If The Shoe Fits Read online

  He could fix this. She just wanted out before her heart got battered. It was a good strategy on her part, ‘cause like he’d said, he didn’t have the best rep with women. But then, he’d never met one he liked as much as Staci. He’d even thought about introducing her to Jared.

  “It’s not me, Luc,” she explained. “It’s a little girl. You need to trust me and let it go. Maybe later, in a few months perhaps, we can try this again, but, for now, you just need to let go.”

  “What little girl? Who are you talking about? I don’t even know a little girl.”

  Staci pulled away from his grip then touching his cheek and gently stroked through his hair, her smile bittersweet. “I know you don’t. But I do. And I can’t hurt her more than I already have. So we have to let it go.” Then she twisted his heart. “Please.”

  He knew the value of that word. Knew, too, the strength of love one could feel for a child. Hadn’t he uttered that very same word for the very same reason to Reese not that long ago?

  He’d have to do as she asked. But he didn’t have to like it.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Reese hung up the phone and kneaded the back of his neck as Jake entered his office. It’d been one thing after another during the last meeting and it hadn’t stopped since he’d gotten back.

  “Trouble?” Jake asked, dropping into the chain in front of his desk.

  “I hope not.” Yeah, he had troubles, but not the kind Jake was asking about. He was still trying to come to terms with Bella quitting on him. It’d been an intrusion he hadn’t needed on his trip and he had yet to come up with a solution. She’d said she had someone for him; he hoped to God whoever it was was good. And that it wasn’t Staci.

  “What does that mean?”

  He’d save the new caterer discussion for later. “I got Coach Meade to agree to participate in the auction.”

  “You’re shitting me.”

  It wasn’t often Reese could surprise Jake and if it weren’t for the other little “bomb” he had to drop on him, he’d enjoy the moment. “I played up the charity angle. The goodwill for the team.”

  Jake’s eyes narrowed. “Shrewd. But why? You want that pressure? Everyone’s going to be watching the two of you. Especially after what happened at Connie’s.”

  Reese shrugged, the knot still tight in his neck. He was living with pressure these days. Of all kinds. “I’m a professional and so’s Coach. Speculation has died down.”

  He hoped. But it was time to fix the relationship, if at least publicly. Reese hoped it would be privately, too. He’d moved on; Devin had, too. Now Coach needed to as well. They’d had a lot of great times before he’d dated Devin, made a lot of memories, great highlights-reel-type stuff. Their names and careers were forever linked and it’d be nice to hear that collaboration mentioned without the inevitable “before things soured between them” rhetoric every single damn time. Plus, it was for a good cause.

  “Okay, so since you’re in a fence-mending mood,” said Jake, “what about asking our caterer’s husband to participate? He is a local-boy-made-good after all, and a hell of a draw. Whatever your personal feelings, it’d be a great coup for the hospital and sure to bring in more money.”

  “Actually,” Reese stepped around his desk, “he’s not her husband.”

  “What?”

  That made it twice today he’d shocked Jake. One for the history books. “He’s her uncle.”

  “So why did you think he was her husband?”

  “Long story. Full of misunderstandings.”

  “Not her husband…” Jake stroked his jaw. “Please tell me you’re not thinking of hitting on her.”

  Reese checked the fist he’d unconsciously formed before it connected with Jake’s jaw. “Hit on? What are we, sixteen?” He didn’t want to hit on Bella; he wanted to spend time with her, get to know her. Take it to a new level. One he hadn’t with Devin.

  She, however, didn’t.

  “You can’t fault me for asking, Reese. I’ve got a lot invested in this business.”

  Reese took his time with his answer because he wanted to punch the shit out of Jake.

  After spending years being an investment by the team’s owner, Reese hated being reminded that he was where he was due to someone else’s backing. Sure, he’d performed for the team, but when the Devin situation had erupted on the PR end, he’d gotten hauled into the front office and called for it.

  Jake’s argument wasn’t the same, but the fact that he’d felt the need to go there pissed Reese off. He had just as invested as Jake. More, with his name splashed all over the place, a conscious marketing decision the two of them had decided together.

  And then there was the matter of the other part of him that was invested. Bella had touched his heart—and squeezed.

  Kelly buzzed him on the intercom. “Bella Casteleoni to see you, Reese.”

  And there went the squeezing all over again. What the hell was she doing here?

  Reese exhaled, getting his emotions under control; he’d need them to be to talk with Bella. “Send her in, Kelly.”

  Jake arched an eyebrow.

  “You can stay and watch your investment in action if you’d like.”

  Jake stood and headed for the door. “Not necessary. I trust you to do the right thing.”

  That was the problem. What was right for Reese might not be right for their company. It wouldn’t have been a problem given that she’d quit on him, but now that she was here…

  When this auction was over, they were going to have a nice long talk.

  Then she walked in, casual in jeans and a t-shirt that hugged her body like he wanted to, and talking was the last thing he wanted to do.

  Reese cleared his throat, pushed off the desk, and stuck out his hand at an attempt at normalcy. “Bella.”

  In that attempt, however, he’d made no preparation for the feel of her skin on his and her touch sparked a fire that made him burn.

  “Hi, Reese.” She gnawed on her bottom lip and that action alone made him burn even more.

  “What are you doing here? I thought you quit.”

  She winced. “I deserve that.”

  He didn’t answer. She did.

  “I wanted to apologize.”

  “An apology isn’t going to fix it. You said you had someone in mind? She’s good, I take it?”

  “She is, but she’s…”

  Great. Something else to stress him out. “She’s what?”

  “She’s me.”

  “Come again?”

  Bella nibbled her bottom lip again and this time it had no effect on Reese whatsoever. The woman had him so tied up he couldn’t react because every reaction he had seemed to be the wrong one.

  “I’d like to come back. Do the auction.”

  Music to his ears, but suspicious nonetheless. “Why?”

  “Because I said I’d do the job.”

  “What about your conflict?”

  “It’s not the conflict I thought it was.”

  She’d turned him inside out for not a conflict? Hell, he was right: stay away from people he worked with. Period.

  But then she tilted her head and a sheaf of corn silk hair slid over her shoulder and down her arm, caressing her skin like he wanted to—

  Mind on the job, Charmant. “There’s a little over a week left. Am I going to have to worry about you doing this again? Right now I might be able to find someone. Three days out, I’ll be stuck.”

  She winced again. “I deserve that, I know. But no, I promise I will not back out on you. And I’m sorry for doing it in the first place.” She held out her hand. “Okay?”

  He shouldn’t take it. He shouldn’t touch her. Hell, he shouldn’t even be in the same room with her.

  But he took her hand and shook it.

  And then he went and made matters worse.

  It was just supposed to be a little kiss. Just a nibble, really.

  Her hand had slid into his, he’d felt the sizzle rocket through
his veins, and he’d tugged her against him.

  In his defense, she’d gone willingly.

  She’d even tilted her head up willingly.

  And when he’d covered her lips with his, she’d clenched his side very willingly.

  After that, he’d been lost.

  It didn’t matter that this wasn’t a good idea. It didn’t matter that she’d quit on him. It didn’t matter that they had a tenuous working relationship and both of them had their reasons for keeping their distance.

  Right now, none of that mattered because she tasted even better than she looked. And she felt… There were no words for the feeling of her curves plastered against him, soft where he was hard—so very hard—her body yielding against his, the sound of her groan almost undoing him.

  He absorbed it as he tried to absorb every part of her, as unable to stop kissing her as he was to stop breathing.

  And when she parted her lips to let him in, he couldn’t not sweep in and taste her. Reality would come later; right now, this was a dream. A moment out of time.

  He cupped her head with one hand, held her against him with the other. Met her tongue when it stroked his and danced with it. She tasted of mint and buttery croissants and something solely her own.

  He tilted her jaw with his thumb then, his fingers spanning her neck. Her pulse jumped against it in rhythm with his. Her hair skimmed the back of his hand, as soft and silky as he’d imagined, and he ran his fingers through the strands, imagining it streaming over his chest, his stomach…

  Desire, fierce and hot, slammed through him, and he wrapped his arms around her, turning to back her up against his desk.

  But then Kelly buzzed him on the intercom. “Reese, Coach is on line three.”

  Coach. Devin. The mess he’d made of things…

  Sanity wiggled its way into their kiss and Reese ended it. Reluctantly.

  He did take great satisfaction in the shudder that rippled through her, but it took her less than ten seconds to shut down. He didn’t want to take the damn call.

  “You should answer that.” She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm.

  “Coach can wait. Talk to me, Bella.”

  “It’s nothing, Reese.” She wouldn’t look at him.

  “I’m not going to apologize for kissing you.”

  She looked at him then, and man, he wished she hadn’t. There was such sadness in her eyes.

  “It was a mistake.”

  Kelly buzzed him again.

  Reese jabbed the button. “Kel, tell Coach I’ll call him back.” Then he shut the damn thing off. “Like hell it was a mistake. You can’t tell me you don’t feel what’s between us, Bella.”

  “It doesn’t matter. It can’t matter.” She wrapped her arms around herself and turned away again. “I should have just called you and told you instead of coming over here. There can’t be anything between us.”

  His knees hadn’t given way during that kiss, but her words threatened to take them out from under him, so he leaned against his desk. “There already is something, Bella. You were as involved in that kiss as I was.”

  “Okay, so, maybe there’s an attraction—”

  “There’s no maybe about it.” He refrained from proving it to her. Barely. “Is there someone else?”

  She started to shake her head, then stopped. Her blue eyes flickered toward him, then away. “Yes. There’s someone else.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  She straightened her shoulders and smoothed her hands over her shorts. “You don’t have to believe me. Not about this. All you have to believe is that I’ll prepare the best food for your event to make it a success. But anything else is out of the question.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Bella shut her bedroom door behind her, seeking a few moments of peace before Sophia would be home. With Madeleine around, there was rarely any.

  She leaned against her pink fluffy robe, trying to recapture the serenity she always found in her room. The decor hadn’t changed much since she and Mom had chosen the sunshine yellow paint on the walls and the rainbow patchwork quilt that summer before Sophia had been born. They’d had the most wonderful few weeks selecting paint and accessories for this room and the nursery. Everything had been right with her world.

  Then.

  Bella flopped onto the bed. Everything since? Definitely not right.

  And now there was Reese to complicate matters.

  She put her fingers on her lips, still able to feel him there. If it hadn’t been for that phone call, God knew how long they would have continued.

  He’d looked surprised when she’d pulled away. He’d also looked delicious, but she had to forget that and everything else she found appealing about him.

  She’d tried the relationship thing a few times, once even talking about moving in with her boyfriend. That had been when boarding school brochures had begun appearing on the coffee tables.

  The woman would have a fit if she actually got involved with Reese.

  Madeleine was going to be unbearable when his mother got the Board position. Jolie was absolutely right on that front. The best Bella could do was be as innocent as possible when the fall-out hit.

  But here, in her room, she could allow herself to imagine that things were different. That she and Reese could examine their attraction without threats or manipulations hovering over their heads.

  She stared at the ceiling and tossed her hands back over her head. Something clinked. Mr. Griff’s coins. Sophia must have left them there.

  She sifted through them, letting them fall onto her chest, each one like a tear falling onto her heart. Other people worked and raised children as single parents; if only she could.

  She closed her fist over the coins. But other people weren’t fighting Madeleine.

  She softly thumped her fist against her chest. No. Such. Thing. As. Fairy. Tales.

  Or Prince Charming.

  ***

  Jonathan Griff sat on the park bench outside Reese’s office building and tapped the iTouch screen to close out the image of Bella in her room. Just a little longer then Bella could have her happily ever after.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “Oh, let’s see, Gus! Don’t be such a spoilsport!” Perla teetered on her high-heeled sandals and ran to Casteleoni’s lunch counter, her bangle bracelets clanging like a drunken percussion section after he’d made the mistake of telling her that Gus had made something special for Bella. He should have known the woman would hound his partner until Gus gave in.

  Unfortunately for Perla, Gus had no intention. Giac had tried it himself.

  “This gift is for my Bella, Perla.” Gus tapped her on the nose. “Not you. Only she can open it.”

  “He won’t even show me,” said Giac. “Says Bella’s the one who gets to see it first.”

  Perla harrumphed and settled on a stool next to him. Giac covered his laugh with his hand. She acted like she was six instead of sixty. But she was a good woman and really cared for their Bella.

  As did the rest of their regular customers. Giac surveyed the restaurant as nostalgia swept over him. They’d watched Bella grow up here, from a happy-go-lucky cherished little princess to an overworked, overly responsible serving girl.

  Which was not what Sal and Ana had envisioned for her. But Giac could think of no way to alter the status quo.

  The door chimes tinkled as Reese walked in.

  Hmmm...perhaps there was a way to change Bella’s situation. Maybe, if they played their cards right, Bella just might end up with the winning hand. And Prince Charming.

  Giac slid off the stool and walked over to the newest player in the Casteleoni saga.

  “Hello, Reese. Bella’s not in yet today. Last minute details, I’m sure.” Giac guided Reese further into the restaurant. He didn’t want the guy to bolt before he had a chance to work on him, er, talk to him. “Why don’t you have a seat over here and I’ll get you an early lunch.”

  “Thanks, Giac, but I’m
meeting someone. She should be here any minute.” Reese helped himself to a table.

  Meeting someone? Well, that threw Giac for a loop. He shoved his hands to his hips and felt his mouth fall open. Was the man completely blind to Bella’s feelings?

  Meeting someone? The nerve of that no-good, two-timing, stuck-on-himself, son-of-a-gun! And to bring her around here! Why, Giac’d show him! When he was through with Reese, the man would be squeaking like a mouse in a trap. Who did he think he could get that was better than their Bella? Probably some high-maintenance, Miss Richie Rich Pants with more money than sense who—

  “Reese, darling.”

  Giac spun around. Oh.

  “Hi, Mom,” said Reese.

  Giac closed his mouth, dropped his fists, and plastered the most welcoming smile on his face he could muster.

  The guy took his mother to lunch. Sheesh! He just flew to the top of Giac’s list as Most Eligible Man for Bella.

  “Giac, this is my mother, Carolyn—”

  “Carolyn Charmant, yes I know.” Giac swept into a bow over the movie star’s hand, placing a reverent kiss upon the back of it. “Welcome to Casteleoni’s. It is such a pleasure to have you join us. I’ve seen every one of your films. I must say, my particular favorite was your first Camelot film. That dress you wore in the coronation scene was to die for! It must have weighed a ton! And you looked so regal in it. So effortless. Truly a wonderful piece of work.”

  Carolyn laughed and extricated her hand. “Why, thank you. It’s always nice to meet a fan.”

  “See, Mom? I told you you wouldn’t have to worry about being embarrassed.”

  Giac shut down the gushing. “Oh, my apologies. I’m so sorry. I’ll just seat you right over there where you’ll be out of the—”

  “Oh, no. You misunderstood.” Carolyn patted his arm and Giac decided he was not going to let Gus wash his sleeve ever. This shirt would be framed and hung next to the autographed program from Tony Orlando’s last dinner theater show. “My son has talked me into donating something for the hospital event. He seems to think there’s a great demand, but I wasn’t sure.”