“Just let me run into the house and grab a sweater.”
“Sure. No rush. I’ll just wait out here.”
“You’re welcome to come in.”
His expression revealed little when he replied, “I think it’s better if I just wait outside.”
She nodded. Leaving her cleaning supplies in the car, she hurried inside to freshen up and grab her sweater. Even as she prepared to rejoin Trent outside, she asked herself what on earth she was doing. If there was one thing she did not need in her life, it was to be involved a with a man who was hauling around as much, or more, emotional baggage as she was.
TRENT COULDN’T have explained what impulse had made him ask Annie to a movie. He helped her into his truck, then snatched his hands away from her as if he’d been burned by the brief contact. He didn’t know why he’d even shown up here today—it wasn’t as if the work he’d done couldn’t have waited. “Idiot,” he muttered, walking around the truck and opening the driver’s door.
Annie looked up from fastening her seat belt. “Did you say something?”
“No.” He climbed into his seat and snapped his own belt into place before starting the engine. He didn’t say anything as he backed out of the driveway, but he knew he was going to have to initiate a conversation soon. They couldn’t drive to another town, watch a movie and come back home without speaking—although that didn’t sound like such a bad plan at the moment.
Annie seemed to find the silence less appealing than he did. “I stopped by a home-decor place after I finished work today. I thought I might paper the kitchen.”
Since that seemed like a safe enough subject, Trent went along with it. “Find anything you like?”
“A couple of possibilities. I’ll go back when I figure out how many rolls I’ll need.”
He remembered the way she’d launched into the painting project. “Are you planning to hang it yourself?”
“Yes. There are directions in that how-to book I bought. It doesn’t look very hard.”
Trent gave her a skeptical look. He’d never hung paper, himself, but he didn’t think it was as easy as Annie seemed to believe.
As if sensing his misgivings, she added defensively, “I’m sure I can do it.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“I know. But I heard it, anyway.”
He smiled. “I’m sure you can do anything you set your mind to do,” he said, a rare attempt at tact.
“Thank you.” She smoothed her palms over her khakis—making him reluctantly remember the way her legs had looked in the denim shorts she’d worn Sunday—and cleared her throat. “I, um, overheard some gossip while I was in the store. I was sort of trapped in a corner and couldn’t help hearing.”
He almost groaned. “Let me guess—someone was talking about the McBrides.” It wasn’t such a great mental leap. Someone in Honoria was always talking about the McBrides.
“Yes, I’m afraid so.”
She sounded so nervous that he tried to put her at ease with a tone that was more casual than he felt. “Trust me, we’re used to it. Who was the subject this time? Trevor? My cousin Lucas again? They don’t say much about Emily since she married the chief of police, and my sister, Tara, and cousin Savannah don’t cause much talk these days since they live elsewhere. Or were they just talking about the McBrides in general?”
Annie cleared her throat again. “Actually—they were talking about you. And, um, me.”
He scowled, immediately guessing the subject. “Damn. Our dinner at Cora’s last weekend?”
“Yes. I just thought you’d want to know.”
He could have gotten along without knowing, actually, but he merely nodded. “The best way to handle it is to simply ignore it.”
“That’s what I thought. It was just—well, uncomfortable. Considering everything, it’s probably a good thing we’re going out of town to see the movie, rather than at the Honoria Metroplex. Not that we have anything to hide, of course. We just don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea about us.”
“No, we don’t want that,” he said, his voice hollow. He told himself that the local rumor mill wasn’t the reason he was taking her out of town. Gossip no longer bothered him. He’d simply been in the mood for fresh scenery. And the theater in Carrollton had more comfortable seats than the one in Honoria.
Even as he mentally listed his reasons, he knew they were garbage. He was taking her out of town exactly because he hadn’t wanted to be stared at and talked about. This was the best way he’d known of to have Annie Stewart to himself, and still be out in public where he wouldn’t be tempted to try something really stupid.
It shouldn’t be such a big deal for a couple of friends to catch a movie together. It certainly didn’t have to mean anything or lead to anything, despite his mother’s less-than-subtle hinting. Right?