Page 31 of Romance and Peppermint Lattes
“You bet there has,” Maryanne said, loudly enough to attract the angry glares of several patrons sitting in the aisle seats. She rushed toward the exit with Griff in hot pursuit.
“If you’ll give me a moment to explain—”
“It won’t be necessary.”
“You are Maryanne Simpson of the New York Simpsons?”
“Yes,” she said, walking directly outside. Moving to the curb, she raised her hand and shouted, “Taxi!”
Griff raced around to stand in front of her. “There isn’t any need to rush off like this. Nolan was just doing me a good turn.”
“And me a rotten one. Listen, Mr. Bradley, you look like a very nice gentleman, and under any other circumstances I would’ve been more than happy to make your acquaintance, but there’s been a mistake.”
“But—”
“I’m sorry, I really am.” A cab raced toward her and squealed to a halt.
Griff opened the back door for her, looking more charming and debonair than ever. “I’m not sure my heart will recover. You’re very lovely, you know.”
Maryanne sighed. The man was overdoing it, but he certainly didn’t deserve the treatment she was giving him. She smiled and apologized again, then swiftly turned to the driver and recited her address.
Maryanne fumed during the entire ride back to her apartment. Rarely had she been more furious. If Nolan Adamsthought he could play matchmaker with her, he was about to learn that everything he’d ever heard about redheads was true.
“Hey, lady, you all right?” the cabbie asked.
“I’m fine,” she said stiffly.
“That guy you were with back at the theatre didn’t try anything, did he?”
“No, some other man did, only he’s not going to get away with it.” The driver pulled into her street. “That’s the building there,” Maryanne told him. She reached into her bag for her wallet and pulled out some of her precious cash, including a generous tip. Then she ran into the apartment building, heedless of her clothes or her high-heeled shoes.
For the first time since moving in, Maryanne didn’t pause to rest on the third-floor landing. Her anger carried her all the way to Nolan’s apartment door. She could hear him typing inside, and the sound only heightened her temper. Dragging breath through her lungs, she slammed her fist against the door.
“Hold on a minute,” she heard him grumble.
His shocked look as he threw open the door would have been comical in different circumstances. “Maryanne, what are you doing here?”
“That was a rotten underhanded thing to do, you deceiving, conniving, low-down... rat!”
Nolan did an admirable job of composing himself. He buried his hands in his pockets and smiled nonchalantly. “I take it you and Griff Bradley didn’t hit it off?”
ChapterSix
Maryanne was so furious she couldn’t find the words to express her outrage. She opened and closed her mouth twice before she collected herself enough to proceed.
“I told you before that I don’t want you interfering in my life, and I meant it.”
“I was doing you a favor,” Nolan countered, clearly unmoved by her angry display. In fact, he yawned loudly, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. “Griff’s a stockbroker friend of mine and one hell of a nice guy. If you’d given him half a chance, you might have found that out yourself. I could see the two of you becoming good friends. Why don’t you give it a try? You might hit it off, after all.”
“The only thing I’d consider hitting isyou.” To her horror, tears of rage flooded her eyes. “Don’t ever try that again. Do you understand?” Not waiting for his reply, she turned abruptly, stalked down the hall to her apartment and unlocked the door. She flung it shut with sufficient force to rattle the windows on three floors.
She paced back and forth several times, blew her nose once and decided she hadn’t told him nearly enough. Throwingopen her door, she rushed down the hall to Nolan’s apartment again. She banged twice as hard as she had originally.
Nolan opened the door, wearing a martyr’s expression. He cocked one eyebrow expressively. “What is it this time?”
“And furthermore you’re the biggest coward I’ve ever met. If I still worked for the newspaper, I’d write a column so all of Seattle would know exactly what kind of man you are.” Her voice wobbled just a little, but that didn’t diminish the strength of her indignation.
She stomped back to her own apartment and she hadn’t been there two seconds before there was a pounding on her door. It didn’t surprise her to find Nolan Adams on the other side. He might have appeared calm, but his eyes sparked with an angry fire. They narrowed slightly as he glowered at her.
