Beauty and The Best (Once-Upon-A-Time Romance) (23 page)

Once Melanie’s passenger seat had the last bag it could hold, Jolie flipped her hair over her shoulder as she stood, a few stragglers adhering to her neck from the slight sheen (she did
not
sweat) the exertion left on her skin. “We are definitely going to need Mike’s car. It’s going to be pure torture driving with
eau de
chocolate chip wafting around me.”

“
I know what you mean.” Todd closed Mel’s door. “I feel like I should bring a glass of milk, but there probably wouldn’t be any cookies left by the time I got there. Here. Let me.”

She was swiping at those darn wayward hairs when Todd’s finger whispered over her cheek, capturing the strands and tucking them behind her ear.

Such an innocent gesture, really. Nothing to it, right?

Then why did a line of fire shoot straight from her cheek back to the ear he touched—and was still touching?

His finger was just barely grazing, hovering there, but she could feel his warmth like a flambé torch. And it was suddenly very quiet around them, as if the birds took an intermission break. No one drove down his street, there was absolutely no wind to rustle, not a single leaf or errant newspaper, and she was hopeless to do anything but stare up into his mesmerizing green eyes and hold her breath.

He seemed to be into not breathing, too.

Then, softly, almost like a feather, his fingertips glided behind her ear and down her nape, chills and goose bumps following along, and her breathing jump-started into shallow little half-breaths doing the salsa.

Todd broke eye contact and his gaze followed the path of his hand. His golden lashes flickered as his thumb brushed her cheek and lightly stroked her bottom lip.

She was helpless to do anything but watch him and try to keep air going into her lungs.

He didn’t have laughing eyes anymore or a smiling tilt to his mouth. It was as if he were trying to figure out exactly who she was and what she was doing so close to him.

She’d like to know that herself.

His hand slid beneath her hair, his palm scorching the back of her neck, and she was suddenly very hot. Dry-mouthed.

She moistened her lips and he sucked in a breath.

His piercing gaze were back and she couldn’t look away.

His eyes got closer.

Todd got closer.

And suddenly it was his lips that had gotten closer, and a tide of hot burning need swept over her as his mouth covered hers. Someone groaned and she wasn’t sure who.

Todd slid his other hand beneath her hair, cupping her face, and leaned her back against the sun-warmed metal of the car, no room for even air between them. Her arms found their way around that rock-solid abdomen and she was hanging on for dear life, plastered up against that chest she’d seen glistening in sweat, dripping from the pool, and covered in body-hugging clothing, and her knees were threatening a walk-out.

She clasped his back to keep from going boneless and he growled. That was definitely him and she was definitely doing something right to get that reaction. Her heart jumped and she couldn’t help herself, she had to trace the sinewy muscles of his back with the tips of her fingers.

Todd pulled her tighter to him, though how that was even possible she didn’t know, but, honest-to-God there was nothing so thrilling as a lean, muscled man using his power for good.

And this was so good.

But wrong.

So wrong.

How could he do this?

How could
she
do this?

As his tongue did a sexy, bone-melting, swirly dance on her lips—and traitors that they were, they opened to let him in—Brain picked that moment to get a conscience.

What are you doing, Jolie
? asked Brain.

Well, duh. Kissing the hunky guy?

Why
?

Because he’s kissing me
?
Was
Brain even in her body? How could it not know this
?

And what are you expecting to come from this? You work here, remember? What do you honestly expect to come from this? This isn’t a fairy tale, you know. No guaranteed happily-ever-after. Think you can handle that
?

...

And there would be the words of wisdom.

Brain was right. Heart needed protection. Heart had taken some pretty nasty knocks in their collective life and couldn’t bear many more.

She needed the job; he was still in love with his wife. Whatever this was, it wasn’t what she wanted it to be.

So somehow—she wasn’t quite sure how—she managed to pull back from the Todd/Jolie sandwich. Yes, there were a lot of shaky, heavy breaths and connecting body parts, but at least Lips unlocked and Tongues receded to the correct mouths. It was possible Heart could come away from this unscathed.

She nibbled on her lip. Swollen. She shouldn’t do that again.

Although, Todd’s harsh, indrawn breath could entice her to do it one more time.

Just once.

Yep, same harsh breath.

“
Jolie.” His fingers feathered her neck again and her feet began to melt onto the driveway at the way he said her name, his voice warm and smooth, wrapping around every letter like caramel on a Halloween apple.

And when he leaned in to go for round two of the knee-trembling, thigh-quivering, stomach-twisting kiss, with yet another warm-as-melted-butter, “Jolie,” she swayed just the slightest bit his way with an answering, “hmmmm?”

“
I’m sorry.”

“
Mmmm.” That was nice—

Sorry
?

He said he was
sorry
? For kissing her? As in apologizing, never-should-have-done-it-won’t-happen-again-because-it-shouldn’t-have-happened-in-the-first-place sorry?

Alrighty then.

She stepped back to find herself battling Melanie’s door for space, so she put both hands on Todd’s chest—and not in a good way—and shoved. Enough to show him she meant business.

“
Whatever.” She turned around and fumbled with the car door.

“
Jolie—”

“
Forget it. Let’s just go.”

Why wouldn’t the darn thing open? She jiggled the handle again.

“
What about the rest of the cookies?” Todd’s voice was tight, restrained. A bit hoarse.

Oh yeah. Cookies. She leaned her forehead on Mel’s roof. Now she was stuck here waiting for Mike to show.

With someone she wasn’t about to turn around and face.

“
Jolie—”

Mike roared up in his black, shiny Navigator as if it were a racecar, ending the moment.

“
Mike’s here.”
Thank God
. “I’ll get the rest of the cookies and you help him make room.” Jolie stepped sideways from her car, leaving Todd to explain the sudden chill in the air to his brother because she just couldn’t.

***

Todd raked a hand through his hair.
Smooth move, Best
. God, he was an idiot. What the hell had he been thinking?

“
Did I interrupt something?” Mike’s car door slammed.

Obviously, he hadn’t been thinking.

He’d been feeling.

Feeling
.

He hadn’t felt in… so long. And… God. It’d felt so good.
She’d
felt so good.

She’d made him feel so good. So alive.

“
Todd?”

“
Huh? What?” Todd turned around to find Mike too close for comfort. The bond between them that had served him when he was at his lowest was not what he needed now. Mike could read him like a book. “Uh, no. We were, uh, just deciding if we needed your help.”

“
And?” Damn Mike for that smile hovering around his mouth.

“
And?”

“
Do
you need my help? Or do you have things under control?” The smartass didn’t even bother to hide the grin now.

“
Everything’s fine, Mike. But, yeah, we need your help. Let’s put the seat down so we can get the rest of the cookies in your car.” He bypassed his brother’s smirk and headed to the back of the SUV.

“
Todd, seriously. What did I interrupt?”

“
Nothing, Mike. You interrupted nothing.”

“
A lot of words for nothing.”

“
You want to open this trunk? Jolie’s going to be back with the cookies any minute now.”

“
For what it’s worth, Barb and I really liked her.”

“
For what it’s worth, that’s nice. Now how do you work this thing?”

“
You know, Todd, you couldn’t run from the truth two years ago and you can’t do it now.”

“
Just shut up, Mike, and open the damn door.” He didn’t need any great revelations from Mike. He was having enough of his own.

One being that Jolie had run from his kiss.

Another, that it bothered him she’d run. More than he had a right to be bothered.

Oh hell. He didn’t have any rights. Not for kissing Jolie; not even for
wanting
to kiss her.

He was sorry he’d done it. Well, not for the actual kiss, because, honestly, he couldn’t regret it. He should, knowing how he’d felt about Trista, but kissing Jolie had been the first burst of real sunshine in his drab existence of the past two years.

No, he wasn’t sorry for the kiss itself. He was sorry for using her: her zest for life, her exuberance, her generous spirit. Of taking some of that for himself. To absorb some of her positive, sunny energy inside him and allow life and, perhaps, hope, to sprout.

Jolie was life personified, every breath she took filled with such expectation. She was the first person to make him feel alive in two years. The first one to bring him back to himself; the sexual energy was just something extra. Something all her own.

But for her smiles, her laughter, even her singing, he owed it to her to make this right.

And he owed it to himself to not run away from it.

***

Jonathan Griff could barely contain himself. They’d kissed! Oh, he was so happy. It would only be a little while longer; he could
feel
it.

And soon he’d feel those wings on his back.

But he had to make sure. He didn’t want things going wrong now. Raphael had specifically said no bumps in the road and the emotions were so raw at this point. So new.

He rubbed his chin. No bumps…

He didn’t want to leave this up to chance. No, he’d have to get more involved as the archangel had suggested. Of course, with what had happened the last time he’d gotten physically involved—

But no matter. The fire had worked out for the best for Todd and Jolie. And this time he’d be more careful. No more accidental slippages causing any more damage to their growing relationship.

Chapter Nineteen

“
Can I have another cookie?” A cute little girl with braids all over her head batted her big brown eyes at Todd by the dessert table. So young and already so wily. Jolie remembered it well.

“
Sure you can, honey.” Todd handed her not one, but two.

“
Thankth, mithter,” the girl lisped as she skipped away with her treasure. “You’re the betht!”

Jolie couldn’t stop her chuckle. That girl had no idea who she was talking to, just some nice man with cookies, but yeah, he was the best. Literally and figuratively.

And Jolie really shouldn’t be thinking like that.

Todd looked over, catching her eye, and his smile faded just a bit. He was probably wondering if she was going to get angry over some perceived sexual harassment—with the nudity and the lip-lock, maybe she had grounds.

But, no. He hadn’t made anything a condition of her employment and until that happened, she was going with normal hormonal combustion. And Luck. Whether it was good or bad remained to be seen, but Luck had a lot to answer for in her life anyway—what was one more thing?

Or, maybe he was wondering if she’d get all mushy about the kiss. No worries there. That’d be the last thing she’d do. Matter of fact, she’d ordered Brain and Heart to throw it out of memory. A one-time event; that was it. Not worth the agony of remembering.

But Skin and Mouth remembered and they were shivering.

Traitors.

“
Jolie!” Her friend, Chloe White, approached the table. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“
I work for Todd, er, Mr. Best.” She nodded in Todd’s direction without taking advantage of the opportunity to steal another look at him. Score one for her.

“
Hey, Todd.” Chloe waved and took a cookie. “You made these, Jols?”

“
Yep.”

“
Hi, Chloe.” Todd stood next to Jolie. “Are the girls having a good time?”

“
Always.” Chloe, another system survivor, took in foster kids herself. “You know how they look forward to this picnic. It’s been a count-down on our calendar for months.”

“
I’m glad. You should bring them by the house to swim sometime. The pool barely gets used.”