Seattle Cinderella Part 15

The second the man left Brent returned, wasting no time putting his arms around her.

"Where were we?" he asked, grinning.

She shuffled closer to him. "I think you were going to-"

The phone rang.

Brent raised one finger in the air and ran to answer it. After his initial greeting, he only listened and nodded a few times then hung up.

"That was Luke. When he got to Walter's office with the police, his boss said Walter had e-mailed this morning to say he was sick and wouldn't be in. They're on their way to Walter's house. Now where were we?"

Annie smiled. "We were-"

The buzzer signaled another person coming in the door.

Brent literally groaned. "I'll be quick. I promise."

This time Annie made a fresh pot of coffee and poured herself a cup since she'd only had one sip of the first one.

She'd drunk half before Brent's customer left with his rental car.

Again, Brent wasted no time in putting his arms around her, only this time he pulled her close, pressing them together from nose to knees. "I think-"

Brent's cell phone buzzed inside his pocket.

It was odd feeling someone else's phone.

She backed up so Brent could pull the phone out of his pocket. Again he listened, nodding to a one-sided conversation, then flipped his phone closed.

"That was Luke. Walter's gone. Looking through the windows, it appears he left in a hurry. The police say he probably left the country. They're getting a warrant now to search the house, and Luke said they're going to check Walter's bank records. If he's left the country, there's nothing we can do but count our losses and go forward."

All thoughts of romance dissolved. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say."

"There's nothing to say. Even though this is going to be a mess, at least we've put a stop to it. Now, where were we?"

He extended his hands forward, but Annie raised her palms and backed up a step. "Forget it. I see someone coming."

Sure enough, the buzzer sounded, and this time two people walked in.

"Let's take a rain check until later," she said.

Brent grumbled, and he certainly wasn't his cheery self until Luke returned.

"Excuse us," he said to Luke as he wrapped one arm around her, "we're taking a rain check." Not giving her time to protest, he led her into the private office and shut the door.

Before she could say anything, Brent wrapped his arms around her and kissed her so hard and fast she was sure her toes curled. His lips left hers only long enough to whisper "I love you," and he kissed her again.

"I love you, too," she whispered back with all the love in her heart.

"Will you marry me?"

Annie froze. "What did you-"

A knock echoed through the door. "Sorry to interrupt, Brent," Luke called through the door, "but you've got to come out. The police are here. We've also got a lineup of people waiting." In addition to m.u.f.fled voices came the echo of the ringing phone.

Brent sighed. "I don't believe this."

"Don't worry. I know you're busy." Without giving him a chance to respond, Annie dashed out the door and ran to Cindy's shop.

Numbly, she turned on her computer and got to work, but she couldn't concentrate on the numbers. Only Brent.

She loved him from the depths of her soul, but in the short time she'd known him, she didn't know if it was enough. It had taken her three years to decide on her career-was it possible to decide on the lifelong relations.h.i.+p of marriage in a few weeks?

Instead of working, she walked to the window and stood to watch him. She ran through a mental list of all his qualities, and even though she was sure he had a few bad ones, she loved him anyway.

Which gave her the answer she needed.

When the police had gone and there were no more customers in their office, at least for the next few minutes, Annie jogged across the parking lot to Brent and Luke's office.

Luke pointed to the back lot, where she found Brent inspecting a scratch on a returned car.

She approached him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Now where were we?" she asked.

He spun around so fast one of the papers flew off his clipboard.

She grinned. "Because I was about to say yes, I'll marry you."

He embraced her, holding her snugly to his chest. "I'm glad you said that, because I was ready to pitch my tent in your front yard again."

Annie squeezed him and sighed. "Please don't do that. My neighbors already think you're crazy."

"But I am crazy. Crazy about you."

She sighed. Annie always thought happily-ever-afters were only for fairy tales, but for her, it had really happened.

Even though Brent only had a tent and not a castle, he was her prince, and he always would be.

TILL DEATH DO US PART.

Dedication.

Dedicated to my son Justin, who may or may not be related to the "real" T. J. Zereth.

Chapter 1.

Zella, dear, now that your sister and stepsister are married, when can I start planning your wedding?"

Zella Wilson gritted her teeth at her mother's question. Between her height-she was always the tallest girl in every cla.s.s-and a name that began with Z, she'd always been chosen last for everything except the basketball team. She'd always resented that, but she was more than happy to be the last to get married.

"You can start when I set a date."

"But you can't set a date until you're engaged."

"And I can't be engaged until I have a boyfriend."

Her mother raised one finger in the air. "Exactly! Which is why I've arranged for you to meet Judy's son Ryan at the Seattle Aquarium on Friday."

Zella spun to face her mother. "For your information, I already have plans for Friday night."

Her mother crossed her arms. "What plans?"

"Uh..." Her thoughts stalled along with her voice. She didn't have any plans except to relax after a busy week, but she sure didn't want to get fixed up with the dorky son of her mother's best friend.

Ever since Annie's wedding, her mother had also been hounding Zella to find a man and get married. But not because she wished for her daughter's eternal joy and happiness.

No.

Melissa and Judy had so much fun doing Annie's wedding, they'd decided to start their own business as wedding planners. Zella overheard them plotting a showcase wedding for her. It was a marketing extravaganza to attract the attention of all the upscale couples in the city. The fact that Zella didn't have a fiance didn't seem to matter.

Zella refused to be a part of such a sham, and if Judy's son was willing, then that was even more reason that she didn't want to meet him, much less spend an evening with him. When she finally did find her Mr. Right, she would not rush to the altar. She refused to have her marriage end in divorce as her mother's first marriage had, a result of getting married too fast for the sake of getting married.

Her mother didn't care if Zella was divorced a year later, as long as she made the wedding an elaborate social media blitz. But Zella cared. Now that Zella had been going to church with Cindy and Luke, she'd learned so much about the right kind of love between both people and G.o.d. She now had a different viewpoint on what she wanted her marriage to be-and she intended to take her time finding it.

Zella stiffened, taking full advantage of being four inches taller than her mother. Even if she didn't have plans, she would not go out with Judy's son or on any blind date her mother set up. The last time she'd weakened she'd gone to Folklife with some guy her mother had recommended-where they'd enjoyed some Thai takeout from a food vendor then found out the hard way that he had a seafood allergy. Zella had spent all night with him at the hospital, trying to explain to the guy's overbearing mother why she'd allowed her son to eat something that was made by someone they didn't know without asking for an ingredient list.

Melissa glared at her, her arms crossed. "If you have plans, where are you going?"

Zella glared down at her mother. The last thing she wanted was another confrontation. Ever since the night of Luke and Brent's company banquet when she'd discovered her mother's true colors, these confrontations had been flaring up with increasing frequency. "I'm going to..." Her mind raced as she scrambled to think of something on short notice. Glancing around the room, she spotted the community newspaper on the kitchen table, open to a page for local clubs and events she'd just been reading. She blurted out the only thing she could remember. "My book club meeting."

"Book club? What book club?"

"This book club." She stepped to the table and put her finger on it and read the first sentence. "At the library. We meet...every Friday night."

"Don't you have anything better to do on Friday night than sit with a bunch of people and read? How boring."

"I like to read. And we do more than just read at the book club. We also..." She tried to imagine what a book club would be like. When she bought books she often checked out reviews online, and many times people commented on the reviews. "We discuss the books we're reading. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some reading to do to get ready for our meeting."

As Zella walked into the library, a bad case of the jitters poked at her.

After her mother had left the kitchen a few nights ago she'd gone back to read the article on the book club for more information, but the newspaper was gone. She'd checked the library's website, but all they had on the book club was the time and name of the meeting room.

She didn't know what book they were reading, the size of the group, what genre the group focused on, or if they focused on any genre.

She read a lot, but with the number of books available, the chances that she'd already read the book they would be discussing were slim.

Still, it really didn't matter. The existence of the book club provided her with an excuse to leave the house every Friday night without being pestered to go on any more blind dates. At least on Friday nights. The idea was actually next to genius. It couldn't have worked better if she'd planned it.

Since she didn't know what they were reading, she'd brought her largest purse and tucked inside a few recent releases from her favorite authors.

Zella sucked in a deep breath to give herself some bravado and opened the door.

As she stepped inside the meeting room, the fragrant aroma of fresh coffee wafted up to greet her. Which was a good start.

Everyone seated at the large table turned toward her and smiled to greet her.

Three men and six women. A good-sized group. All adults, ranging from early twenties to an older lady with a bad dye job who appeared to be well into retirement.

"Welcome," the elderly lady said. "My name is Sheila. Help yourself to the coffee and have a seat."

Zella smiled back. So far so good.

While she poured a cup of coffee, the conversation nearest her centered around a book she hadn't read. However, it sounded interesting, and the woman speaking was very excited about the story line. This was one book that Zella would ask for the author and t.i.tle and buy it.

Coffee in hand, she took an empty seat and tucked her purse under the table.

Sheila folded her hands on top of a stack of printed pages, still smiling brightly. "It's nice to see a new person here. How did you find out about us?"

"From the community newspaper."

About half the people seated around the table expressed surprise in silence, while the oldest of the three men smirked, looking rather smug.

"Let me introduce everyone," Sheila said. "Beside me is Terri, next is Jorg, then Sasha, Jessica, Jon, Patty, Mich.e.l.le, and beside you is Trevor. What's your name?"

"My name is Zella, and I'm pleased to meet you all."

Her name came back, repeated en ma.s.se by most of the people in the group. "Zella?" Everyone raised their eyebrows and stared.

A couple of them wowed.

Beside her, Trevor, who looked to be about the same age as her, quirked one brow, leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest, and blatantly studied her. "Interesting. Is it real?"

Zella felt her cheeks heat up. "Um. Yes."

This time a few people gasped. Now everyone was staring at her intently, waiting.

"Yes, it's my real name. It's kind of odd, but there's a story behind it." She knew she was starting to blabber out of nervousness. "It was my grandmother's dying wish that I be named Drizella after her own grandmother. My mother thought it was a horrible name, but my father had promised his mother under duress, so my mother agreed if it was shortened to Zella." She laughed weakly. "I've never met anyone with the same name, and I don't expect I ever will."