A Million Kisses or More (24 page)

His heart shuttered to a stop and his hand stilled on her head. “Excuse me?”

She opened her eyes and looked up at him with amusement, “I’m not really married, Harrison. Unless you’re asking?”

“When I ask you to marry me, it isn’t going to be at Jesters on your break,” he scoffed. Trying to pretend he hadn’t thought about marrying her at least a hundred times, he added, “Besides, we haven’t known one another long enough to think about marriage.”

Color climbed into her cheeks as she let her eyes drift shut, this time to shut him out. Was she as certain of their future as he was? Swallowing against the lump in his throat, he asked, “Would you marry me?”

Her smile widened as she kept her eyes closed and asked, “Are you asking?”

He chuckled even as his blood started to pump furiously through his veins. “My parents got married seven days after they met.”

“My parents never married at all,” she said, reminding him of a previous conversation.

Knowing that he was treading on dangerous ground, he asked, “Right.”

“It’s the reason my relationship with my mom was fractured,” she answered, pushing herself up into a sitting position, her lips in a pained smile.

“Is she the reason you held off on having sex?” he asked, his heart pounding in his throat.

“Sort of. I wanted the fairy tale my mom told me so I waited for love.” Color flooded her cheeks as she looked down at her hands on the table. “When I was young and stupid, though, the reason I held off had more to do with your cousin than it did with my mom.”

The heart that had been thudding away in his throat suddenly stopped and it took a few moments to get it started back up again. Clearing his throat, he asked, “How so?”

“I can’t believe we’re discussing this here,” she said with an embarrassed laugh.

“Me, neither,” he agreed, needing to hear her answer before he could take another breath. “Well? What does Asher have to do with you holding onto your virginity for so long?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard the story about how we met?” she asked. At his tight nod, she huffed out a breath and said, “There was a little bit more to it. A few hours after I hit his car, we were kissing behind one of the booths that were set up and my aunt appeared. She reamed him a new one for even thinking about kissing her sixteen-year-old niece and then she dragged me back to my car and told me to go back home. That night, my aunt sat me down and had
The Talk
with me, which was incredibly awkward for both of us. It was obvious that she didn’t trust Asher to not try anything with me so she made me promise to get my education before I gave up my V card since pregnancy is the natural outcome of sex, especially since birth control occasionally failed. She begged me until I promised I’d hold off until I graduated before I did the deed.”

“I’m sure there was more to it than that,” he said, unable to believe someone as passionate as Ana would truly keep such a promise, no matter how grateful he was that she had. A part of him wished he would have kept his dick in his pants after his divorce since each and every fuck had been so damned hollow, especially compared to his time with Ana.

“She talked about respecting one’s body and the emotions involved, the possibilities of disease, yadda yadda yadda,” Ana said evasively before her eyes lit up. Leaning closer, she said in a hushed voice, “But then she told me that the right man would come along and everything she had just said would get blown away. I was just waiting for you.”

He stared at her for a moment before he choked on a laugh, “She did not say that.”

Shaking her head no, Ana sat back in her seat and laughed. “No, she didn’t but she should have. Instead, there were pictures…
pictures
, Harrison, of diseased body parts. I’m certain she found pictures of the plague and threw some of those in there as well. After that, there was no one that was tempting enough to make me forget. Well, until you but I think that had more to do with the fact that I am madly in love with you.”

“I’m honored, I think,” he said with a slight grin. Whatever her past, he wanted her to be his wife, the mother of Jolie, the mother to his future children and he wanted to practice making said children even if it would be a few years before they’d start their family. Jesus, he was so far gone. Wanting to get her home and naked and into his bed, he leaned closer to her and ask in a husky voice, “What time do you get off tonight?”

“I don’t know,” she grinned, leaning towards him so that their noses were almost touching. “It depends on what you do to me once we get home.”

His cock surged upwards at the sultry promise of her words and it took him a moment to find his tongue. “Jesus, Ana. If you’re not careful, I’ll steal you away right now and fuck you in the front seat of my truck. Again.”

Her eyes darkened and her breath hitched in her throat and he knew it wouldn’t take more than a gentle nudge to get her to go along with the idea, even if her break was nearly over. Glancing around the restaurant to see if anyone was paying any attention to them, he grimaced when he saw Asher sitting at the bar glaring right back. Ever since the confrontation the day after Halloween, his cousin had been acting like a royal prick, which was understandable since he had let Ana slip through his fingers

Ignoring his cousin, he lowered his voice and crooned, “I don’t want to rush anything. When we get home, I am going to savor every inch of you.”

Her smile was soft and sweet and he never wanted to see her without it. “I’m going to hold you to that, Harrison. I should be getting off in about an hour. So, are you going to wait for me?”

“Absolutely,” he murmured brushing her hair from her face and letting his fingers linger on her smooth cheek. “Since we came in my car.”

“Right,” she grinned. “That’s good because I think I’d drive anywhere with you.”

“We can take  a road trip next year,” he said, willing to promise her everything. “We can go camping. Unless you don’t want to.”

“Harrison,” she smiled, cupping his jaw. Smoothing her tongue along her lower lip as her eyes darkened, she murmured, “I’d love to. Now, I really have to go before Maris fires me.”

His lips curved up into a huge smile because he was going to marry this girl. Grabbing his laptop, he powered it back up and started typing, the words filling up the screen almost as quickly as the images popped into his head. Every now and then, he’d glance up and catch Ana smiling at him but then she’d turn back to her customer and he’d return to the world of Justice and Mercy.

Around ten, Harrison was pulled out of his world when he heard Ana’s name followed by a loud crash. Jerking his head up, he saw Maris standing on the low stage, smiling at Ana. Ana, on the other hand, was as white as a ghost, her eyes wide and her lips curved into a strained smile. Now that he knew her better, he knew that look of terror and he wondered what he had missed. She staggered woodenly towards the stage as her coworkers urged her on, her limbs suddenly moving very un-Ana-like.

“Give a round of applause for Ana Smithfield,” Maris continued as Ana stepped onto the stage, her skin now faintly green. “She’s been here for over a month and we haven’t gotten her up here to sing.”

Maris pressed the microphone into Ana’s hands and then stepped back to the controls to start the song. Despite the frozen smile on her face, it was apparent to anyone with eyes that Ana was terrified. As the music started to play, Ana just stood there with that painful smile and those wide eyes. She was looking right at him but she didn’t seem to be able to see him. Crap, he was going to have to do something he never thought he’d ever do. He was going to have to get up on that stage and sing.

Roughly, he pushed through the crowd until he reached her side. Her fingers were frozen as he pried the mic from her hands. “Ana.”

She flinched as she slowly turned her head and faced him and it took her a few moments before she recognized him. Her voice was whisper soft as she said, “I’m going to be sick.”

Touching her cheek, he murmured, “Focus on me.”

Her pupils had swallowed her irises, making her green eyes black, and he wasn’t sure if she’d be able to make it through this without puking or passing out. He hoped she chose the second option because he had no problem carrying her out of there. The notes of a familiar love song started to play again and he swallowed thickly before he opened his mouth and let the first words come out.

She blinked her eyes as he butchered the song, his gravelly voice making it nearly impossible to understand the words or discern the tune. Slowly, her lips curved into a smile as she focused on him and sang with him. This time, he blinked because she had a beautiful voice, pure and true. She even managed to make him sound almost human and less like a bear.

Her gaze dropped to his lips as they sang about love and kisses and eternity. His blood began to heat in his veins and if they were alone, he would have swooped her up into his arms and kissed her until she didn’t know where she ended and he began. He’d kiss her until time ended and they were the only two people left in the universe.

Fuck it, she was here and she was his. Dropping the mic with a loud, echoing thud, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, taking her song into his mouth. As always happened when they kissed, she melted against him, offering him everything. Sliding his hands into her hair, he pulled back just enough to whisper against her lips, “Let’s go home.”

“Yes,” she managed to reply, her eyes glazed as she licked her lips. Other than that, she continued to lean against him and made no effort to move.

Brushing her hair away from her face, cupping her cheek, he asked, “Do you need me to carry you?”

“Yes,” she said, her lips curving into a slow smile. She shook her head and made to step back but he bent down and scooped her up into his arms. The crowd cheered and she startled, glancing around the restaurant and blushing to the roots of her hair. He had to say that red was definitely an improvement over the green. “Oh.”

“You managed to make it through without getting sick,” he grinned, stepping down and heading over to the table with his laptop. A shudder worked its way through her body and she made a face, making him laugh. “Now you know why
I
never wanted to be a rock star.”

Tilting her head to the side, she looked at him in confusion. “But you have a wonderful voice.”

“I know they say love is blind,” he grinned. “I just didn’t realize it was also deaf. Can you walk yet?”

“I could always walk,” she grinned at him, her fingers toying with the ends of his hair. “But someone likes to carry me.”

Guilty as charged, he shrugged his shoulders as he reluctantly set her down. Keeping his eyes on her, he packed his laptop away and said, “I hope you’re done for the night.”

“I think I’d quit if I wasn’t,” she admitted, her cheeks turning red again as she looked around the restaurant. Her lips parted briefly as she let out a soft gasp, “I dropped a tray, didn’t I?”

“I believe so,” he said, putting on his coat and dropping his free arm around her shoulders. Pulling her against his side, he added, “I think Maris had Dan clean it up.”

“Everything from the time Maris said my name until you started singing is a blur,” she said, her eyes troubled. “If you weren’t here, I’m pretty sure I would have died up there.”

“Nah,” he said, touching the tip of her nose. Hoping to make her smile, he added, “I think you would have fainted before that happened.”

She nodded her head in agreement. “You’re probably right. But then I would have landed on the front table, taken out two or three customers and Maris would have had to kill me.”

“Then I would have had to arrest her,” he said, arching an eyebrow. Even though they were just joking around, he had to fight the urge to give Maris a dirty look for potentially killing Ana. “Then I would put her in solitary and throw away the key.”

“Then it’s a good thing I don’t plan on killing Ana,” Maris said from behind him, making him jump. “Where do you think you’re going? You don’t get off for another fifteen minutes.”

“Harrison is taking me to the hospital because I think I had a heart attack,” Ana said, leaning even more against him. “There’s a reason I don’t get up on stage.”

Maris’s brows drew together as she glanced around the restaurant before looking at Ana once again. “But Asher said singing karaoke was one of your many talents.”

Fury welled up inside of Harrison when he realized Asher was behind Ana’s distress. “I’m going to kill him.”

“He left when you got up on stage,” Maris told Harrison, pursing her lips as she struggled to come up with something to say. “Not that I blame him, of course. You have a very… unique singing voice.”

“It’s beautiful,” Ana repeated, putting her hand over his heart and giving Maris a fierce glare as if she would use her fists to prove her point.

Wrapping his arm around her head to cover her ears, he leaned towards Maris and winked, “Love is blind and deaf.”

“Apparently,” Maris snorted. Shaking her head, she took a step to the side and said, “You might as well go before I change my mind. And I’m only allowing it because Harry is one of my favorite cousins.”

“Thank you!” Ana beamed. Standing up on her tiptoes, she gave him a quick kiss before she left to grab her stuff.

Turning to Maris, Harrison cringed, “I’m really sorry about that but I didn’t see any other option. She was petrified.”

“I know,” Maris agreed, watching Ana disappear into the back room. Facing Harrison, she crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at him even as her eyes danced with amusement. “So, you stole Asher’s girlfriend?”

He snorted, “Ana was never his.”

“That’s not what he’s telling anyone willing to listen. I mean
I
know the truth since that idiot is my brother and all and he behaved like an immature asshole three years ago,” she said, scowling at nothing in particular. “But I still hoped the two of them would get married. You’ve completely ruined that for me because I’ve never seen her look at him the way she looks at you. And I’ve never seen you look at anyone the way you look at her.”

“She’s my Ana.” Harrison couldn’t help but smile when she appeared from the backroom, her grin lighting up the entire restaurant. Still speaking out loud, he confessed, “I love her.”