Page 9 of The Pucking Girl Next Door

Taking a chance, I look up at her over my bowl and can't help but smile when I see her eating. It's nice to know life hasn't taken that kindness away from her.

Chapter 8

Annabelle

"Hey, after the dishes, would you like to watch a movie?" Smith asks me as he drops off another dish from dinner into the sink.

"Sure. That sounds great," I say trying to sound as non-chalant as possible, even though I'm freaking out on the inside. Not sure if I pull it off because my inner teen is screaming. Ever since I saw him this morning, the crush that I thought was no longer seems to have come back in full force. Feeling like that young girl is not something I wanted to feel again. The idea of him rejecting me makes my heart drop, I'm not sure I'd be able to recover. I try and focus on the dishes in front of me, but it's hard because my inner teenager is screaming at me.

I can't believewe'reabout to watch a movie with Smith Cabot.

"Awesome. What movies are you into now a days?" he shouts back to me as he walks toward the living room.

"I like anything but scary," I yell back, being mindful not to look over at him.

"Oh yeah, now I remember how much of a chicken you were growing up," he chuckles as he looks back over his shoulder at me, and then gives me a wink.

"Hey, it's yours and Steven's fault I'm a scaredy cat, really. You guys would gang up on me and try to scare me on purpose."

"Of course we did. We were young boys. What else would we have done?" he says grinning at me and it's freaking sexy as all get out.

Not wanting him to know how much he affects me, I continue to wash the dishes answering him, while keeping my voice as flat as possible. "Oh, I don't know…maybe torment someone else?" I see him open his mouth as if he was about to say something else, but my phone prevents us from talking further when it rings.

"Do you mind checking to see who that is?" I ask as I lean my head toward where my phone is sitting on the counter.

"Sure," he says as he walks over to my phone. His brows scrunch when he looks down at the caller ID. "It's someone named Frannie."

I let out an exasperated breath as I turn the water off and dry my hands. Once they're dry, I go to answer my phone, turning my back on Smith to get some privacy, because I can't imagine that this is going to be good.

"Hello?"

"Annabelle. You were supposed to finish that report I sent you last night before you left."

No hello, or are you on vacation? Nothing. I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to keep my cool, because this woman drives me nuts. Taking a deep breath, I calmly state, "I did. It's on your desk and in your inbox."

"Well, I'm looking at my inbox, and it's not there."

"Give me a minute, I'll resend it."

"You're not on vacation?" And it sounds like she's a little hopeful at that idea, leaving me feeling uncertain. "Not yet. I wasn't able to leave before the storm, but I'm go—."

"Good, I'll see you on Monday. And Annabelle, don't forget to send me that report," she interrupts me and then hangs up before I can tell her I am still trying to go on vacation. I guess I'm not going to the Bahamas.

I squeeze my phone in my hand as I grit my teeth together trying to release the anger that I feel every time I talk to that infuriating woman. How did she even get to the level that she's at?

Plastering on a smile, I spin back toward the kitchen sink, hoping that Smith didn't pay attention to any of that conversation, but my heart melts when I see him washing dishes, and not just his own dinner dish but the ones I cooked in too. And even though I shouldn't be easily swayed by dishes, it's more about the gesture of helping me.

Not wanting him to find me getting choked up over dishes, I decide to announce my presence.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to run upstairs to the office and email my boss a report."

"No problem. I'll just finish up the dishes and then we can watch a movie when you're done."

"Awesome." I say as I scurry away from the man who seems to be set on setting me on fire.

The whole time I'm walking toward the office, I try to keep my thoughts on work and not on the man downstairs. The one who I've fallen back into the same old crush with, though he doesn't seem to be affected by me. I quickly turn on the computer and while I wait for it to boot up, my mind drifts to the possibility of what it could be like if Smith was attracted to me. Would he hold my hand while we watched a movie? Or would he just go in for the kill and hold me the entire night as he caressed my skin?

He seems like the kind of guy that would just dive in and take what he wants, the perfect alpha man, like the ones that I read about in my fictional books. He would definitely take care of whoever he chooses to be his partner in crime. And it's clear that I'm not that person. I mean I know it's been years since we've seen each other, but he would've at least flirted with me, right?

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