Page 69 of Cole

The thought made her stomach tighten. Cole was genuine, warm, and understanding. He saw her. For the first time in years, Annie had felt herself opening up, considering possibilities beyond her carefully constructed sanctuary.

Her father wouldn’t understand that. He’d see only potential danger, another threat to protect her from.

Annie reached the front door, hesitated, then turned the handle.

The house embraced her with familiar warmth as Annie stepped inside. The rear entrance led to a large mud room where she removed her coat and swapped her boots for a pair of shoes she always left there. Nyla’s nails clicked against the polished wood floor as they moved deeper into the house.

“Dad?” Annie called, her voice echoing slightly in the cavernous space.

“In the dining room.” His voice carried that distinctive tone—controlled but with an undercurrent of tension that Annie had learned to recognize over the years.

She took an extra moment to steady her breathing before heading toward the dining room. Nyla stayed close, her warm presence a comfort against Annie’s leg.

The dining room was set for two, fine China and crystal glinting under the chandelier. Her father stood at the head of the table, still in his business attire despite being at home—a charcoal suit that probably cost a pretty penny.

It appeared that Benji and Elizabeth had decided to take their dinner somewhere else. Annie couldn’t blame them. She would have done that too if she’d had the option.

“Annalisa.” He nodded, his expression giving away nothing. “You’re looking well.”

“Thanks. I wasn’t expecting you until Thursday.”

He gestured to the chair to his right. “Sit. We need to talk.”

Annie complied, settling into the chair while Nyla found her spot near the wall, vigilant as always. A server appeared silently, placing salads before them before disappearing again.

“How was Los Angeles?” Her father pierced a cherry tomato with surgical precision.

Annie picked up her fork. “It was fine. Different than I expected.”

“I imagine attending a high-profile gala would be quite different from your usual routine.”

There it was. Annie set her fork down. “How did you find out?”

“Does it matter?” His eyes—the same blue-green as hers—fixed on her face. “What matters is that you deliberately exposed yourself to unnecessary risk.”

“It wasn’t a risk. I was careful.”

“You were photographed, Annalisa. With Cole Halverson.” He pulled out his phone, swiped a few times, then placed it between them. The image showed her and Cole, his hand at the small of her back as they entered the venue. “Fortunately, you weren’t named in the caption, but it’s only a matter of time before they start looking into who the woman with Cole is.”

Annie stared at the photo. They looked good together. Happy. “I’m not hiding anymore, Dad.”

“This isn’t about hiding. It’s about safety.” He put his phone away. “Do you have any idea what could happen if people connect you to our family? If they dig up the past? The danger you’d be in?”

“I’m an adult now. I can’t live in fear forever.”

“This isn’t fear. It’s caution.” He sighed, his expression softening slightly. “After what happened to you and Angelica—”

“Don’t.” Annie’s voice was sharper than she intended. “Please don’t use Angelica to justify controlling my life. We were defenseless as toddlers. I’m not defenseless now. You’ve equipped me with the ability to take care of myself. You’ve put people around me to protect me. I’m not as vulnerable as I was as a child. Plus, you went to the trouble of changing my last name so I’m not even a Burke anymore.”

Her father’s jaw tightened. “No amount of preparation can account for every threat. You, of all people, should understand that.”

The weight of his words settled between them, heavy and yet familiar. Annie had heard variations of this argument her entire life, but this was the first time she’d bucked his restrictions so strongly, so she had no idea what sort of reaction it might elicit from him.

“Cole doesn’t know who I am,” she said quietly. “Not really. He thinks I’m just Annie Turner, a woman who makes baby things and lives in the woods.”

“And do you plan to never introduce him to me?”

Annie hadn’t thought that far ahead. Until the weekend, she hadn’t been one hundred percent sure how Cole was viewing things between them.

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