Free Crush by Crystal Hubbard Page B

about it, other than that one time with my mother.”
    “Why did you tell me?”
    She looked at him, her face kissing distance from his. “Because of your parents. I want what they have.”
    “What’s that?”
    “Someone to love me truly, for always.”
    I’m halfway there , Lucas thought as he traced her jawline with the tip of his left index finger. Although she tried, Miranda couldn’t suppress the thrilling shiver generated by his touch. “May I kiss you, Miranda?”
    His words had already kissed her, his lips were so near hers. She wanted to kiss him, to clap her hand to the back of his head and bring his mouth down upon hers. But she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop at one kiss, not from this man. One kiss would lead to another kiss, and another, and then senseless abandon right there on that big rock.
    And then what? Her bags and her Bernie would probably be hastily packed and rushed to the airport for a red-eye back to Boston. In a moment of weakness she had let herself be drawn into Lucas Fletcher’s web. She wouldn’t compound the mistake by kissing him. She sat up and returned his sweater to him. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.” She began climbing off the rock.
    “Why not?” He jumped off the rock and landed next to her in the coarse sand.
    “Because the last thing I need is a one-night stand with a rock star.” She started back to the castle. “I’m sorry if I led you on. It was an accident. Honestly.”
    “I’m the one who should apologize. I didn’t invite you here to take advantage of you in any way. You have my word on that as a gentleman.”
    She slowed her pace. “Why did you invite me here, Lucas?”
    Because you are someone I could truly love, for always , was the first response that sprang into his head. But he knew that voicing such an irrational thought would send her to Morgan, demanding to be returned to Boston immediately. “Your eyes. That night on the stage, when I looked into your eyes, I felt…right. All the way through.”
    She spent a thoughtful moment considering his words. “What the hell does that mean?”
    He laughed. “I don’t know. All I know is that I am glad that you’re here, and that I don’t want to end this night on a warped chord.”
    “Is that anything like a sour note?”
    “Smart ass,” he laughed softly.
    “So how do you want to end this night?”
    “I have Ben & Jerry’s Heath Bar Crunch ice cream in the kitchen. It was specially ordered and shipped directly from Vermont. I believe it came over on the plane with you, from New England. Will that do?”
    Miranda pinched back a smile. Bernie had truly given up all of her personal preferences. “You’re spoiling me, Mr. Fletcher.”
    “That’s the idea, Miss Penney.” He walked her back to the castle, an easy peace made between them.

Chapter 4
    On an afterthought, Miranda grabbed her jeans and sweater from where she’d carelessly tossed them over the back of a plush velvet and brass wing chair. She crossed the giant bedroom and opened the door to the dressing room, which alone was twice as big as her bedroom at home. She slipped her discarded clothing over a padded silk hanger. But for the simple garments she had put in the dressing room upon her arrival, the rest of the ivory hangers were empty.
    After her walk on the beach and ice cream with Lucas, Miranda had returned to her room to see that her nightclothes had already been laid out for her. Candles had been lit and placed in ornate reflective sconces that cast an amber glow throughout the bedchamber. A fire crackled and popped in the hearth, adding its light and warmth to the room.
    Miranda ran her hand over her flat belly and the pale, whispery pima cotton covering it. The short-sleeved, boat-necked top and its matching, wide-leg pants weren’t hers. The pajamas had come courtesy of the castle, and had arrived in a perfumed box with her name on it in fancy gold lettering. Back in Boston, she had hastily packed an