Page 46 of Double Obsession

Ding dong.

She grabbed a blade from the dish drain, tucked it into the back of her waistband, and cautiously navigated the front hall while preparing to defend her new family.

Ding dong.

Cracking the front door, she peeked at a tiny man in the whitest shirt she’d ever seen.

“Is this the Stone residence?” he asked.

Lizzie trotted to the door and peeked out around Arkansas’ calves.

“He’s not here.”

“I have been retained as his assistant and household manager,” the man said.

“Retained?” And people said she spouted odd things. “I’m taking care of the house now.”

“But I was told to be here this afternoon. I even turned down another job.”

“Well, bully for you. I’m his fiance´e. You are not needed.” Arkansas slammed the door in the petite man’s face andeliminatedhim from her life with a back-and-forth swipe of her palms. She returned to the kitchen to continue her quest for food.

Unfortunately, the cat scratching at the sliding glass door grated on her nerves and kept her from concentrating. Now that she had hit the jackpot, the creature wanted to be near her? She’d been ignored for so long, and now millions of people would want to be a part of her life. Screw them all!

She slid the door wide, and the Persian rushed past her, hissed at Lizzie, and stuck his face in a dog dish. While he was distracted by the water, Arkansas grabbed the miserable beast, slapped him on his injured paw, and tossed him to the basement. He yelped as he tumbled down the stairs.

“I’ll decide what to do with you later, you little hellcat,” she called before slamming the door.

Now that she was rid of the cat, she stood in the center of the kitchen, curtseying and blowing kisses as she imagined the adoration heading her way.

“Hey, Arkansas.” Clark strode into the kitchen with a wrinkled nose. “My cab is out front. There’s a blue and white credit card in the top desk drawer. You can use it to grocery shop.”

“Good, because there is no food,” she said.

Why was her new friend staring at her skeptically, his jaw moving from side to side like the chime of Grandmommy’s cuckoo clock?

“Can you take the dogs out in about an hour? Their leashes are hanging on the hook beside the door.”

Perhaps it wasn’t skepticism. He probably thought she was beautiful and wanted her to help take care of his big stick. Her shudder mixed with a tingle. He was such a dang pervert, but he was Hunter’s best friend, so she wouldn’t stab his eyes out—at least not yet.

“Yes! I love dogs,” she said.

Boy, the man spent a lot of time rubbing his jaw.

“Okay. See you Thursday,” he said.

Once the front door clicked, she locked it, skipped to the desk, and searched for the credit card. It was where Clark had said it would be, andHunter Stonewas spelled out in raised letters. Right after she purchased food, she’d cut the evil plastic into tiny pieces so undesirables couldn’t track her love.

“Arkansas… Arkansas…” the computer on the desk called to her, interrupting the silence.

She’d never had a computer talk to her before.

“Ark-kan-sasaaa,” it whispered.

She searched the room for hidden cameras before setting the knife on the desk and taking a seat in front of the screen.

Her fiance´ kept a neat desk. Even the corkboard behind the computer was organized. She did a double-take, seeing a list of passwords pinned to the center of the board.

“Silly, Hunter. You should never leave your passwords sitting around. And you should turn your computer off when you aren’t using it,” she advised him.