Beauty and The Best (Once-Upon-A-Time Romance) Read Online Free Page B

running for the hills. Nothing new there.
    He pulled up to a traffic light, then held up his hand to her.
    “ What?” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
    “ Do you ever stop to take a breath?”
    And in one fell swoop he swiped the refreshingly happy smile from her face and sent the corners of that perfect-bow mouth into a frown.
    Way to go, asshole .
    He blew out a breath and touched her shoulder.
    Which sent her sliding against her door, back to the leather, shoulders squared, eyes like a kicked puppy.
    Note to self: Don’t touch the chef.
    “ Hey, I’m sorry.” He raised his hands. “And I didn’t mean that comment as an insult. I just don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with quite as much energy as you. At least, not in a long while... ” Two-fucking-years-long while.
    He turned back to the steering wheel. Two fucking years.
    The light turned green. Todd cleared his throat and stepped on the gas. The car lurched forward.
    He didn’t need this. Not today. Not another chef to get used to, another person to make small talk with, someone else who knew his life story, or all the pity that entailed.
    He just needed a clean start. He’d thought moving to this new house, one Trista had had nothing to do with, would do it. But he’d brought it all with him. The memories, the pain…Even the art. Oh, that was all hidden in the attic over the garage, but still, it was there, gnawing at him.
    He needed to deal with it. Finally, inexorably, deal with it.
    ***
    Jolie smoothed her yellow capris and squidged back into her seat in the proper position. Talk about overreacting. She shouldn’t have flinched, but she wasn’t used to being touched. Bad mother, yada, yada, yada.
    “ Well, um, that’s okay. No apology necessary.” She sat up a little straighter—kinda hard to do in the bucket seat, but, hey, she was a trooper. “I have a thick shell anyhow. And I know you didn’t mean it that way. But I do tend to talk a lot. I like to get to know people and have them know me. ’Cause what you see is what you get and some people can’t deal with that, know what I mean? Some people are always looking for the hidden agendas and ulterior motives and that’s just so not me. I’ve got too much going on in my life to take the time to do little subplots.” She tucked some of her blowing hair behind her ear. She liked the top down—a sense of freedom rushing over her with the wind.
    “ So, Jolie—can I call you that?” he asked with a smile.
    Oh, good. She’d gotten him smiling. “Sure. Why not? It’s my name.”
    Another little chuckle. “About this morning. You were a good sport about the whole thing.”
    “ That’s me, Good Sport Jolie.”
    “ Can I finish my sentence?”
    She slunk down in her seat, tucking hair behind both ears. Bad habit she had of cutting people’s sentences short even though she always tried very hard to adhere to the niceties. Not having had many growing up, niceties were important to her. “Yes.”
    “ Look. Today’s… well… ” He exhaled heavily and ran his fingers through his hair again. “I need to get out. Tonight. Not be home. How about if we grab some dinner out instead of you cooking? We can call it an apology and a get-to-know-the-new-employee wrapped up in one.” He touched her shoulder with his free hand.
    Oh, he was one of those people. The touchy-feely kind. He probably wasn’t even aware he was doing it. God, how lonely he must be since—
    She was so not going there.
    “ Look, Mr. Best.” She slid to the right, just out of finger-reach. “You don’t have to take me out. The apology’s fine. I was hired to do a job and I don’t mind starting. Really.”
    He zipped over to the curb, hitting the brakes in front of a brick building that looked more like a church than a grocery store. It even said St. Gabriel’s. She braced herself against the dashboard to stay in her seat. What?
    “ Let’s get one thing straight.” He was all business, quarter-turned