only a few fish, but she plans to add more now that it’s done.”

When he was able to tear her away, they headed to the top floor and he introduced her to everyone. He knew it had to be overwhelming, but her smile never dimmed. He showed her his office and then led her down a corridor and turned down another to a wing of offices that hadn’t yet been filled. He opened a door, guided her inside, and then closed it behind them. Except for Luke and Logan’s large corner suites, the rest were the same generous size, with space for a desk, visitor chairs and extra room for a couch and bookcases. High definition televisions were mounted on the walls that were also connected to the intra-compound network. All the rooms were trendy with high-end contemporary furnishings. Each agent was allowed input into the decorations. His was masculine with dark wood and leather. If he had to describe this one, it would be California dreaming.

Annabelle turned in a circle, taking in the light aspen wood desk, the suede couch and leather desk chair, both the color of sand, the tropical plants, the pale blue walls and the pictures of the Pacific coast on the walls. Even the pendant light over the desk was made of blue sea glass. “This is gorgeous. Whose office is this?”

“Yours.”

She spun to him, eyes wide. “What?”

“I thought you could use it while you’re here.”

She stood stone still and for a moment, he feared he’d miscalculated. Then tears gathered in her eyes. “Mine? You set up space for me?”

“Yeah.”

“And the décor?”

He chuckled. “Totally BeBe’s doing. I just gave her ideas.”

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. Before he could reciprocate, she bounded away and rounded the desk. “I even have a computer?”

“Yes, and it’s safe, so you can check your email. It can’t be traced.”

She dropped to the leather chair and spun around, the look of pure joy on her face punching him in the gut. “And a window.” Then she turned back to her desk. “This is the perfect set-up. There’s even a drawing tablet.” She jiggled the rollerball mouse to bring the screen to life and gawked. “And my programs.” She lifted her watery gaze to his. “How did you know?”

He shrugged a shoulder. He’d given Peter Dennis the pieces of her hard drive and asked if he could at least find out what the programs were so he could purchase them for her. Peter took care of everything himself and even had the computer set up and delivered to her office. The curved monitor was thirty-two inches of UltraSharp definition.

Rising to her feet, she pushed back the chair and walked around the desk and into his arms. “I can’t believe you did this for me.” Then she was kissing him. It wasn’t a friendly thank you, peck, it was a raging inferno, at least on his part. His body ignited instantly and couldn’t get enough. She must be part sorceress because she’d put a spell on him. She gasped when he picked her up and placed her on the desk before stepping between her legs. He groaned at the contact. He was achingly hard and the sensation of her soft body cradling him was a pleasure he never wanted to end.

He’d never had sex in an office, though Dana Deluca had tried once or twice back when he was on the police force. Long nights spent filling out boring paperwork together led to dirty talk and roving hands. Despite being a cop, Dana was a bonafide exhibitionist. He, on the other hand, had no desire for one of their coworkers to walk in when he was bare-ass naked. He’d convinced her to wait until they made it to either her house or his. He couldn’t wait now if his life depended on it. If he didn’t get inside her in the next ten seconds, there was a very real possibility he’d explode.

His need was too great, so finesse went out the window. He lowered her back to the desk and yanked her pants down to her ankles. Then he freed himself, slid on a condom and was inside her, groaning at the way her body gripped him tight. He wanted to linger and enjoy the sensations but pausing jumped right out the window alongside finesse. It was hard and fast and he had to slam his mouth over hers when she came to absorb her cries. Or maybe it was the other way around.

She wrung everything from him, her inner muscles milking him until he collapsed on top of her, their lower bodies still joined. He thought after he’d had her once or twice, the urgency would wear off, but if anything, it grew stronger. Now that he knew what she felt like, the husky sounds she made, the look of pleasure on her face when she climaxed, the need was bordering on obsession. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get enough of her.

Slowly, he eased to his forearms and kissed her with the gentleness he should’ve shown her earlier. In his defense, she brought out the caveman in him—not that it was really a defense. Reluctantly, he pulled out, grabbed a tissue, and disposed of the condom before tucking himself back inside his cargos. He needed to apologize. He’d taken her hard and fast on a desk, for hell’s sake. Thank goodness BeBe purchased sturdy furniture. They were lucky they didn’t knock the monitor off, sending it crashing to the floor. That would’ve been fun explaining the shattered screen to Peter. They weren’t in California anymore so he doubted an earthquake defense would cut it.

“That was…wow,” she breathed.

Yeah, wow. He helped her adjust her clothes and then he kissed her because he just couldn’t stop himself.

#

Annabelle reclined in the comfortable leather executive chair in her temporary office and stared at the huge screen in front of her with complete and utter happiness. Kellan had been called away, leaving her to figure out what had just happened. She’d never had office sex before. Damn, she was missing out! It was an incredible rush, knowing someone might walk in and trying to be quiet. But the setting wasn’t what rocked her world, it was the man. She loved him with all her heart.

She’d started tumbling the first time she met him and then a little more each day. Who wouldn’t love a man so thoughtful, he’d arranged an office for her with everything she needed and décor that reminded her of home? He was one in a million.

She glanced at the framed picture of the Pacific waves crashing against a beach. This office was only temporary until it was safe to go back home. But where was home? It wasn’t Seattle anymore. She’d quit her job and sold her condo. She’d drifted apart from the friends she made during her tenure in the Evergreen State. It wasn’t Los Angeles. She’d lost touch with her high school and college friends, too. Rob’s house would be repaired from the fire and then she’d put it on the market, so she’d have no place to live.

Since discovering Rob left everything to her, she hadn’t had time to plan her future. In the back of her mind, she thought she’d stay in California, but that was because it was where she was living at the time. The advantage to her career choice was that she could get her business up and running here and then relocate when the time came.

She glanced around the room. Three solid walls and one made entirely of windows. It was painted a pale sea blue with light aspen wood trim. Her office in Seattle had been on the fourteenth floor of an upscale building with cutting edge design and high-tech accessories. It paled in comparison to this one. She couldn’t have designed a better space if she tried, right down to the teal blown glass sand dollar paperweight.

Kellan told her that she could use any of the facilities and he’d pointed out the huge building that housed the pool, exercise equipment, climbing wall, and even a parkour course. No wonder everyone she’d met so far had been incredibly fit. As tempting as it was to find a bathing suit and go for a swim, there was one place she wanted to visit first.

Turning off the light, she headed down the hall and found the elevator. Once she was outside, she spotted the building she was looking for and started walking. A golf cart rolled to a stop beside her. She turned to see a gorgeous blue-eyed blond man smiling at her. For a second, she thought it was Ethan.

“Can I give you a lift somewhere?”

“You must be Noah.” One brow lifted and she smiled. “Ethan told me all about you.”

“I am. And you’re Annabelle. Nice to meet you.” She shook his hand and then slid onto the bench seat beside him. “I hope the stories Ethan divulged were all good.”

“Not all of them…Nature Rain,” she teased. He dropped his head to the steering wheel and groaned. Actually, she lied. All the stories were good. It was obvious Ethan idolized his older brother. She knew Noah had been shot several times not long ago and she could tell how much it upset Ethan, but Noah looked healthy now. “He also told me you’d been injured in the line of duty a few weeks ago. How are you doing?”

“Great. I hope to be cleared for active duty soon.” He pressed the accelerator and they rolled forward. “Where are you headed?”

“To the facility where they train the dogs.”

“Wise choice,” he said approvingly. “I love watching the furry agents in action.”

She laughed and then waved when he dropped her off at the building and motored away. She opened the door and glanced around, expecting it to smell like, well, a place that trained animals. Instead, the air was clean and fresh and the building was spotless. She headed to the right where she could see a huge open arena. A small set of bleachers was set up behind a plexiglass partition. Out on the wide open floor, a dark-haired woman was issuing commands to a dog navigating several obstacles. The dog was incredible, leaping effortlessly over a low fence and then scrambling up a wall at least six feet tall. After another command, he came to an abrupt stop. The trainer used hand signs this time and the dog dashed for a pile of what looked like bags filled with sand. He dug and burrowed until he came away with what he was searching for, dropping it at the woman’s feet. She scratched his head and gave him a treat.

“Can I hope you’re a new hire, here to help train the dogs?”

She turned to see a man walking towards her with a broad smile and a dog attached to a leash. She’d been so engrossed watching the activity, she hadn’t heard them approach.

“Not an agent, just an observer. Is he a German Shepherd?”

“Belgian Malinois. We do train some German Shepherd’s, but most are like this guy.” He stroked the flank of the mahogany colored dog. His coat was a deep reddish-brown with black tipped hair.

“Is it okay to pet him? I know you’re not supposed to interact with trained dogs when they’re working.”

“Sure. He’s off duty.”

She crouched down and scratched behind the dog’s ears. His eyes closed in ecstasy and he rewarded her with a big lick. She laughed. How could anyone mistreat these sweet animals and pit them against each other? Robbie was the devil.

“I think Echo likes you.”

“Echo?”

“Most of our dogs are named after the military alphabet. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie.”

“Delta, Echo, Foxtrot,” she continued.

“Yeah. We were all handlers in the military.” He held out a hand. “Gabe Kline.”

She pushed to her feet. “Annabelle St. John.”

“What a beautiful name for a beautiful lady.” He was smiling at her and still holding her hand. He was cute with curly black hair and green eyes. He was tall, but not as tall as Kellan. Muscular, but not as muscular as Kellan. Fit, but not as fit as Kellan. Damn, she had a one-track mind. Tugging her hand away, she said, “Nice to meet you, Gabe.”

“You, too, Annabelle. You’re not from around here.”

It was more of a statement than a question, still, she answered with, “I’m from California.”

“No kidding? A fellow Californian? Me, too. What part?”

“Los Angeles.”

“I’m from Oakland.”

“Kline, it’s Echo’s turn for the course.”

“Coming,” he said over his shoulder to the woman who was standing with her arms crossed, glaring at him. He rolled his eyes. “Morgana can be a hardass sometimes.”

“Is she in charge?”

“No, that’d be the guy up there. Staff Sergeant hardass.” He pointed to a deck in front of a glass booth that overlooked the facility. “Quinn Billings.”

She glanced up to see a tall, blond man wearing the standard uniform of polo shirt and tactical pants. His thick arms were crossed as he surveyed the action on the dog course. She turned back to Gabe, surprised to realize he was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. She thought all the agents wore the same outfit.

“Nice meeting you, Gabe. You, too, Echo,” she said as she gave his head one last scratch. She started to leave when Gabe called her name. She turned with a brow raised.

“I know this great Mediterranean restaurant in town. They serve the best falafel. How about I take you there tonight?”

She offered a friendly smile. “Thanks, but I’m…” What did she say? Sleeping with Kellan? Living with him? Crazy in love with him after a few short days? “With someone,” she finished, hoping to gently let him down.

“Someone here?”

She nodded.

“Do I know him?”

“Well, he is the—” She almost used Ethan’s FNG title and chuckled at herself. “He’s not been here long. Kellan Polizzi.”

“Ah, I see. Well, can’t blame a guy for trying.”

“Thank you for the offer,” she said, meaning it. She hoped they could become friends. She intended to spend a lot of time with the dogs.

With one last wave, she headed for the steps that led to the observation deck. The man Gabe said was Quinn Billings turned before she topped the stairs. He’d uncrossed his arms and faced her. He looked imposing.

“Hello, Mr. Billings. I’m—”

“Annabelle St. John,” he finished. Word obviously traveled fast. Moving forward, he extended a hand. “Call me Quinn. Nice to meet you.”

“You, too. You have an amazing facility.”

He turned to survey the grounds. “We do. Thanks.” And then back to her. “You interested in learning how to train dogs?”

“No…yes.” She shook her head. “Not necessarily train them, but I’d like to help however I can.” She tilted her head. “You knew who I was, how much do you know about my background?”

“I know about your stepbrother and his dogfighting activities if that’s what you mean. I was called in to use my contacts to help track down the illegal ring.”

That made sense. “It sickens me that he was involved. I thought that if I helped here, it might atone for some of his sins. Even out the Karma.”

“You don’t have any atoning to do, but we can always use the assistance. The dogs are always happy to meet new playmates when they’re off duty.”

She smiled. “I would love that. Thank you, Quinn. I’m not sure about a schedule or when I can be here.”

“Not a problem. You’re welcome anytime. If you need something and I’m not around, Morgana Irving is my second in command. She can help you. The other trainers are Sabrina Bradford and Justin Atwell. I saw you met Gabe. He’s a probationary agent along with Riley Santos. They’re temps right now until they pass the tests to become agents.”

“Quinn, guess what?”

They both turned to see a young boy hurtling up the steps two at a time. He stopped suddenly when he spotted Annabelle. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were in a meeting.”

“We’re just chatting. Annabelle, this is Kai Costa, superhero, future dog trainer and all-around good kid.”

“Good? Try great!” He rolled his eyes and Annabelle laughed. He was adorable. “Are you a new agent?”

“No, I’m utilizing the services, though.”

“Kellan’s working on her case,” Quinn told him.

His eyes lit up. “Kellan’s back? I have so much to tell him,” he said enthusiastically.

“What did you want me to guess earlier?”

“Oh yeah.” Kai grinned. “Dad had to run to town, and I went with him. We got gas for a dollar forty-nine.”

“Wow, that’s a great price,” Quinn agreed.

Kai sighed dramatically. “Yeah. Unfortunately, it was at the Taco Hut.”

Annabelle and Quinn both burst out laughing. Kai looked pleased with himself. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gabe turn to look up at them with a frown.

“How long are you going to be here Annabelle?” Kai asked.

“I’m not sure yet, a few weeks at the least.”

“Dope!” Then Kai cackled like the Wicked Witch and rubbed his hands together. “I have a new audience.”

“Should I be scared?” she asked Quinn, only half kidding.

“Most definitely,” he answered, and Kai smiled broadly.

“Charlie’s stall isn’t going to clean itself,” he reminded Kai.

“On it. Laters!”

#

Phase One of Kellan’s plan to acclimate Annabelle to her new surroundings was complete and, he had to admit, a roaring success. They’d certainly christened her office properly. Sex on the desk. Damn, that was a risqué move and he was usually more of a straight arrow kind of guy. He hadn’t even locked the door.

Thankfully the surrounding offices were currently vacant, but he didn’t think he’d have been able to stop even if they were occupied. Hell, he couldn’t have stopped if a bomb detonated a foot away. When he kissed her, the rest of the world disappeared. His entire focus narrowed down to Annabelle: her taste, her scent, the sexy way she reacted to him.

He’d thought himself in love before. Had even considered proposing to Tess, a woman he’d dated seriously for six months. At first, she got off on his job as a cop. She loved the authority that came with his badge and bragged to her friends to behave or she’d have her boyfriend arrest them. After four months, they moved in together, but soon, the dangers of the profession took a toll on the relationship. When an officer from a different shift had been shot, Tess gave him an ultimatum: her or the job. When he refused to pick one over the other, she made the choice for him. She packed up and moved out without a goodbye. She’d been ridiculously easy to get over, so she’d done him a huge favor. To use a cop analogy, he’d dodged a bullet by not marrying her.

The feelings that rolled around inside of him when he was with Annabelle were foreign. He was navigating uncharted territory, but he refused to put a label on it. It wasn’t just her beauty that drew him to her like a moth to a flame. He genuinely liked her. She was sweet and down to earth. The fact that she was running for her life but took the time to find the autographed jersey to send to Andre—which they’d done this morning before heading to the airport in Burbank—showcased her caring and generous nature. Lust was in the mix, as well. It was too early to fall in love, but he could see that happening the more time they spent together. Which brought him to Phase Two.

“Hey, BeBe.”

“Kellan!” She rolled over to him and he leaned down to hug her. “Welcome home. You’ve been missed.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to stop by sooner.”

“No worries. I’m glad you’re okay.” She shook a finger at him. “Don’t be getting shot again.”

“I’ll try not to,” he said drolly. “I brought you something.”

Her eyes lit with happiness. “A present? Gimme!”

He handed her a gift bag and watched with amusement as she ripped at the wrapping he’d paid extra for like a kid at Christmas. She lifted out the snow globe with a look of wonder. This one featured the skyline of downtown LA inside the globe. The base was surrounded by Los Angeles landmarks.

“It plays music,” she said in glee. She cranked the knob and I Love LA by Randy Newman started playing. “I love it. Thank you so much.” She reached up an arm to hug him. “I know just the place for this.” She backed her wheelchair up and zipped around to the glass display case that Luke and Logan had built for this very purpose in her office. BeBe loved snow globes. All the agents brought them back for her from their various trips when possible. She placed his between the ones Mason and Sawyer purchased. They’d shopped together so that they didn’t duplicate designs.

“Thank you again, Kellan.”

“Thank you for taking care of the office for Annabelle. You knocked that one out of the park.” How she had arranged everything in a few short days was nothing short of miraculous. That’s why they all teased her about being part witch.

“She liked it?”

He chuckled. “Are you kidding, she may move in there instead of my place.”

BeBe looked pleased. “I’m glad.”

“The space is perfect. Hopefully, she can get her graphic design business off the ground.” Hint. Hint. If you wanted something done, you went straight to BeBe.

“I have no doubt she will.”

#

Knock, knock.

“Come in.” Annabelle hadn’t had a chance to catch her breath all day. If she didn’t know better, she’d think Kellan set her office up inside Grand Central Station.

Kai Costa stuck his head inside the door. “Hi, Annabelle.”

“Hi, Kai. Come on in.”

He opened the door wider. “I’m not alone. I brought my squad.”

Annabelle smiled. “Your squad?”

“Yeah, you know, my crew, my posse, my homies.”

An adorable band of kids filed in and she smiled at them, wishing she had some candy or something to give them, though their parents probably wouldn’t appreciate the kids leaving her office on a sugar high.

“Allow me to make introductions,” Kai said formally.

She hid a smile. “By all means.”

“This is Tiffany and her twin Sean. They’re Luke and Layla’s kids.”

“Technically, Layla is our sister, but she and Luke adopted us so now she’s our mom,” Tiffany pointed out. Annabelle remembered the story. It’d been major headlines when Layla Brooks returned from the dead.

Kai moved down the line. “This is RJ. He’s Carter and Maggie’s nephew. He’s living with them for a while.” Ethan had told her about RJ’s mom—Carter’s sister—and her drug problems. She’d undergone an intensive rehabilitation program and was on the road to recovery. She was hoping to regain custody of her son soon.

“This is my stepsister, Gracie. She idolizes me,” Kai boasted. Gracie rolled her eyes but didn’t disagree. “This is Zoe Duquesne, Harlow’s sister. She’s visiting for a couple of days.” Zoe waved enthusiastically and she waved back.

“And last but certainly not least—”

A beautiful little girl with the bluest eyes and long black ringlets climbed on Annabelle’s lap. “Hi. My name is Belle, too.”

“It is?”

The girl nodded, raven curls dancing along her face. “Uh huh. Well, Bella. Isabella. Sometimes they call me Izzy.” She pointed at the group, her button nose wrinkling. “I don’t like it. I’m not an Izzy.”

“Yes you are, Izzy,” Kai teased.

She pursed her pink bow lips. “Am not. I like it when my Daddy calls me Bella. Do you like to be called Belle?”

She did when it was Kellan calling her by that nickname. “I do.”

“As I was saying,” Kai continued, “That moppet is Logan and Jade’s daughter, Isabella.”

“Hey, I’m not a moppet.” She turned to Annabelle. “What’s a moppet?”

She smiled and took liberties with the definition. “A moppet is a beautiful young girl.”

“Am I a moppet?” Gracie asked.

“More like a Muppet,” Kai joked and then ruffled her hair. “I tease.”

“It’s nice to meet all of you. I’m glad you stopped by.”

“We’re actually here on business,” Kai said.

She raised a brow. “Oh, you are?”

“Yeah, we want you to design avatars for us.”

#

Kellan headed to Annabelle’s office to escort her back to their place. Their place. It sounded so…homey. He scoffed at himself. Right. She hadn’t even spent the night there, yet and already he was moving her in permanently. It was too early for any declarations or commitments. Still, it didn’t stop him from picturing them designing a house together on the plot of land he’d purchased. Maybe he’d show her the plans he’d been looking at and ask her opinions.

He rapped on her open door. “Hey Belle, you ready to go?”

In lieu of an answer, she shot out of her chair and launched herself at him. He caught her in the air and staggered back a step, concentrating on not whimpering when she impacted both his bruised chest and tender exit wound. When he felt wetness against his neck, the pain was instantly forgotten. Every protective instinct he possessed fired to alert. “Annabelle, babe, what’s wrong?”

He felt her shake her head and cling tighter, not able to speak. Concern quickly turned to fury. Did someone say or do something to upset her? If so, he’d be having a little mano a mano with the perp, whoever he or she was. Nobody got away with making his woman cry. He closed the door with his foot and carried her to the suede sofa, easing down with her in his lap. His fingers glided down her soft hair. “Talk to me, honey. What’s wrong?”

She pulled back and sniffed, tears sparkling in her crystal blue eyes. “Nothing’s wrong.”

He caught a tear with his thumb. “Then why are you crying? You’re breaking my heart.”

“These are happy tears. I can’t believe you did all this for me.”

“The office? It was nothing.” Especially since BeBe did most of the work. He’d just given her ideas. Plus, the rooms were sitting empty. The bosses had planned for expansion when they drew up blueprints for the building. He had no doubt they would be filled soon. It just made sense for Annabelle to use one while she was here.

She reached behind him and grabbed a tissue from a box on a side table. “Not just the office. The computer with the programs I lost when Robbie destroyed my laptop.”

That had been all Peter’s doing. Kellan told him what she needed, and Peter filled in the rest, insisting he knew the kind of programs Annabelle would want to use. Apparently, he’d been right.

“Not to mention the new phone that does practically everything but wash and dry my clothes.”

That was all Tyler. The phones were like mini pocket robots, doing just about anything you could think a phone capable of, some things you didn’t expect and some that were just flat-out freaky. Yet they were completely untraceable. Hell, the kid could probably come up with a laundry app to wash and dry clothes if he applied himself.

“Then I had a steady stream of people stopping by to request that I either redesign their websites or create new ones.”

Once again, BeBe deserved all the credit. He’d just put a bug in her ear and she’d run with it. “Who stopped by?”

“First was BeBe Davis—I love her by the way. She wanted me to create a website for her wheelchair basketball league. She had all kinds of creative ideas and I was psyched to get started but as soon as she left, your bosses dropped in with their wives. Both Jade Bradley and Layla Colton want me to redesign their personal websites. Can you believe that? An Academy Award-winning actress and a Grammy winner. I mean, that’s the big leagues.”

“That’s awesome—”

She held up a hand to silence him. “They hadn’t even left before Kendall Demarchis, Olivia Mylonas and Taylor Costa showed up. I’m redoing the website for TKO Productions. Then Taylor asked if I’d redesign her personal author website as well. Next came Hillary Steele, wanting me to freshen up her husband Reed’s web presence.”

Wow, he had no idea this many of his coworkers would step up. Damn, he was getting chills.

“Next was Melody Colton, wanting a complete redesign of her rather new Harmony! website.”

“I had no idea—”

“I’m not done,” she interrupted. “Kaitlyn Bradley bopped in to ask if I’d design her a celebrity chef website.” He opened his mouth to speak, but that hand came up to quiet him again, so he snapped it closed. “Next were Harlow and Cassidy. Harlow wants me to create a website to display her artwork, while Cassidy wants me to design her web presence from the ground up for her new dance academy. We’re talking logos and brochures, everything. And finally, Kai Costa and his squad came in wanting me to make them individual avatars.”

There was so much about that sentence that he didn’t understand, starting with Kai having a squad—what was he, a cheerleader?—and ending with avatars. But damn, his head was spinning. “Honey, that’s great.” And would keep her busy for the next millennium. Or two.

Her mouth quivered. “When I quit my job in Seattle, I knew I wanted to open my own company someday. I hoped to entice a few of my former clients to jump ship and take a chance with me.” More quivering. “N-now I d-don’t have to do that. My clients will include award-winning celebrities, a best-selling author, reality television personalities, not to mention successful companies. I-I’m completely…overwhelmed.” Then she was crying again and hugging him tightly.

Damn. Overwhelmed? That didn’t sound good. “Are these happy tears?”

“Y-yes. Definitely tears of happiness.”

His eyes closed in relief. Thank goodness. For a second there, he feared he’d pushed too hard. He still wished she’d stop. Tears, no matter the reason, made him uncomfortable. But knowing he’d helped make her happy was worth the unease.

He never dreamed so many of his friends would request her services. Though he’d love for Annabelle to work on the company website, they had a department that took care of their online presence. Besides, she’d have so much work to do, she wouldn’t have time.

Suddenly, she sprung from his lap, her bony knee making contact with an area not designed for sharp blows and his eyes crossed. His whimper went unnoticed.

“Oh my gosh, Kellan, I have so much to do! I don’t even have a name for my company.”

She started pacing, completely oblivious to the fact that he was now the one crying. Not really, but he felt like it. His poor manhood had been abused.

“I need to incorporate, probably an LLC, that’s a Limited Liability Corporation, and I’ll need to design a logo.” She threw up her arms. “Heck, I need my own website.”

He gingerly stood and tried to surreptitiously adjust himself. He didn’t want anything upsetting her when she was this excited. “Luke’s sister-in-law Rachel is a photographer. She can probably take pictures you can use for designs.”

She blinked owl eyes at him, tears gathering again. “You have to stop. I can’t take much more.”

Damn, he wanted to make her this happy every day for the rest of their lives. Jolting from the random thought, he shook his head. “You don’t have to do everything at once. Take your time, get settled here first.”

“But I want to! Kellan, I’ve never met a more wonderful group of people. I just got here and already they’ve made me feel like one of them. They’re taking me shopping tomorrow and then out to lunch.”

Screw it, he was done pretending. If it were up to him, she’d be staying long after the will cleared, and she was free to leave.