Page 46 of To Catch a Latte Thick as Thieves

“Oh, heavens, I thought you meant Annie had been robbed.” Annie’s mother put her hand over her heart and slumped back in her chair.

Her father patted her mother’s arm in reassurance and they clutched fingers. For a second, Annie felt as if they’d never divorced.

“Fisher, I’d like you to meet my parents. Charles and Olivia Talbot. Oh, I’m sorry. It’s Charles Talbot and Olivia Blickensderfer.”

Annie’s father shot her a look and she shrugged. It wasn’t her fault that Blickensderfer was easier to remember than Bissy. Or was it Sissy?

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Fisher said as they shook hands.

“Mom, Dad, this is my tenant, Fisher McCoy.”

“Tenant?” they asked in unison.

“And he works here,” Annie said, beginning to enjoy herself.

“He works here?” Olivia asked. “I was under the impression that he had a job.”

“He...” Annie began, but Fisher cut her off.

“I am employed. I’m just helping Annie out because one of her employees didn’t show.”

“Good help is hard to find,” her mother commiserated. “So what do you do?”

“I work for the government.”

“You can’t beat that,” her father chimed in. “I started my business on government contracts. Good pay, good benefits and a solid retirement. Not to mention an opportunity to buy up savings bonds.”

Fisher beamed over their heads at Annie.

“A great job for a family man,” her mother continued.

“I couldn’t agree more, Mrs. Blickensderfer,” he said without laughing.

“Call me Olivia,” she said and rose to take his arm. “Now do you plan to settle in the Phoenix area?”

Annie watched as her parents walked with Fisher to the shop. She’d never seen her parents take to anyone so quickly. It was like an impromptu meeting of the Mutual Admiration Society. And her parents hadn’t argued once. She shook her head as she followed them out.

Another half hour passed before her parents finally left. Fisher and her father bonded over an in-depth discussion of the stock market which left her eyelids sagging at half mast. Her mother had been won over when he correctly identified her Fendi handbag with a compliment.

“A man with good taste is very hard to find,” she whispered to Annie. Annie didn’t have the heart to point out that he’d probably read the label on the zipper tab.

As soon as her parents departed, she disappeared into her office. This day was becoming too much.

“Annie, I’m taking off. If that’s all right?” Fisher asked from the doorway. He had changed into a gray suit and looked every inch the FBI guy that he was.

“Hmm?” She frowned at him. “Oh, yeah, sure. Go ahead.”

Fisher crossed the room with a frown. “You all right?”

His steady brown gaze was penetrating and Annie glanced down at the top of her desk. Picking up a pen, she clicked the top of it again and again as if she was about to write something of great importance.

A large brown hand reached across the desk and pulled the pen from her fingers. “Annie?”

“I’m fine,” she lied, trying not to be distracted by the warmth of his palm around her knuckles.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with your parents, does it?”

“No,” she said.