Callan's Proposition. Barbara McCauley

he realized. Soft green. He’d never noticed that before, either. She stared indignantly at him. “Mr. Sinclair, what are you doing?”

      He sighed heavily. “I’m taking you home.”

      “That won’t be necessary.” She shrugged out of his hold and straightened her jacket, then peered up at him with a strange squint. “You don’t look anything like John Travolta.”

      He had no idea how to respond to that one. “Okay.”

      “I just want you to know how much I enjoyed working for you, Mr. Sinclair—”

      “Callan.”

      “Callan,” she said his name softly, as if she’d never heard it before. She looked at him for a long moment, then whispered, “I’m sorry.”

      He could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes before she turned and wobbled away. Abigail cry? No, Callan thought. Abigail didn’t cry. She was always so…so together.

      Well, except for at the moment, anyway. He watched her teeter toward the rest rooms, then raised his brows when she walked into the men’s room.

      Uh-oh.

      He was on his way to rescue her when she came back out of the rest room, her face bright red. Tom Winters, Bloomfield County Mayor, came out a few steps behind her. His face was red, too.

      “Callan.” Tom nodded stiffly and kept walking.

      “Tom.” Callan held back the threatening grin.

      “Mr. Sinclair.” Abigail put a hand on his arm and leaned against him, then said in a small voice, “Callan, could you please drive me home?”

      Abigail’s home was only three short blocks away: a little white cottage covered with thick vines of pink roses. Callan hadn’t quite pictured Abigail in such a feminine-looking house, but then, he hadn’t ever pictured her in any style house.

      He pulled his truck into the narrow asphalt driveway, thankful that she’d at least been clear-headed enough to give directions. He cut the engine and climbed out, then came around and opened the door for her. She reached for her purse at the same time she stepped out, and ended up sliding off the seat into his arms. Her body pressed against his while he steadied her.

      “Excuse me,” she said, then hiccuped.

      Damn, but Abigail was soft, Callan thought. And curvy. Damn.

      She pressed a palm against his chest and pushed away from him, then straightened her glasses. Long strands of blond hair had escaped from the bun at the back of her head and tumbled around her flushed face. “Thank you for the ride home, Mr. Sinclair. Goodbye.”

      He watched her turn on unsteady legs and walk crookedly toward her front door. Goodbye? No way he was leaving. He had no intention of letting her out of his sight. Especially in her condition.

      He followed her up the brick walkway, noticing that her lawn was mowed and neatly edged, her bushes trimmed and her flower beds free of weeds. She paused when she reached the step leading onto her front porch and stared at it as if it were a steep cliff.

      “Abigail.” He took her arm and helped her up the step. “We need to talk.”

      She dug through her purse. “Here they are.” She pulled her keys from her purse and smiled brightly.

      He took the keys from her and opened the door. “How ’bout I make us some coffee?”

      She laughed at that. “You make coffee? I’m supposed to make the coffee, remember? That’s my job.” She frowned suddenly. “At least it was my job. Until I quit. Francine will have to make you coffee now.”

      Callan shuddered at the thought and ushered Abigail inside the door. The living room was cozy: the over-stuffed blue-gingham sofa was accented with floral pillows; the walls were covered with various watercolor landscapes. A thick, deep-blue rug edged with pink flowers lay neatly on the shiny hardwood floor. A crystal vase filled with fragrant pink roses sat on top of an oval mahogany coffee table.

      She was as tidy and organized at home as she was at work, Callan thought, but he hadn’t expected all the hearts-and-flowers decor. He’d have thought her home would be more…simple. Plain.

      Dull was actually the word that came to mind.

      Except it wasn’t dull at all, he thought. It was warm and comfortable. Homey. He realized he had a lot to learn about Abigail. A whole lot.

      But he would think about the many unknown facets of Abigail Thomas later. At the moment he intended to start with the mystery of her sudden departure from his office and where their strange engagement and her aunts fit into the puzzle.

      Now where had she disappeared to?

      He heard the pop of a cork and followed the sound into her kitchen. Barefoot, Abigail stood at the counter, pouring white wine into a glass.

      He groaned silently.

      “Abigail,” he said, moving behind her. “I thought we were going to have coffee.”

      “No-o-o-o,” she said, stretching the word out as she kept pouring. Some of the wine actually made it into the glass. “You’re going to have coffee. I’m having wine.”

      “You don’t drink much, do you?” he asked.

      She giggled at that. “Heavens, no. I don’t care for the taste, and besides, it affects me terribly.”

      That was an understatement, he thought, then swooped the glass of wine off the counter when she started to reach for it. He took a sip. Yuck. He’d take a cold beer over white wine any day. “Thanks.”

      She frowned at him. “I thought you wanted coffee.”

      “I changed my mind.” He took a second sip, tried not to grimace. She was reaching for another glass when he took her arm and led her to the kitchen table. “Abigail, you owe it to me to tell me why you quit.”

      Pulling out a chair, he gently eased her into it. Her skirt pulled high up on her legs when she sat, exposing smooth, slender thighs. The Abigail he knew would have quickly pulled her skirt back down. This Abigail left it to ride high on her legs. Callan glanced away and took another sip of wine, thankful that at least she still had her jacket on.

      He kept his eyes riveted on her face.

      She leaned her elbows on the table and covered her face with her hands. “It’s so humiliating.”

      “We established that.” He sat in the chair beside her. A fluffy, ruffled blue-striped pad covered the seat. “You and me being engaged. Why don’t we start with that?”

      “I don’t feel well,” she said from behind her hands.

      “Could you please get me a drink of water?”

      He doubted a drink of water would help her problem, but if he was ever going to get any information out of her, Callan thought, he’d better humor her. He took a glass out of the cupboard, filled it with tap water, then set it in front of her as he sat back down.

      And realized that she’d nearly emptied the glass of wine he’d so foolishly left sitting on the table.

      “Abigail!”

      With her hands folded primly in her lap, she straightened her shoulders and looked at him. Her glasses were tilted on her straight little nose, and the expression on her face was one of complete innocence. In a very strange way she looked kind of cute, Callan thought.

      Rather than straighten her glasses, he reached over and took them off, then set them on the table. Her eyes were big and wide as she blinked at him, then hiccuped. He couldn’t help but smile. “Abigail, tell me why you quit.”

      Her gaze dropped to her lap. “I had to. With Aunt Ruby and Aunt Emerald coming in tomorrow, they would have found out.”

      “Found out what?”

      “That