Annie looked up at him and, in an attempt to be flippant said, "That good, because we're going to have to stop meeting like this or people will talk."

Taking another, obviously very appreciated, drink of her coffee, she sighed and all flippancy and fight was gone. Her expression was entirely sincere when she spoke. "I really am sorry about your car. I've had kind of a bad morning, was running late and was cutting across the parking lot. I just wasn't looking where I was going."

She looked down at her cup. So much for not admitting guilt, but as far as she was concerned, taking that kind of responsibility was more important. And she was sorry. She gave a tiny snort of laughter as she raised the cup to take another drink. Catching his eye across the lid, she added, "Best defensive driving scores of all time at the Farm and I couldn't manage to miss someone backing out of a parking spot."