Read Online Beauty and The Best (Once-Upon-A-Time Romance) by Judi Fennell - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Judi Fennell
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outside, aren’t we? I hope so. I love to watch the stars come out.”
He tested the railing then pulled his hand back as it shook in the loose moorings of crumbling concrete, and lightly gripped her elbow instead. “Sure. We can eat on deck if you want.”
“ Thank you. Oh, look.” She pointed to a flock of birds fluttering in for a landing. “How cute! Pigeons.”
“ Pigeons are cute? That’s a new one,” Todd laughed. “Most people I know think they’re pests.”
“ You must hang around city people. They call them rats with wings, but I think pigeons are pretty, with their soft gray feathers and all those jewel tones in their necks. I like to feed them. Appreciative little things, though I have to remember to stay away from parked cars when I bring them leftovers, ’cause my neighbors are not so appreciative.”
“ You seem to have a penchant for feeding things,” he said as he held open the door to the Dream Machine.
That was a first. Never had a man opened a car door for her.
Showed the kind of guys she dated. Not that there’d been too many, anyway, but yes, there had been a few and she’d been “curious,” but once she saw what it was all about, she’d decided she was going to better herself so she had a choice of an improved caliber of men. If only her mom had had the same epiphany.
“ I guess I just like to feed God’s creatures.” Plus their begging for scraps ran a little too close to home with memories of her childhood, so, yes, she fed them.
She slid into her seat, swinging her silver sandaled feet into the car, looking for a way to change the subject before becoming lost in the miasma that was her past. “Oh, look how the sky is laced with all those pretty shades of pink and orange and red.”
“ Um hmmm,” Todd said, slipping into his tan leather seat beside her.
“ Pretty non-committal for a guy who paints for a living.” She pulled the seatbelt across her chest, latching it in place.
“ Do you have a music preference?” Todd reached for the radio.
Okay. Ixnay on the artistic talk. But music worked. “I enjoy classical.”
“ Classical,” he returned, sans emotion, his fingers stilling.
Oh, dear God, she’d done it again. Trista must have been a big classical fan. Restaurant, book, music…
Just shoot her now.
“ Todd, really, it doesn’t matter.” She reached for his hand and a thousand fires started under her skin. The guy was potent, so she ripped her hand away and stuffed it in her lap. How could she feel like that while he was remembering his wife? How could she feel like that at all? It just wasn’t a good idea, no matter how she tried to rationalize it. “We don’t need music. Or you can put on anything. Rap, hip-hop, Alternative, Top 40, I don’t care. Whatever you want.”
“ What I want is... ” He blew out a breath and sat back in his seat, his hands clenching the steering wheel, eyes closed, mouth tightening.
This was so not a moment she wanted to be a part of. She had to leave.
She undid her seatbelt and scrambled for the door handle. She couldn’t be witness to this. It was too personal, too intense.
“ What I want, is dinner.” He turned her way with the barest semblance of something called a grin and nodded at the seatbelt hanging over her shoulder. “Want to buckle up?”
“ Um… all right.” She re-attached the seatbelt. If he wanted to pretend that flashback didn’t happen, she could too, though who were they kidding?
“ Oh, here.” Todd did a funky sliding/grabbing movement over the seat. “I assume this is yours.” He handed her something small, rectangular, and paperback, and she wanted to slink under the seat.
“ Unless you ordered The Dashing Rogue from the grocery store for dinner tonight?”
If she could order a dashing rogue for dinner, Todd would be her first choice.
Yeah, yeah, bad idea.
“ Sorry. It must have fallen out of my purse. Thanks.” She shoved it under her thigh. “A new bookstore opened
He tested the railing then pulled his hand back as it shook in the loose moorings of crumbling concrete, and lightly gripped her elbow instead. “Sure. We can eat on deck if you want.”
“ Thank you. Oh, look.” She pointed to a flock of birds fluttering in for a landing. “How cute! Pigeons.”
“ Pigeons are cute? That’s a new one,” Todd laughed. “Most people I know think they’re pests.”
“ You must hang around city people. They call them rats with wings, but I think pigeons are pretty, with their soft gray feathers and all those jewel tones in their necks. I like to feed them. Appreciative little things, though I have to remember to stay away from parked cars when I bring them leftovers, ’cause my neighbors are not so appreciative.”
“ You seem to have a penchant for feeding things,” he said as he held open the door to the Dream Machine.
That was a first. Never had a man opened a car door for her.
Showed the kind of guys she dated. Not that there’d been too many, anyway, but yes, there had been a few and she’d been “curious,” but once she saw what it was all about, she’d decided she was going to better herself so she had a choice of an improved caliber of men. If only her mom had had the same epiphany.
“ I guess I just like to feed God’s creatures.” Plus their begging for scraps ran a little too close to home with memories of her childhood, so, yes, she fed them.
She slid into her seat, swinging her silver sandaled feet into the car, looking for a way to change the subject before becoming lost in the miasma that was her past. “Oh, look how the sky is laced with all those pretty shades of pink and orange and red.”
“ Um hmmm,” Todd said, slipping into his tan leather seat beside her.
“ Pretty non-committal for a guy who paints for a living.” She pulled the seatbelt across her chest, latching it in place.
“ Do you have a music preference?” Todd reached for the radio.
Okay. Ixnay on the artistic talk. But music worked. “I enjoy classical.”
“ Classical,” he returned, sans emotion, his fingers stilling.
Oh, dear God, she’d done it again. Trista must have been a big classical fan. Restaurant, book, music…
Just shoot her now.
“ Todd, really, it doesn’t matter.” She reached for his hand and a thousand fires started under her skin. The guy was potent, so she ripped her hand away and stuffed it in her lap. How could she feel like that while he was remembering his wife? How could she feel like that at all? It just wasn’t a good idea, no matter how she tried to rationalize it. “We don’t need music. Or you can put on anything. Rap, hip-hop, Alternative, Top 40, I don’t care. Whatever you want.”
“ What I want is... ” He blew out a breath and sat back in his seat, his hands clenching the steering wheel, eyes closed, mouth tightening.
This was so not a moment she wanted to be a part of. She had to leave.
She undid her seatbelt and scrambled for the door handle. She couldn’t be witness to this. It was too personal, too intense.
“ What I want, is dinner.” He turned her way with the barest semblance of something called a grin and nodded at the seatbelt hanging over her shoulder. “Want to buckle up?”
“ Um… all right.” She re-attached the seatbelt. If he wanted to pretend that flashback didn’t happen, she could too, though who were they kidding?
“ Oh, here.” Todd did a funky sliding/grabbing movement over the seat. “I assume this is yours.” He handed her something small, rectangular, and paperback, and she wanted to slink under the seat.
“ Unless you ordered The Dashing Rogue from the grocery store for dinner tonight?”
If she could order a dashing rogue for dinner, Todd would be her first choice.
Yeah, yeah, bad idea.
“ Sorry. It must have fallen out of my purse. Thanks.” She shoved it under her thigh. “A new bookstore opened
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