Love Makes the Difference (Sully Point Book 1)

by Nicole Smith

"Yes, for the first time in my life, I think I'm actually in love. She's an artist and a baker here in town."

  "Let me guess, tall, blond and beautiful?"

  "Medium height, dark auburn hair and beautiful hazel eyes."

  "What? I need more coffee. Call me back after I've had time to think and recover from this early morning talk of ours. We need to do something about Patrice, maybe even get you some protection. I'll call you back."

  Sam stared at the phone as Norm hung up. Protection? Guards? Surely not. But then he thought of Anna--if Patrice tried to hurt him she could end up hurting Anna too. He decided to drive back into town to the bakery and have coffee and donuts there until everything opened up for the day.

  When he arrived, Holly was manning the counter while Anna was in the back working on a cake. He decided to try the cheese Danish with his coffee and as he paid, Holly motioned him closer.

  "I have one thing to say to you--don't you dare hurt her."

  "I have no intention of hurting her--I'm in love with her."

  Holly looked astonished. "You are?"

  "Yes! What did you think, that I was just playing around?"

  Holly nodded. "Yes, I did think that. Well, this changes things. She seems very happy today. Is she in love with you?"

  He felt his smile fade. "I don't know for sure."

  Holly smiled. "Just be patient. Anna does things in her own way and in her own time."

  At that moment Anna came through the walkway and looked at the two of them suspiciously. "You can't have bought a car this quickly."

  "Nope. Nothing is open, so I'm going to haunt your shop and eat and have coffee while I wait. If that's okay with the owner..."

  Holly nodded. "Have a seat. Did you want cream with your coffee?"

  Anna said, "I'll get it." She brought the coffee to him and sat down across from him at the little round table.

  "Terrific Danish."

  "Thanks, so tell me what's wrong."

  "Anna, nothing is wrong." She stared into his eyes with a stern look. Damn. "Okay, I called Norm, my agent--and my best friend. He's concerned she might try something else. He suggested bodyguards."

  Anna sat back in her chair, clearly surprised. "Hmm. I hadn't been thinking of what she might do next, but I think your friend might be right. She's out there and we don't have any idea what she is planning. You should be protected." Her eyes filled with concern.

  "It's not just me who needs protection. She knows about you. Last night she was actively trying to hurt you when she came to your house. She may come after you next. I think if I need bodyguards, so do you."

  "What? Me? Come on!"

  "Think it through, Anna, just think it through."

  He waited quietly, finishing his food and sipping the coffee. Watching her face, he saw thoughts and emotions flitting across it, and could tell when she recognized the sense of what he was saying. A resignation came over her, but then she tossed her head back and looked at him directly.

  "Okay, I see it. If I have them, then so do you. And I also think we need to get a private investigator to track her down and follow her so we know where she is before we get surprised again."

  "Good idea. If I know Norm, I bet he's already thought of it, but I'll call him in a bit and see." He noticed her questioning look. "I woke him up before. I'm giving him time to digest the news. Do you have time to sit with me for a while? There's something else I want to discuss."

  "Holly's in the kitchen fixing up the cookie dough for later. I'm free as long as the place is empty. So go ahead."

  Of course, right then the door opened and two chattering women, dressed as if going to work in an office, came in and glanced over to see Anna sitting with him. They immediately stopped talking and took in the scene. Anna quickly got up.

  "What can I get for you today?"

  "A bran muffin for me."

  "And I'll have the same--no, wait, you only live once. I'll have a jelly donut."

  "Myra! Your diet," the other woman said.

  "Frannie, I'm sick of my diet."

  Frannie shook her head, then the two women paid and left, after several more glances at Sam.

  "Here's the deal," Sam said as Anna sat down again. "My friend Stanley Walters owns a gallery. I'd like to call him to come see your paintings. What do you think?"

  "I have been thinking about it. Especially after I realized just how many paintings I have done. But do you think there are enough good ones--"

  "Yes!"

  She laughed. "Now wait a minute. What would be involved?"

  "He'd come out here and go to your loft and you can let him see whatever paintings you feel comfortable showing him. Then he gives you his opinion. Simple."

  "Ha--simple is not the word I'd use, more like terrifying." She sighed. "I know I'm going to have to do it sometime, because it would make me nuts now that I've come this far to not find out. From a professional I mean, find out what he thinks. All right, you can call him."

  Sam reached out and squeezed her hand. "You won't regret it."

  "You don't know that. But I won't blame you if he hates them all."

  "That's good. Can I have a blueberry muffin now?"

  She grinned at him. "You know, you keep eating this way, you're going to need plenty of exercise."

  "Yes, I know, I usually run on the--"

  "Not the exercise I had in mind, but if you insist--"

  He opened his eyes wide. "Why Anna Grainger! You amaze me."

  Chapter 8

  The day wore on, with people popping in and out at first to see if Sam was still sitting there with her. He left shortly after calling the car dealership and finding someone there, swearing not to drive her ancient car longer than was necessary.

  Anna spent the morning in a bit of a daze, remembering last night. It had been so wonderful. He'd been gentle and then not so gentle when he knew she wouldn't break. The feelings she'd had were nothing like the experience in high school. Sam was clearly a man who knew a lot about sex.

  Does it bother me? No, she decided. She'd known he'd been with many others before her, plus he was seven years older so of course he'd have more experience. The way she looked at it, she was getting the benefit of that knowledge. If she could keep her mind on the job at all today, she thought, it would be a miracle.

  She acknowledged to herself that she was worried about Patrice. Someone so vicious as to set fire to a house was completely out of control. It made her worry about Sam, and also about herself. Before her sister had left the bakery, Anna had told her about Sam's concerns and Holly agreed that bodyguards might be in order. Holly was headed back to the city and her job, but Anna could tell she wanted to stay in Sully Point to see how things went.

  "Remember you can call me anytime," Holly said as she gathered up her purse and keys. "Anytime about anything. I want to hear what's going on with you. And Anna--I think he does care about you, a lot. For what it's worth."

  Anna hugged her sister good-bye and watched her drive off. Holly had mentioned getting some kind of apron that could be worn over the jeans and t-shirt outfits. Anna wasn't optimistic about the idea. She'd called Kayla to tell her to wear a white shirt with jeans to work.

  She looked out the window of the bakery around noon to see her car driven to the curb by a guy she didn't know. Sam pulled in right behind it, in a new red SUV. He jumped out of the vehicle and came into the bakery with the other man.

  "Anna this is Joe from the car place. Got me a great deal on the SUV."

  Joe seemedstunned. "First time I ever had someone pay in full with a credit card."

  Anna arched an eyebrow at Sam. "It was convenient," he said.

  "Thanks for bringing my car back, Joe. Can I get you something?"

  "Uh, sure. One of those muffins."

  She got Joe situated at one of the tables with a coffee and muffin, and went back to the counter to talk to Sam.

  "Okay, I agree about the bodyguards. We both should have them."

  "Good, bec
ause Norm is arranging it. He's also got a private investigator on board, an ex-policeman, to track her down. Oh and Stanley is going to call you about the paintings."

  A frisson ran through her at the thought of the gallery owner coming here. Excitement, fear and just plain nerves were all combined inside her.

  Sam took her hand in his, running his thumb over her palm. "I've decided to have a press conference and go public about my real name. I hope it's not too big a deal. Is there any way you could go with me for the afternoon? You don't have to be on camera or anything. I'd just like you to be there. I need to take care of this before Patrice springs it on the press in a negative way."

  Anna thought it probably would be a big deal, simply because his series was a huge bestseller, and because of the movie tie-ins. "Of course I'll go. Kayla should be in here any minute now. Then I'm free for the day."

  He smiled at her and raised her hand to his lips to kiss it softly. The bell clanged on the door as it opened with customers and he let go of her hand with a mischievous look. "We could always give people more to talk about."

  "No way! Go sit with your friend there."

  He grinned at her and walked over to sit with Joe, while three people waiting to be served all watched curiously. As all three were women who were watching Sam, Anna had to ask a couple of times what they wanted before getting a response.

  They left and Kayla showed up. Anna called Frank to let him know she'd be out of town for the afternoon. "And Dad, Sam and I will be over later to get some of my clothes and stuff to move into the loft. It looks great. Thank you so much."

  Frank said, "I heard he's living there since his house burned down."

  "Yes, that's true."

  "All right, Anna. You know what's best for you."

  "Keep an eye out for Patrice, Dad. We don't know what she might do next."

  "Will do. And you two, be careful."

  * * * *

  The ride into the city with Anna had been the best part of the afternoon, Sam thought. Holding her hand, talking about everything under the sun, finding music they liked on the radio.

  The press conference, on the other hand, had been more trying than he'd expected. It was crazy to him how reporters could twist something innocent into something nefarious. The other bad thing was that someone had gotten a photo of Anna with him as they left the building. He'd wanted to keep her out of it. He should have realized having her go with him was a bad idea.

  They were at his apartment in New York to pick up clothes and other necessities that had been burned up in the fire. Anna stood facing him, hands on her hips. "Sam Carter, what are you so glum about?"

  "You know, the press conference--they got a picture of us. I know that you're more introverted than I am--"

  "Hold on a minute. I've never really been an introvert. I just always preferred to live in a world of my own making. It's not that I don't like being around people so much as I'm not all that used to it. As far as the picture being taken, well, that was bound to happen eventually. And I thought your press conference went pretty well overall. Most of them seemed interested, plus you sounded very sincere when you talked about wanting to be honest with your readers."

  He was a bit taken aback. "I was being sincere about that."

  "I know that...sweetie."

  "Did you just call me sweetie?"

  "I think I did, yes."

  "It sounded kind of strange."

  "Yes, it did."

  They laughed together, and Sam felt his world right itself around him once more. She was right, it hadn't been too bad. He continued packing a large suitcase. When the doorbell rang he noticed that they both tensed up.

  "Patrice?" Anna asked.

  He shrugged. "One way to find out."

  "Don't open it if it's her."

  "Yeah."

  But it turned out to be Norm. "Aha! Thought you could get away without introducing me to this lovely young woman. You were in and out of that press conference before I could do more than introduce you to the crowd of hungry wolves."

  "Norm how did you know where we were?"

  "I pay your doorman to let me know when you arrive from out of town."

  Sam shook his head. "Anna, meet Norman Crawford, Norm this is Anna Grainger."

  They shook hands and Anna smiled at Norman. Energy seemed to roll off him in waves.

  "Got your bodyguards all set up. They should be arriving here any minute. They'll take you back to Sully Point and stay there. It's all arranged."

  "They'll take us back? I drove the new SUV down here. Surely I can drive it back."

  "Put in the parking garage. These guys have special armor in the doors of their vehicles and bulletproof glass."

  "Holy hell, Norm. Just who do you think is going to be attacking us? It's only Patrice."

  "Ah, but did you know that Patrice has a license to carry a gun?"

  "What?" Both Anna and Sam said together.

  "Yep, the P.I. already found that out. I know you hate all this protection stuff, but you have to do it. This is not a stable woman. So far we haven't been able to locate her. So I can't tell you that Sully Point is safe."

  Sam gazed into Anna's concerned eyes. "I guess we have to. I won't risk you getting hurt."

  "And neither will I risk you," she replied with determination.

  "That's settled then," Norm said with satisfaction. "I already had five calls to set up interviews for you since the press conference. I told them you were writing the next novel and couldn't do interviews yet. At some point, when this one is finished, you'll need to do some."

  "Yeah, I know. Thanks Norm, for everything."

  "No problem. It's why you pay me the big bucks."

  "Won't the protection guys stand out in Sully Point?" Anna asked.

  "Yes, which is the point," Norm said. "Hopefully it will scare away anyone, including Patrice, from trying anything."

  "I only wish we knew where she was," Sam said, feeling more worried than he had before learning she had a gun.

  Norm looked satisfied. "Probably gnawing on her liver over the fact that we've preempted her first line of attack by going public about your pen name. Now she can't use that to threaten you with, although it does narrow her options--which isn't so good."

  Sam headed for the bedroom with the other two following him. "I'm going to finish packing. Is there anything else I need to know?"

  "The studio called. They want to option the next book in the series so they can start work immediately after the next movie comes out."

  "As long as we use the same screenplay writer. Nobody else. He and I work well together. You know all the other stuff I want in the contract."

  "Yes, I'll get it done."

  Sam closed the suitcase. "I think we're ready to go. Can you think of anything else Anna?"

  "Do you have another computer here that we could take with us?"

  "Only my old desktop and I prefer to write on a laptop. We can stop at a computer store on the way out of the city. Let's head on out."

  Norm stopped them. "One last thing--did you think to tell your family you would be doing this press conference today? Or are they going to hear the news from the entertainment channel tonight?"

  "Ah, damn. I knew I was forgetting something. Okay, I'll call Mom and Dad on the way back to Sully Point."

  "All right. You guys be safe, and I mean that very literally," Norm said, practically bouncing on his feet as they followed him out the door. "I'll hold down the fort here."

  "We'll probably be seeing you sooner than you think, Norm," Sam said with a smile at Anna. "Stanley will be coming up soon to see Anna's paintings."

  "She's that good?" Norm asked bluntly.

  "Yes, she is exactly that good."

  Anna started to talk but Norm jumped in. "In that case, Anna, you may need an agent."

  Sam laughed. "Let's let Stanley look at them first, before you start talking commission fees."

  "Okay, okay, just think about it Anna."

&n
bsp; "I doubt I'll need an agent."

  "You never know," Norm suggested. "Most people need an agent, if they only knew."

  They opened the front doors of the building and went through to see the row of black SUVs lined up.

  "Good grief, Norm. Do we really need all these?"

  "For now, yes, you do. They have backup people and they'll work in shifts. I've already arranged their accommodations--some place called Sully Point Lodge, which I think is just a basic motel."

  "Oh dear." Anne said ruefully. "That's Maelynne's place. It will be all over town that these men are staying there."

  "We need a cover story," Sam said thoughtfully.

  "The movies. Maelynne is already half convinced that you're making a movie. We just encourage that idea a bit. These guys being associated with that enterprise. Besides she'll see the announcement you made at the press conference on TV tonight. It will make sense to her that you're making another movie...which you actually are doing. We only need to keep secret that they are security for us--wouldn't do for that to get out."

  Sam said, "I like it."

  Norm had been looking from one to the other of them. "Who the hell is Maelynne?"

  * * * *

  Anna sat next to Sam in the back seat of the SUV, his arm slung around her shoulders. Her seat belt didn't prevent her from leaning in against his side, while he talked on the phone to his parents. She wasn't really paying attention to what he said, until her name came up.

  "I want you to meet Anna, Mom. She's a wonderful painter and a great person...I know I've never brought any girlfriends home. There's a reason for that. I was never actually in love with any of them."

  By now, Anna was sitting up straight in her seat and turned to look at him incredulously. Sam noticed, and said hastily into the phone, "Um, anyway that's going to take a while to arrange, probably not until after the novel is done. I need to go now, but I'll call back when I can."

  He ended the call after good-byes were said to both parents. Anna felt dazed. "What--what are you doing? You told them you were in love with me?" she squeaked out.

  "It's the truth," he said gently. "I'm assuming from your reaction that it bothers you."

  "I just thought--maybe--you could fall out of love with me, you know?"