A Million Kisses or More (23 page)

“We used to be really close when I was younger but things change,” she said, trying to ignore the way her stomach knotted at the memories. She smiled as she admitted, “In truth, I had absolutely no idea how to deal with a child and I was terrified of Jolie when I first met her.”

“I never would have guessed,” he murmured, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing her fingers. “You seemed so at ease.”

“I’ve learned from an early age to never show fear,” she said breezily.

Instead of letting the comment pass, Harrison tilted his head to the side and asked, “What do you mean?”

“Nothing,” she answered quickly, grabbing another fry and stuffing it into her mouth so she wouldn’t have to answer. Talking about her past always made her uncomfortable for some reason. It’s not like anything awful happened to her when she was a child, it was just… her past. But with Harrison she found she wanted to tell him all of her troubles and fears. When he continued to look at her with skepticism, she repeated, “It’s nothing, Harrison. When I was growing up, it was often times just me and my mom in strange lands and I was just a scared little girl. No, that isn’t quite right. I was…overwhelmed. My mom designed rooms inside of castles all over the world, Harrison, and she was everything to me and I remember wanting to be her when I grew up. But it was all a lie.”

He was thoughtful for a moment as he studied her with those heart stopping brown eyes of his, seeing so much it was frightening. “What was a lie?”

“All of it,” she said, not sure how to clarify it. “She wasn’t who I thought she was and after I discovered the truth, she never tried to explain,” she said, shrugging her shoulders to make light of it. Leaning forward, she tried to describe her mother so Harrison would understand, even though she wasn’t quite sure herself. “She is this brilliant interior designer, Harrison. I mean absolutely brilliant. She sees a space and somehow knows exactly how it wants to be.”

“How the room wants to be?” he asked dubiously, his dimples peeking out as he fought back a smile.

She grinned because she knew how ridiculous it sounded but she also knew it was the only way to describe it. “She says that rooms speak to her and apparently they do because she is one of the most sought after interior designers out there. Her work has been featured in several magazines and television shows and what not. I mean, she’s brilliant.

“There’s this guy, an eccentric millionaire or billionaire or whatever, that hires her every summer to decorate one of the rooms in one of his houses,” Ana continued, still trying to explain Heather, her own childhood. “She’s done this every summer for as long as I can remember. Sometimes she’d be gone for a few weeks and sometimes several months….”

His brows drew together as he asked, “Wait, weren’t you with her?”

Shaking her head no, she answered, “Like I said, this millionaire was…
is
eccentric and he only wanted my mom. But it was during these times that I was sent to live with my grandparents or my aunt and uncle and I got to be normal, which is highly underrated sometimes. My mom would finish up the job and spend the next couple weeks in a manic frenzy, taking me along for the ride. It was like a part of her was far away, someplace she’d rather be, and if she didn’t keep insanely busy, she’d break. I lived for those weeks because that was when she was the most brilliant. But it was also terrifying because it was so chaotic.”

“Wow,” he murmured, impressed despite Ana’s inability to truly describe her mom’s genius.

“Yeah, well,” she said. Trying to explain herself better, she continued, “She taught me everything she could, showing me the world through her eyes and it was beautiful and magical and wonderful and when she told me the truth, it was like everything was tarnished somehow.”

She snorted at her overly dramatic teenage self as she continued, “Of course, I was a teenager at the time and looking back, it wasn’t so bad but I said some horrible things, Harrison…. I don’t know how to apologize so we stay in limbo.”

“She’s your mother,” he said with compassion. “I’m sure she understands….”

“It was the summer I was fourteen that she left me with my grandparents full time,” she said softly, the old hurt flaring up. “That’s also the year my aunt and uncle moved here and I started spending the summers with them.”

“I wish I could go back in time and hug that little girl,” he murmured, running his thumb over her knuckles.

“But you’re here now and that’s all that matters,” she returned, loving the strength he gave her just by loving her.

“I’m glad you’ve been away the past three years,” he said with a half-smile.

Her lips quirked upwards slightly as she asked, “What makes you say that?”

“Because if you had come back any sooner, Asher would have swooped in and stolen you away before we ever had a chance to meet,” he said, making her heart turn to mush. “And I would have been insane with jealousy.”

“You say the sweetest things, Harrison,” she murmured, wanting to spend the rest of the night sitting with him but she had to get back to work. Standing up, she went to his side of the table and kissed the top of his head, “Unfortunately, I really have to get back to work now otherwise Maris might fire me.”

He snagged her wrist, holding her in place as he searched her eyes with his. Softly, he murmured, “I think I would have fought him for you. You and me… we’re meant to be.”

Her smile was blinding as she blinked back the unexpected tears. “God, I love you, Harrison.”

Ana didn’t know why her heart was racing so frantically in her chest, why she couldn’t catch her breath. Keeping her smile in place, she walked away from him and all of the emotions he stirred up in her. Hadn’t she made peace with her life? Before Harrison, she knew how her life was going to play out and it wasn’t going to include a super close relationship with her mother. Now, she wished things had been different, that her relationship with her mother hadn’t gone to Hell and never came back, that she hadn’t sent it to Hell.

She was just being sentimental because she was going to get her period soon. She always got weepy around this time of the month. Being with Harrison only made it worse because he was stripping away all of the armor around her heart. Apparently the armor hadn’t been particularly strong but he had been the only one who had ever gotten close enough to knock it down. He had snuck into her heart before she even knew him. God, her aunt should have warned her that he was the author of her favorite books. Then she might have been prepared for the maelstrom of confusion and passion he brought into her life.

If he had been an asshole, she never would have given him a second thought but he wasn’t. He was amazing and he was turning her entire world on its head. Mostly, it was incredible because she finally found the place where she belonged. She was just terrified that it was all just a dream and when she left for California, she’d wake up.

As much as she hoped they’d be able to keep the relationship over the year she’d be away, she knew how difficult it was going to be. Harrison was an incredible man and she had seen the looks women sent his way. Once she was gone, he might start to notice and then where would that leave her? She would have been wise to protect a small piece of her heart that wasn’t already his. Peeking over her shoulder and seeing him sitting there watching over her, she snorted softly. Like that was even possible. Her heart was his and probably had been from the moment they met, even if she didn’t believe in love at first sight.

Jeeze, it was only a year. Even though she had only known him a short time, she already knew he was worth fighting for and no distance, no amount of time, was going to keep her from spending the rest of her life with him and his daughter.

“Ana,” Maris said, snapping her out of her snaking thoughts. “Can you take care of the Jester’s Court? A huge group of hungry baseball players just came in and you’re the only one not waiting a million tables.”

Looking over her shoulder at Harrison, wishing she could keep her single table, she opened her mouth to accept but Maris snorted, “Please, Ana. You’ll have plenty of time for him afterwards.”

Twisting her head back, she tried to protest but Maris was having none of it. “Just get into the Jester’s Court and enjoy the tips. Automatic fifteen percent.”

Ana snapped her mouth shut and heaved a sigh before she headed off to the party room. Snagging her co-worker’s arm as she passed, she asked, “Hey, Joanie. Do you think you can keep an eye on table 7 for me?”

Joanie looked at the table and a huge smile split her face, making Ana wish she hadn’t asked the attractive blond to take care of Harrison. “Officer Miller? Sure, no problem.”

Ana was sorely tempted to grab Joanie’s arm and take back the request but she caught Maris’s eye. Her boss’s gaze was narrowed on her as she nodded towards the party room. Ana realized she probably shouldn’t have eaten those fries and this was her punishment. Of course, it was a backhanded punishment because she
was
going to get a decent tip.

Pasting a smile onto her face, she entered the room. There’d be time to think about the past, the future, later.

*****

Harrison watched Ana as she walked away, not in a hurry to turn his laptop back on. For every word she spoke, every little thing he discovered about her, he wanted to know more; he wanted to know everything.

He wondered how much time she had spent with her aunt and uncle and why he had never seen her before she showed up in October. Even though it had only been a few weeks, it felt as if he had known her forever and he wondered if his neighbor might have had a hand in playing matchmaker. He was surprisingly okay with that since he liked Helen and James and he really, really liked Ana. From the moment he moved into the house, Helen and James Petersen had been wonderful. They had frequently invited him and Jolie over for dinner and when Helen expressed an interest in books, he had inadvertently blabbed the fact that he was a writer.

Thank god for that small slip of the tongue, since it indirectly brought Ana into his life.

He did wonder why Helen never mentioned how warm, generous, and beautiful her niece was. Helen
had
asked him if he had a girlfriend and when he admitted he was single, she had gotten a giddy smile that lasted the rest of the night.
Was
she playing matchmaker? If so, how in the world had she gotten the cat to go along with her plans?

“Hey, Officer Miller,” a perky blond said, stopping at the side of his table and pulling him out of his thoughts. “Can I get you a refill?”

“I’m good,” he said, trying to keep an eye on Ana without being too rude. Even though she was in the other room, he still had a few glimpses of her. No one would ever have guessed the turbulence that hid just beneath the surface as she worked the room with her charm and grace. If he wasn’t mistaken, most of the men in that room were already enchanted by her.

The blond girl bent down and blocked his view so he was forced to look at her. With a smile, she said, “Ana’s going to be swamped in the party room. In fact, she sent me over to take care of you.”

Harrison blinked his eyes as he heard the blatant flirtation in her voice. Maybe the girl was one of the few people who hadn’t witnessed the way he stole away with Ana on Halloween night. Clearing his throat, he pulled his laptop closer and offered a smile, “I’m good.”

“Well, if you’re going to want to continue sitting here, you’re going to have to order something.”

Would it be okay if he ordered an Ana to go? No, she had to work. If he was a wise man, he’d let her work and he’d head home to write since she was still a distraction by just being in the same vicinity as him. Except he had driven her in and, to be honest, he didn’t want to leave. And why the heck did he have to order something? His brother and cousin were co-owners of the place….

Turning his head, he caught Maris’s mischievous grin and he sighed, “Could I get another burger?”

He would have ordered dessert but Ana had spoiled him and he discovered that he couldn’t eat any sweets that weren’t prepared by Ana’s hands. Glancing past the waitress, he saw Ana laughing at something one of the guys had just said. The guy puffed up his chest and asked her something but she shook her head no and moved on to the next guy. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the little prick had just asked her out. If he had persisted, Harrison might have stormed in there and made a repeat performance of Halloween.

This possessive streak was definitely stronger and he still wasn’t used to it. Was it wrong to admit he was tempted to follow her out to California? He was certain Jolie would love it but it was impractical beyond belief.

For an hour he watched Ana going in and out of the room, working harder than a dozen waiters. Her hair was falling out of the ponytail, tendrils of the silky strands were clinging to her flushed face, but her smile never faltered. When she got off work, he’d run a bath for her. Then he’d wash her hair and scrub her back and if things led to the bed, he wouldn’t object.

As soon as the last ball player left, Ana came back over to the table and plopped down onto the seat. Her arms crossed in front of her on the table and her head fell forward as she rested her cheek on her arms. She smiled up at him even though he could see the exhaustion in her eyes. “So, did you miss me?”

“Very much,” he said, brushing a strand of her hair from her face, letting his fingers linger on her temple.

“Did you get any work done?”

“Not a single word,” he admitted nodding towards the computer that had fallen asleep nearly an hour before. Rubbing her temple, he asked, “How long is your break?”

“Five minutes,” she said, letting her eyes slide close. “Will you wake me up?”

He chuckled as he continued to massage her head, just needing to touch her. “I think I’m going to put a sign around your neck that says you’re taken because some of those men looked ready to beg you for your hand in marriage.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about,” she said on a sigh, her lips curled into a sweet smile. “I told them all that I’m already married.”