Free Sweet Annie by Cheryl St.john

if they don't acknowledge the
fact."
    “Then
you want to? Meet me for dinner?''
    There
had never been a doubt. "I want to."
    "And
if they find out?"
    "Then
we deal with that."
    "Okay, Annie." He
took a step closer. Her heart skipped a frantic beat. She looked up into his
eyes, glad she was standing on his level and not staring up from her chair. His
slow smile turned her insides to liquid.
    A footstep sounded in the
next row of books. Mrs. Krenshaw's loud whisper echoed from the desk, instructing
someone where to find a volume.
    The sound of swishing fabric
and footsteps came up behind her, and Annie stepped away from Luke.
    Charmaine rushed to her
side. "Mr. Carpenter! What a pleasure to see you."
    "You
too, Miss Renlow."
    "I
didn't know you came here."
    He glanced from Annie to
her cousin. "It's a library. A lot of people come here."
    Charmaine
giggled. "Of course. How silly of me."
    "I was wondering if
you and Annie would meet me for dinner at Mrs. Edgewood's cafe tomorrow night?
Not very fancy, but the food is good. I would sure like your company."
    Charmaine blushed to the
roots of her hair. “Why, that would be delightful! Wouldn't that be delightful,
Annie?"
    "Shhh!" came an
admonition from the front of the library.
    "Yes, it would,"
Annie whispered. "What time, Mr. Carpenter?"
    They settled the details
and he wished them a good day, turning away and walking toward the door, his
boot heels loud in the echoing silence.
    "Oh,
my gracious, Annie!" Charmaine said, leaning on her cousin's arm and
nearly toppling her over. Annie grabbed a shelf for support. "Oh, oh, I'm
sorry. You must be getting tired. Here." She retrieved Annie's chair from
the end of the aisle and Annie picked up her books and settled into it.
"He invited us to dinner! This is the most thrilling event! Can you even
imagine?''
    "Shhh!"
came the expected admonition from the front of the building.
    "Keep your voice
down," Annie shushed her.
    "I've
never been invited to dinner before." She glanced at Annie. “Well, of
course, neither have you, but it's ever so flattering. He's not even a boy,
he's a grown man!"
    Annie
had been flattered, too; naturally Charmaine would be ecstatic. She thought
Luke was a prince. And she had no idea that Luke had invited them so that he
could see Annie. Hadn't he? Or was Annie attributing too much meaning to the
kisses that had passed between them? It was almost too good to be true that he
thought of Annie as fondly as she thought of him.
    Perhaps
he shared kisses and dinners with other young ladies all the time. Or perhaps
it was actually Charmaine who'd captured his interest and Annie was a harmless
distraction.
    No,
no, he had voiced his interest on more than one occasion. He genuinely wanted
to see her in spite of her family's disapproval. She almost wrapped her arms
around herself and laughed. Her! Luke
Carpenter was interested in her!
    "We'll
have to decide what to wear," Charmaine said from behind, pushing her
toward the loan desk. "We'd better go home and plan."
    Guiltily, she hoped
Charmaine's feelings wouldn't be hurt when she realized that it was Annie whom
Luke wanted to see. Perhaps she should tell her. But that would seem as though
she were full of herself— and she wasn't. She could hardly believe it herself.
    What
would her cousin think if she knew about the kisses she had shared with Luke?
She'd better wait and see what happened next. She could be wrong about his
intentions.
    And if she was, she would
die of disappointment.
    Her
emotions were in turmoil for an entire day. Charmaine told her mother about
their dinner plans and proceeded to try on every dress she possessed, as well
as arranging her hair and holding earbobs to her ears and turning this way and
that before the mirror. Annie felt like a traitor. She didn't want Charmaine to
get her hopes up. She didn't want to get her own hopes up. She didn't want
Charmaine to be embarrassed. She didn't want to be embarrassed herself.
    What a predicament