“How was everything at the center?” Cain asked as I slid into a chair opposite his desk.

“Good. Sorry I’m late getting back. I got caught up.”

“You never have to apologize about that.” He leaned back in his chair. “Anna tear you a new one this time?”

The corner of my mouth kicked up as I pictured Anna’s annoyed expression. “I’ve never known a woman who got so frustrated by me trying to be helpful.”

“What’s even more interesting is why you find that so compelling.”

He had a point. I had no idea why Anna was so fascinating to me, but she had been from the first day I started volunteering at the shelter. And the pricklier she was with me, the more I wanted to know what lay beneath that spiny exterior. “I admire her.”

That much was true. She ran Hope House with a mixture of drill-sergeant exactness and empathetic kindness. I’d seen her put a burly man three times her size in his place and hold a young mother as she cried after leaving an abusive marriage. It was a heady combination.

Cain arched a brow. “Admire her? Attraction has nothing to do with it?”

Heat crept up the back of my neck. The fact that I could imagine just how well Anna’s petite, curvy form would fit against me might have a little to do with it. “Can we get back to the business at hand?”

Cain chuckled. “All the answer I need.” He sobered. “Just tread carefully there. I don’t know her whole story, but I don’t think it’s an easy one.”

I swallowed against the burn in my throat. I’d gotten the same feeling. Anna hadn’t shared anything about her past around me. Not even where she’d grown up. All I knew was that she’d been a shelter resident for years before taking on a managerial role. Justin and Lyla had let a few things slip, but it wasn’t anything that helped me put together the pieces of who Anna really was.

“I’m just trying to get her to see I’m not an ax murderer.”

Cain barked out a laugh. “That’s where Anna and I are of the same mind. Suspect everyone. Maybe if I showed her your extensive background check, she’d let up a little.”

“It’s not a bad idea. I’ll sign off on you taking it public.”

“I’ll find a way to slip it onto her desk.”

“You’re a true friend.” I slid my phone out of my pocket and opened my notes app. “Now, let’s talk about phase two.”