Royal Opposites by Lori Crawford Page A

about getting back to any type of job. Not like her. After she’d bathed the night before, she’d gotten up the nerve to turn on her cell phone. It had been ringing off the hook. She checked her messages and discovered one from a hateful coworker who couldn’t contain her glee when she announced she was going to make sure their boss heard what she’d done and she shouldn’t bother coming in to pick up her belongings. They would be sent to her.
    Tears stung her eyes when she thought of the coworkers she did adore. Her job was pretty much data entry, but the hours were good. They allowed her the time she needed to stay on top of sales so she was able to get the most merchandise at the lowest price possible. With her couponing skills, she was not only able to take care of herself, but she also kept a local women’s shelter stocked with supplies.
    The data entry she did was mindless enough it allowed her to craft some detailed shopping scenarios so she could stock the shelter for the least money out of pocket. It also paid her enough to live in the relatively expensive city of Santa Monica. Or at least it did until she’d gotten in this bank mess a couple years ago.
    Once everything was straightened out and she could go on with her life. All she wanted to do was shop for excellent bargains and be left alone. Was that too much to ask? Instead, here she was mixed up with Tom who seemed to have limitless money and accused of attempting to rob a bank.
    Thoughts of Tom’s limitless money supply in combination with bank robbery had her sitting up. What if he was a bank robber and all this lavish spending was a result of other, successful attempts. Was she living on ill-‐-gotten gains? Joan dropped the remains of the bagel on the plate like it had bitten her. She put it on the coffee table and slid it away from her.
    It did make sense. Banks didn’t accuse people of robbing them at random. Maybe the teller had recognized Tom’s face from a wanted poster and reacted in a way that wouldn’t tip him off she was on to him. Joan sighed. That scenario would make perfect sense if she hadn’t been on the receiving end of that same lecture just before handing over seventeen thousand dollars herself.
    Tom opened the French doors that separated the living room and bedroom. He did so with such a flourish that Joan couldn’t help but giggle despite her recent dark thoughts concerning the man. She’d give him a chance to explain, she decided, and pulled the bagel and plate back within her grasp.
    Tom took in her choice and tsk’d. “Would you eat already?”
    “You said you would explain. Now’s a great time to start,”
    Joan prompted.
    Tom’s brows furrowed while he filled a plate with pancakes and sausage. He lathered both with syrup and filled a bowl with fruit before sitting on the couch adjacent to her position in the chair.
    He put the food on the coffee table and stared at it for a long moment. Tom rested his elbows on his knees and picked up his fork before facing her. “Allow me to introduce myself.”
    Introduce himself? What in the world was he talking about?
    Had he lied to her about his name when they met? With a sinking feeling, she remembered he’d never actually introduced himself.
    She’d learned his name from Molly the waitress. Oh crap. Who the heck had she gotten herself mixed up with? He was a criminal. Her eyes widened when her mind circled back to where it had been a few moments before. He was a bank robber and the charges were true. And now, she’d gone off with him making herself look like his accomplice.
    She popped up from the armchair to put some needed distance between them. Just in case she had to make a run for it.
    How could she have been so stupid? She hadn’t been acting like herself at all during the last twenty four hours. Was it any wonder she’d gone and gotten mixed up with some n’er do well criminal element? It would seem that all it took was a smile and some lunch and she could be