Page 31 of Her Dom's Secret Past

Chapter Ten

John

I’d faced down people holding guns on me, stared at those threatening to hack out my guts, but at the moment my stomach was in knots. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

When I’d read that piece in the local rag about Anabelle and saw her business was in Hornsby, I knew I had to see her again. I hadn’t been able to get her out of my mind these past eight weeks. Okay, she didn’t ring me. But did that mean she didn’t want to continue what we started while away?

Yeah, of course it did, but I was a glutton for punishment.

I wanted to hear it from those luscious lips. Now here I was inside a very feminine place—a bridal boutique. And boy was it classy. Plush cream carpets dampened the sound of feet moving. Voices in whispers and this big ferocious guy in a well-made suit bearing down on me like a bulldozer. He was probably thinking what the hell was another male doing in here? He looked tough, like he’d take no prisoners. In other times, he’d be someone I’d want by my side in a fight.

“Hello. May I be of assistance?”

The terse sentence may have been innocent but it held all the promise of the Spanish Inquisition. One wrong answer and I’d be out the door before I knew it.

“Good morning, I wonder if I could speak with Ana,er…Anabelle?”

He raked his eyes up and down, taking in every part of me from my white t-shirt to my black loafers. I wasn’t sure if he liked what he saw or not because his face wore a mask of indifference.

“I’m sorry, she’s at a meeting at the moment.” He paused as if deciding whether I was dangerous or merely something that could be thrown into the garbage. “Perhaps I could help you?”

“No, not really.”

His eyes narrowed at that. Obviously not the answer he wanted to hear.

“Did you have an appointment?”

Ooh, spiteful. He already knew the answer to that, I could tell by the smirk. It said, “No appointment, Johnny, so get going.”

“No. Can you tell me when she’ll be back?”

The guy glanced casually at his watch then gave me a look, kind of like he was sizing me up or trying to decide if he should throw me out. I had about six centimeters on him, although we were close as far as the muscle went, so it would be an even fight. He raised an eyebrow. I could see the smirk widen.

“Are you enquiring about a gown?”

A new tactic, sneaky. I swore I heard laughter in that question. This guy played dirty and I gained a new respect for him.

“No, it’s personal. I need to speak with her, it’s important.”

“I see.”

Wow, how much can you say with only two words?

It sounded as if he was questioning my parentage, my honesty, my masculinity, and my financial capabilities. Still, he finally gave me something positive.

“I’m afraid she won’t be back until about eleven.”

“Okay. Can you tell her John called in and…”

Shit, what could I say?Maybe I was damn stupid to try to get her to change her mind. The guy was looking at me as if to say, “Hurry up or I’ll change my mind about being nice.”

“Can you please tell her John came and I’ll swing past around eleven-thirty, if she’d like to see me.”

That sounded all right. Gave her an out if she didn’t want to meet up.

“Just that?”

“Yeah.”