A Million Kisses or More (6 page)

“Anytime, sweetie,” Ana assured her, returning the hug with only the slightest hesitation.

As soon as the bus picked up his daughter, Harrison returned to the house, to his kitchen, and found Ana still sitting at the table picking at her brownie. When she realized he was standing there, she looked up and gave him that heart-stopping smile. Motioning towards the seat next to her, she said, “You never even tried your brownie.”

“She’s never actually watched a zombie movie,” Harrison felt the need to explain. “I mean, she’s eight. But my brother is obsessed with zombies and Jolie adores her uncle, so….”

Her understanding look turned his brain to mush and if he wasn’t careful, he’d become a flesh-eating zombie, as long as Ana was on the menu. Sitting down, keeping his eyes on her as if she might disappear at any moment, he said, “You take my breath away, Ana.”

Fuck, where the hell did that come from? At her pleased smile, he realized it was the absolute worst thing he could have said. She was young, impressionable, and he had no right encouraging her. Clearing his throat, he added, “I mean, you came in here with fresh brownies and just made yourself at home. Are you sure you’ve never been in this house before yesterday?”

“Was it really only yesterday?” she asked with an adorable little frown pulling her eyebrows together. “Right because I read your book last night. I’m still pissed about that, you know.”

“I am aware,” he said with a smile because he couldn’t help himself. “Luckily, I’m less pissed than I was this morning.”

Heaving a sigh, she let her shoulders relax, “Thank god. I figured homemade brownies would help.”

“It wasn’t the brownies,” he said, taking a bite. Dear god, he might have to reconsider his previous words. Maybe he could convince her he was still pissed and it would take weeks of brownies to make it up to him. “Though I wouldn’t say no to a few dozen more. When did you find time to make them?”

Her smile made him re-reconsider his words. It was definitely her and not her brownies. “I couldn’t go back to sleep after I read your book and since I prefer baking to cleaning….” She shrugged her shoulders and continued on, “I also wanted to apologize for dragging you out of bed by screaming at you.”

“I was already awake,” he admitted. At her look, he explained, “I’m working nights for the next couple of weeks and since I don’t like switching my sleep schedules, I was writing last night. This morning.”

Her eyes widened in excitement as she leaned closer, “The next Justice novel?”

“What else?” He couldn’t resist teasing her, even though he knew better. Leaning closer to her until they were almost touching but not quite, he lowered his voice, “Of course, Justice
is
dead so….”

She swatted at him as she sat back in her chair and laughed, “So what? Are you going to do a Justice novel without Justice? How would that even work?”

“Very carefully,” he grinned, polishing off the brownie and reaching for another one. But the tempting minx grabbed the plate and pulled it out of his reach. At her mutinous glare, he chuckled and reached a little further, snagging one despite her efforts to stop him. Taking a bite, talking with his mouth full, he said, “Though I might bring him back in a dream sequence or flashback or something.”

“I’ll never make you another brownie again,” she vowed dramatically, her eyes sparkling with laughter.

“Yes but I’m sure I could get Jolie to ask you to make some and I doubt you’d be able to refuse her anything.” He took another bite and his eyes closed as he groaned in appreciation. Looking at her from beneath heavy lids, he admitted, “I’m not above using my daughter to get more of these.”

“You’re probably right,” she conceded on a sigh. “But I will only make them under duress.”

“Fair enough,” he grinned, enjoying himself more than he had in a long, long time. It was easy to forget she was too young when she was so charming. “Just so long as I have brownies.”

Catching her lower lip between her teeth, watching him with those amazing eyes, she leaned forward and asked, “If I bring you lots of brownies, would you reconsider having more of Justice in your next book than just a measly dream sequence?”

“I might,” he answered evasively since the entire book was about Justice. But she didn’t need to know that.

“What if I offered to make cupcakes or caramels?” she offered, hope glistening in her eyes.

“Caramels would not be unappreciated,” he said casually, trying not to give away the fact that for caramels, she could have just about anything she wanted.

Leaning even closer, she asked, “And if I made them covered in chocolate?”

His mouth watered and a groan escaped before he could stop it. At her delighted chuckle, he looked at her and shook his head, trying to regain some sense of sanity. “What did you mean when you said you were only going to be here for a few months?”

“I’m moving out to L.A. after Christmas,” she said. Her brow puckered slightly as she added, “Hopefully the roads will be clear otherwise I might have to leave sooner.”

“Are you going to try your luck as an actress?” he asked, his stomach tight at the thought of her going out there and losing that spark that made her so unique. At her look, he remembered the earlier conversation and almost sighed in relief. “Or perhaps you hope to be a makeup artist.”

“I wouldn’t mind that but, no,” she answered, picking at the crumbs on her plate. “It’s actually for an internship at Madd Talent Agency. It’s for a year and if it goes well, they might hire me on.”

“So soon after graduating?” he asked, his heart pounding a strange, heavy rhythm in his chest.

“That does seem to be the best time,” she murmured. She made a face as she leaned in again and admitted, “It’s strange, though. I applied for this job way back when I was sixteen as part of a class project. They ended up offering me a full scholarship to the college of my choice, within reason of course, if I agreed to an internship after I graduated. But doesn’t that seem like a long time to wait for an intern?”

Two years seemed about right to him but she was still young and probably didn’t have a lot of practice waiting. Maybe when the year was over, and she came back,
if
she came back, she wouldn’t be too young. Of course, he’d be another year older as well but when he took into account all of the life experience she’d receive out west…. But then she also had four years of college to attend and he had no idea how
that
experience was going to change her. “You know, you don’t have to take Jolie trick or treating. I’m sure her grandparents wouldn’t mind taking her.”

“Are you trying to let me down gently?” she asked, looking at him with an almost hurt expression. At his questioning look, she added, “I mean, if you don’t want me hanging out with your daughter, I totally get it. Here I am, a crazy stalker girl and you’re looking out for your child…. I get your concerns. I’m not sure
I’d
want me around my kid, either.”

He had to let her words sink for a few moments before he found his tongue to refute them. Putting his hands over hers, ignoring the way his blood started to race at the contact, he said, “I’m a decent judge of character, Ana. In my line of work, I sort of have to be.”

“Being a cop or an author?” she asked softly as she slowly raised her lashes and pinned him in place with her eyes.

“Um, both?” he answered, no longer sure where he was going with the conversation because his brain had just short circuited. Her eyes just sucked him in, making him believe in the impossible. Without a doubt, she was dangerous. “Um, you should go.”

She blinked her eyes at his words. “Pardon?”

“I need to sleep while Jolie is at school,” he explained, hoping she couldn’t hear the desperation in his voice. She needed to leave before he forgot himself and pressed his lips against hers. He recognized the desire that burned in her eyes because he felt it in his blood. Despite being rusty, he knew it wouldn’t take too much effort to ease her out of her clothes and into his bed and that would be incredibly stupid. Clearing his throat, he stood up and pulled her to her feet, warring desires making him clumsy. Grabbing her coat, he wrapped it around her as he hauled her to the door, “If I don’t get enough sleep, I’m a bear.”

“Okay,” she managed, awkwardly putting her arms into her sleeves as she stumbled after him. At the door, she forced him to a stop, refusing to take another step until he looked at her. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No,” he said quickly. Unable to help himself, he cupped her cheek, reveling in the smoothness of her skin before he forced himself to step away from her. “Look. You’re eighteen years old. I’m too old for you.”

She did that blinking thing again before she slowly said, “Um, okay. And how old are you?”

“I’ll be twenty-nine on my next birthday,” he admitted, feeling every inch a dirty, old man.

“Okay,” she murmured and he could see her thoughts whirling in her head. Slowly, she asked, “And when’s that?”

“September.”

“So you just turned twenty-eight,” she said, almost to herself. As if ten years wasn’t so insurmountable. At his nod, she gave him a brilliant smile before planting a quick kiss on his lips. Before he could grab her and give her a proper kiss, she was out the door, calling over her shoulder, “Bye, Harrison! Get some rest and I’ll see you later.”

He groaned at the unwanted optimism of her words but he still watched her until she made it safely into her house. She was going to be the death of him.

Chapter 3

After taking a quick nap… okay, Ana had slept for six hours, she had thrown Harrison’s clothes into the washer and then took a shower. Despite the heater being set at 78, she still put on a heavy sweatshirt since she was planning on heading out and braving the cold. Thinking about her temporary neighbor, she wondered if her aunt was perhaps playing matchmaker. She wouldn’t put it past her aunt, especially if the older woman liked Harrison, which was all too easy to imagine. Harrison was very likeable, as was his daughter. While she had to drive out to L.A. after Christmas, she saw no reason why she couldn’t spend some time with the small family across the street. If it led to something more…. Well, she’d only be gone for a year and with technology, she’d be able to video chat any time.

Ana still couldn’t believe he thought she was eighteen. How in the world did he arrive at such an insane assumption? As she thought about it, she felt the blush heat her cheeks. Her behavior since meeting him had been rather juvenile, from locking herself out of the house to throwing a book at him. Plus, she had practically thrown herself at him from the moment they met, just like an uncouth teenager suffering from puppy love. Hell, he was probably used to sophisticated beauties who knew how to play the game, who knew how to act coy and knew how to flirt like a grown up and not a silly school girl with a crush.

They probably didn’t look out the window every five minutes to see if the guy they liked was awake yet. Also, they probably were quick to correct the mistaken assumption that they were too young. At first it had caught her off guard and she hadn’t known what to say. But then, when she thought about it, she realized it was a good thing, giving her some time to deal with her reaction towards him. It was powerful and a little overwhelming and as long as he thought she was too young, she had a buffer against such intoxicating temptation. It scared her how much she liked him. When she had a few days to internalize this attraction, she’d tell him the truth.

“Do you think I’m evil?” she asked the demon cat. He just looked at her and then went back to licking himself, his leg sticking straight up in the air. “You know, I’m never leaving the house again without a key so you can quit shadowing me. You’re never going to get another chance to lock me out again.”

He completely ignored this, preferring the joy of his tongue bath.

Grabbing her keys, she decided it was time to head into town to see about getting that job. Maybe she’d run into a few of her old acquaintances and if she did, maybe they’d know more about the mysterious Harrison Miller. Or was asking about him too creepy?

Opening the door, she gasped. That first breath of cold air always surprised her but she’d get used to it eventually. Probably. If not, it was only for a few months and then she’d be heading to someplace much warmer. Even though it was freezing, she still paused and looked across the street to see if Harrison was up and about. But then she realized how crazy that was because his curtains were all drawn to keep the cold out. The only way to know whether or not he was up was if she went over and knocked on his door and that would probably wake him up and piss him off. So why did that seem like the best idea ever? Especially if a partially naked Harrison opened the door, his hair all sleep-tousled and sexy?

Shaking her head, she quickened her step until she reached her car and slid behind the wheel and froze her ass off on the seats. If she had lived in Minnesota all of her life, she might have opted to get heated seats in her car. Unfortunately, it had seemed like too much of a luxury back home so she had gone with the standard, non-heated seats. Luckily, her car heated up quick enough and within moments she was no longer able to see her breath.

The drive to town only took about fifteen minutes, just enough time for her car to get toasty and make her question whether she really wanted to get out and look for a job. Pulling into the parking lot of the popular local restaurant Jesters, she debated if it was worth it. But she needed the cash and she had previously spent a summer working at Jesters and it was the best place to make decent tips for a few hours of work. With a whimper, she turned off her car and got out. And promptly regretted it when the first wave of cold assaulted her.

With fierce determination, she made her way across the parking lot and pulled the door open, sighing in pleasure at the warmth that greeted her. The restaurant was just the same as it had always been, with exposed wood rafters and plenty of tables for sitting around. In the summer, they had outdoor seating with live concerts every Friday and Saturday night and it was just a great place to hang out. The mouthwatering aroma hit and she hoped she could talk the new owners into hiring her for a few months. It was almost tempting enough to work there for free. After all, they served some of the best greasy hamburgers and fries this side of the Mason Dixon line.