A Million Kisses or More (12 page)

For her own self-preservation, she let the ruse continue because she knew the moment she told him the truth one of two things was going to happen. Either he’d be so furious with her, any desire he might have had for her would disappear in an instant and she’d never see him again or the desire would flare so bright and hot between them that there would be no prisoners. Whatever that meant. She knew which way she wanted it to go, even if the thought of having sex with him was as overwhelming as it was thrilling.

Also, the longer she didn’t tell him, the harder it was to tell the truth, as if the little white lie was taking on a life of its own. The moment she told him, the beast would be killed and it was doing everything in its limited power to stay alive. Oh, hell, who was she kidding? She’d tell him the next time they were alone because it was no longer fun tormenting him just because she could. In fact, it had never been fun but a necessary evil.

A few minutes later, Harrison was back with Jolie by his side. Looking at her but not quite meeting her eyes, he said, “Since it’s Friday, her bedtime is ten o’clock so don’t let her try to convince you otherwise. She’s already had dinner so you shouldn’t have to feed her but just in case, she doesn’t have any allergies. Um, here’s my house key in case you need anything.”

He handed her the key and when their fingers touched, she felt the electricity pulse through her body. Oh, yeah, they were combustible. “Are you going to want it back?”

He looked at her and swallowed audibly, making her a little giddy that she hadn’t told him the truth yet. “I can get a spare key made up for you.”

Her cheeks hurt from grinning, “Aren’t you afraid I’m going to use it?”

“More than you’ll ever know,” he muttered, giving her a look of such longing she almost relented. Turning to Jolie, he kissed the top of her head and murmured, “You be good, okay, pipsqueak?”

“I will,” the little girl promised and Ana’s stomach rebelled at the idea of being responsible for an impressionable child. But then Jolie looked up at Harrison with those eyes that were just like her father’s and Ana’s unease lessened. “Bye, daddy.”

As soon as Harrison left, Jolie looked up at her with bright eyes and an even brighter grin, “Can we have some ice cream?”

Ana laughed, ruffling the girl’s brown hair and leading her to the kitchen. “If you want ice cream, you’re going to have to earn it.”

“What do I have to do?” she asked so seriously, Ana wanted to hug her.

“You’ll have to stir the batter,” Ana said, glancing around at the mess Harrison’s pounding had interrupted. “I was just about to make brownies and nothing tastes better than ice cream on fresh baked brownies.”

Jolie’s eyes lit up as she clambered onto the stool, eager to work. “Are these the ones you made the other day?”

“Nope,” Ana said. At Jolie’s look of disappointment, she added, “These ones are triple fudge brownies. I’m making chocolate cream cheese and adding chocolate chips so they’ll be nice and chocolaty.”

“I wish daddy would marry you,” Jolie sighed wistfully.

“Oh, sweetie,” Ana murmured, smoothing her hand over Jolie’s hair. “I’m leaving in a few months.”

“Oh,” Jolie murmured, bowing her head in disappointment.

“But I plan on coming back,” Ana said, not sure why she was telling that to the little girl, not when she wasn’t sure whether she really was coming back. She hadn’t decided she’d stay out in California but the idea had been in the back of her mind that she might, especially if everything worked out with her internship. Now, she was no longer sure, which was so stupid since she barely knew Harrison and she sure as heck wasn’t going to throw away her life for anyone, no matter how gorgeous and kind and heroic. But he
was
a reason to come back, a very compelling reason if it came down to it.

God, this habit of getting ahead of herself was becoming tragic.

“When?” Jolie asked.

“Next Christmas?” Ana answered, wondering the same herself. Well, even if things went really, really well in California, she could easily make the promise to return for Christmas. That was simple enough. It had been too many years since she had spent the holidays with her aunt and uncle and it was something she needed to rectify. Except, what if they were going to be away from home next year? The two of them were known to travel quite extensively so it was a possibility.

The next time they talked on the phone, she’d just have to request they stay home next Christmas. Whether or not she’d give the reason remained to be seen. If they did plan on travelling, maybe Harrison wouldn’t mind if she stayed with him.

“But we’ll have to wait and see,” Ana added, just in case. Just in case things with Harrison didn’t pan out, just in case he found someone new, just in case
she
found someone new…. She didn’t think it was possible but then she thought of her friend Donna who had been madly in love with every man she had ever been with only to fall out of love with them just as quickly.

Not that she was in love with Harrison, not yet. The potential was there, the attraction was definitely there, and she appreciated his mind like nobody’s business, but it wasn’t love. However, it was more than lust. Was there something between lust and love? Infatuation? Maybe, but that seemed to be too weak of a word for what she was feeling.

Shaking her head to dispel the thoughts, she gave Jolie a spoon and directed her on how to stir the eggs and sugar as she added the flour mixture. She wracked her brain for something to talk about but she had absolutely no experience with children, other than seeing them in stores and on TV. Maybe it wasn’t so wise agreeing to babysit when she had no idea what she was doing. What if Jolie started to throw a temper tantrum? Or was she too old to do that?

“Do you think you can braid my hair?” Jolie asked, eying the sloppy braid in Ana’s hair. At Ana’s blank look, she continued, “Daddy tried once and it was a disaster. He had to cut off three inches of my hair and then he had to take me to the hair salon to get it fixed. Gramma has arthritis in her hands so she can’t do it. My mother doesn’t live here so I can’t ask her. But you have long hair and it’s even braided. So can you?”

Her little speech was given without taking a breath of air and Ana was surprised Jolie wasn’t blue in the face. Dumbly, she nodded her head, her chest tightening at the sweet smile that brightened the little girl’s entire face as Jolie asked, “Now?”

“When the brownies are in the oven?” Ana managed, her brain still trying to work through everything Jolie had told her. Ana’s mother used to fix her hair all of the time and it was some of Ana’s favorite memories. Sitting on the stool as her mom twisted and braided her hair, she had felt like he luckiest little girl in the world.

“Cool,” Jolie beamed, her smile practically frozen on her face.

“If you want,” Ana suggested, trying to remember what she liked to do when she was almost nine years old. Well, Ana had spent a lot of time exploring old ruins and castles and art museums with her mom when she was that age so that wasn’t really an option. But they also used to put fancy clothes on and find little, out of the way cafes and have tea. “We could play dress up. I have….”

“Oh, yes, could we?”

Ana chuckled at Jolie’s eagerness. “As I was saying, I have makeup and some fancy clothes.”

“Can I do your makeup?”

“Sure,” Ana agreed easily. “Why not?”

*****

At nine thirty, Harrison knocked on Ana’s door, wanting to kiss his little girl good night. At least that is what he told himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to say good night to Jolie, he did, but he also wanted to say good night to Ana, too. And if she kissed him, he wouldn’t object too strenuously. After all, it was a good night kiss and his daughter would be right there. It would be a perfectly harmless kiss between two neighbors.

When Ana didn’t answer, he tried the doorknob and grimaced when it turned in his hand. He was really going to have to talk to her about locking the damn door, especially when she was watching Jolie. If necessary, he’d start coming over every night to make sure the damn thing was locked himself. Even if it meant running into a scantily clad Ana, it was a chance he was willing to take to ensure her safety. Just because they were in the middle of the country didn’t mean there weren’t home invaders.

Hearing laughter from the living room, he felt his anger slowly fade away as he followed the sound. Jolie’s sweet laugh blended perfectly with Ana’s richer, sultrier laugh in unreserved mirth. Not wanting to intrude but needing to see what was happening, he peered around the corner and had to swallow back a gasp at Ana’s face. Purple, bright, vivid purple, circled both eyes and was running down onto her cheeks, which were bright pink. Her luscious lips were almost obscene beneath the blood red lipstick. Her hair was pulled back into two, lopsided piggy tails and there was glitter everywhere. She looked like a child who had gotten into her mother’s makeup.

Almost afraid to see Jolie, he slowly turned his head. The little girl sitting there with a huge smile on her face looked about twelve years older and absolutely stunning. He wanted to storm in there and tell her to wash that stuff off her face, that she didn’t have to grow up so fast and he wanted her to remain his little girl forever. But he restrained himself, just barely, because Jolie was having so much fun that he wasn’t going to ruin it. The makeup would wash off.

Leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest, trying to appear casual even as his bulky jacket and warring emotions made it impossible, he cleared his throat. Both girls jumped and an expression of guilt fell over Ana’s face even as Jolie’s lit up with joy. “Daddy!”

Jolie raced over to where he stood and leapt into his arms, hugging him with all of her heart. Ana, on the other hand, was a little slower to get up, a blush making her pink cheeks even brighter. She joined them and rested a hand on Jolie’s back as she looked up at him but didn’t quite meet his eyes, “We weren’t expecting to see you tonight.”

“Apparently,” he murmured, trying to keep his expression grim but it was difficult. Up close, Ana’s makeup was even more outlandish, with little swirls that he hadn’t been able to see from afar. Holding Jolie with one arm, he touched the tip of Ana’s nose and chuckled, “It looks like Jolie missed a spot.”

Rubbing her nose with her hand, her eyebrows drawn in confusion, she asked, “Pardon?”

“Never mind,” he said with a grin, no longer able to keep it in. Turning to Jolie, her smile still beaming at a thousand watts, he asked, “Have you been behaving yourself?”

“Yes,” she said with a definitive nod. Beneath her makeup and the elegant hair, she was still his little girl. But she was growing up and he wasn’t ready for that, not yet. “We made brownies.”

The wistful pain in his chest shifted to a deeper hunger in his belly as he looked at Ana. “Brownies?”

“Of course,” Ana said, looking ridiculous and wonderful. Who was this girl? “I planned on bringing them over in the morning but we decided to eat them with ice cream.”

The disappointment must have shown in his face because she laughed, “We didn’t eat all of them, Harrison. If we had, we’d be passed out on the bathroom floor, suffering from a chocolate overdose. Don’t worry, there are plenty of brownies left for you.”

The relief he felt was disproportionate to the situation but it had been a long time since anyone had made him dessert and now Ana had done it several times. Licking his lips at the thought of those brownies, he asked, “Is there any ice cream left?”

That question made her laugh even harder. “You can help yourself while I get Jolie’s face washed off.”

Trying not to appear too eager, he set Jolie down and murmured, “If you’re sure.”

“I have never met a man with a bigger sweet tooth than you,” she returned, her smile still in place. Reaching past the bulky jacket, she flattened her hand against his stomach and shook her head, “I honestly have no idea where you put it. Your stomach is as hard as stone.”

His chest swelled up at her words and he sucked his gut in further, wanting her to feel the muscles even better. Then he realized what he was doing and let his breath out, his stomach muscles relaxing back to their usual state. Her eyes darkened and her breath hitched in her throat and if Jolie wasn’t standing right there watching the two of them with much-too-perceptive eyes, he would have done something incredibly stupid. Clearing his throat, he stepped out of the reach of her wandering hand and murmured, “Right, I’m going to go get that dessert now.”

She chuckled as she took Jolie’s hand in hers and the two of them disappeared upstairs. Making his way to the kitchen, taking his jacket off along the way, he wondered where his freakin’ mind had gone. Grabbing everything he needed, he set to work making his dessert, trying not to dwell on the feel of Ana’s hand against his stomach or her inviting scent or her tempting laugh. After the brownie was covered by too much ice cream, he sat down and dug in.

Heaven. He swore to god that if she was just a few years older, he’d ask her to marry him. He huffed at his own delusions. Despite the attraction between them, he doubted she’d marry him, not when she could have any man she wanted. Perhaps it was for the best that she was only eighteen. She was already too tempting and he was too tempted.

“You know, I’m not eighteen.”

Her voice startled him from his contemplations and he looked up to see her standing in the doorway looking absolutely ridiculous with all of that makeup on her face. But then her words registered and his brownie was forgotten as his heart stuttered to a stop in his chest. Coming on the heels of his wishful thoughts, he didn’t think he could handle it if she was even younger. It took him a few moments to find his voice as he stared at her, “Please tell me you’re not seventeen.”

“Jesus, do I truly look so young to you?” she asked, a hint of incredulity in her voice. Coming into the kitchen, she pulled out a chair and sat down across from him. Even wearing clown makeup, she was a tempting woman. Girl.

“Right now you look like you’re twelve,” he answered, trying to mask his desire. No, she had to be older than seventeen because she had just graduated. Maybe she was nineteen, which was still too young for him but it was better than seventeen. “But, yes, you do look that young. Where’s Jolie?”