Read Online L.A. Cinderella by Amanda Berry - Free Book Online Page B

tried to find comfort by reminding herself she wouldn’t be able to handle watching him kiss other women onscreen if he were hers. She sighed. If he were hers… The words burned in her heart. A wish that could never come true, no matter how many stars she wished upon.
    Besides, she wasn’t ready for a man in her life. She’d been down that road in college, and it had always ended up with her hurt and crying on Rachel’s shoulder. She needed to focus on her career and worry about guys later.
    Chase flashed back on the screen.
    She’d have to see him in the morning. She had to finish the work before Monday. He’d said he’d be there as early as she wanted. If she could get some sleep, she might be able to deal with him in the morning.
    She didn’t move from the couch. She was wide awake, and though the movie made her sink further into misery, it was noise. She didn’t want to fantasize about emerald eyes that burned with desire and blond hair that would be silky to the touch. She didn’t want to run out to the store and find the cologne he used and wear it. She probably couldn’t afford it anyway.
    She shut her eyes as his image came back on the screen.
    “How do you know?” his character said to Elizabeth. “How can anyone know?” His voice trickled down her spine.
    She opened her eyes to see him lift his hand and caress Elizabeth’s face. She imagined Chase’s hand against her cheek. He didn’t kiss Elizabeth in this scene. The only kiss was the one at the end of the movie. Natalie couldn’t skip to the end. What made that kiss was the journey, the tangle of emotions that preceded it and made it the most beautiful kiss she’d ever seen.
    A knock at the door startled her out of the movie. She hit Pause on the remote. Who would be knocking on the doorat eleven on a Friday night? She grabbed the aluminum bat they kept near the door and opened the peephole.
    The night was dark and rainy. Chase stood in front of her door, dripping wet. The bat slipped from her grip, and she yanked the door open.
    “What are you doing here?”
    His hair was plastered to his head. Rivers of rain flowed down his face and over his grin. “Can I drip on your floor?”
    She nodded, still stunned by his appearance on her doorstep, and stepped back to let him in. She closed the door and locked it automatically. Leaning against the door, she stared at him.
    He smiled down at her. “I don’t suppose I could use a towel?”
    “Uh, yeah. Just a moment.” She walked around him into the bathroom. Her brain couldn’t wrap around the fact that Chase was in her home. It was almost as if she’d conjured him from the movie. She grabbed two towels and headed out to the hallway again. He’d removed his shoes and put them on the mat near the door.
    She held the towels out at arm’s length for him.
    “Pink. Nice.”
    After he took them, she wrapped her arms around her middle, suddenly vulnerable in her own home. This wasn’t the office or a public restaurant, and she was in pajamas. She wondered if her overactive imagination had brought him here somehow.
    He rubbed the towel over his head, leaving his hair sticking up. Feeling her fingers tingle, she wanted to run her hands over his hair and smooth it back down.
    “Was there something you needed?” she bit out, having a hard time forgetting her fantasies of him, now that thereality of him stood before her. Her body throbbed with unfulfilled desire.
    He shouldered off his jacket and hung it on the doorknob. His shirt wasn’t quite as wet so it didn’t cling to the muscles hiding underneath, but she’d already seen that part of the movie and knew how sleek and rippled his body was under that dark shirt.
    After he dried off, he reached into a coat pocket and pulled out her cell phone. “I found this in the office.”
    “You didn’t have to bring this to me. I could have gotten it tomorrow.” Wishing she’d brought the ice cream to the door with her, she reached out her hand for the