"She's fine," Annabel said, a little distracted by the man's ebullience. "Her servant, Lucius, gave me a list of what we need and a note for you—"
Again the man interrupted, but he didn't sound as enthused this time as he said, "Lucius!" He rolled his eyes. "All the time trying to cheat a poor merchant out of an honest profit. The man's so tightfisted you can't pry his fingers open with a crowbar!"
Annabel tried not to smile. She had a feeling that watching Lucius and this man haggle would be a sight to behold. And that the two of them would probably enjoy every minute of it.
She handed over the list and the note, which the store owner—Annabel supposed he was Mr. Avallone—scanned quickly and then crumpled with a grimace and tossed in the gutter. He waved the list and said, "You come with me, Miss Lowell. I'll take good care of you."
Annabel followed him into the market and watched while he began gathering the items on the list and placing them in a cardboard box. Since she didn't have anything to do, she looked around the shop. The front of it was filled with cluttered shelves, and in the rear was a butcher's counter with long strings of salamis, pepperonis, and franks hanging from the ceiling behind it. Annabel had never seen the inside of such a market except in pictures.
Square beams supported the ceiling in places, and tacked to them were signs and notices of all sorts. Evidently, Avallone's Market served as a sort of neighborhood bulletin board. The words Fire Department on one of the signs caught Annabel's eye, and she moved over closer to see what it said.
Her eyes widened as she read the notice. It was an announcement of an annual competition between the San Francisco Fire Department and the Oakland Fire Department, to be held in Golden Gate Park on March 17. That was four days from now, Annabel realized. According to the sign, the competition would be in all sorts of firefighting skills and would be the highlight of a daylong celebration also featuring games for children, concerts by the respective fire department bands, and rides on the horse-drawn fire wagons. The finale would be a race between fire wagons from both departments.
Cole will probably be there. That was Annabel's first thought when she had finished reading the sign. But so what if he was? she asked herself. It didn't matter to her what Mr. Cole Brady did. He'd certainly made it clear that she didn't matter to him.
"Mr. Avallone?" she heard herself saying.
The grocer turned toward her with a smile. "Yes, Miss Lowell?"
Annabel pointed to the sign announcing the contest. "Is this new, or has it been up here since last year?"
"Oh, it's new, all right. Big doings in Golden Gate Park. The missus and the kids and I always go. You should, too." Annabel nodded slowly. "Perhaps I will." The shopkeeper placed the full carton on the rear counter. "I'll have one of my boys deliver this to Mrs. Noone's right away, and I'll put the charge on her bill. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"No, I believe that's everything." Annabel turned and started for the door.
She had taken only a couple of steps when she stopped short and stared at the familiar silhouette of the man standing in the doorway.
****
It was her.
And she was coming toward him like an angel in a blue dress, emerging from shadows into light.
Then she stopped, the surprised look on her face swiftly turning into one of cool anger, and Cole felt a twinge in his chest.
"Annabel," he said, his voice sounding strange even to his own ears.
"Cole," she replied. She didn't really sound angry, he thought, just noncommittal. That was all right. He could stand that, maybe. He knew he couldn't bear it if she were angry with him.
He cleared his throat and took off his uniform cap. "How have you been?"
"Just fine," she said. "You heard that I'm working for Mrs. Noone, I take it."
"Yes, of course. She spoke to me. She . . . she's very fond of you already."
And so am I, he thought. I just hadn’t realized how much.
"I'm fond of her," Annabel said. Her attitude softened slightly. "I'm happy there. Thank you, Cole."
"What for?"
"For finding a place for me."
"I was happy to help."
Lord, but he sounded stiff and formal! If that was another legacy from his father, it was one he could do without right now, Cole thought. Annabel looked so lovely it was all he could do not to lean forward and kiss the soft, smooth curve of her cheek.
But he knew that if he got that close to those magnificent eyes, he would want to kiss them, too, and then her lips, those sweet, red, inviting lips . . .
She turned half-around and pointed to something behind her. "I saw the sign announcing the competition between the San Francisco Fire Department and the Oakland Fire Department. Are you going to be there?"
"The competition?" he repeated. "Oh. Yes, I'll be there, I suppose."
"Good." She smiled. "I will, too."
"I'm sure you'll enjoy watching all the contests. The whole day is quite a spectacle."
Annabel shook her head. "No, Cole, I don't think you understand. I won't be going there to observe. I plan to participate."
Chapter 10