Free Bear Claw by Crissy Smith Page A

things as they do.”
    Of course, that made him feel like shit. He was judging her now that he knew what her lineage was. “I apologize. And I would like to hear your story.”
    She seemed pleased, nodding and smiling. “Chris started dating a new girl who lived over here. He wanted me to meet her and we’d made plans at the little Italian place a couple blocks over.”
    “Mi Piaci,” Jamie provided. He loved their pasta.
    “Right. Well, I was early. I’d been at my parents’ and they were trying to push another one of their suitors at me so I had an hour to kill and didn’t want to drive back across town to my house, so I was driving around.”
    She took a deep breath. “Then I passed the library. It was summer, and the trees were in full bloom, the sun shining. I made a U-turn and pulled into the parking lot. I sat there for a little while watching. A mom came out of the building with a stack of books and a child of about five or six. In a backpack, she had a blanket and they set up under one of the large trees. She leaned against it as he put his head in her lap. Then she started to read to him.”
    Her eyes had begun to fill at the memory. Jamie placed his hand on the table, palm up. Slowly, almost cautiously, she lifted hers and placed her palm against his.
    “It was the most perfect moment I’d ever witnessed. So I climbed out of my air-conditioned car and went inside the old, beat-up brick structure. I walked in and I knew…it was fate.”
    Brandy smiled so big that Jamie couldn’t help but grin back at her.
    “I’ve never had anyone read to me. I had private tutors and attended only the best schools. All I thought about was how happy that boy was. I walked up to the counter and asked if they had any positions open. The lady who ran the place had been there forty-three years. She took one look at me, came around the counter and hugged me.”
    He tightened his hand on hers. “Fate brought you there.”
    “Just like your apartment,” she said softly.
    With those words, all of his concerns dissipated like sugar in a hot cup of java. The moment was perfect, even if it was overly romantic. Hell, who was he kidding? He loved romance.
    They finished their coffees, gazes locked on each another and they still held hands.
    Pushing his empty mug aside with his free hand, he leaned closer to her. “I’m glad we did this.”
    “Me too,” she whispered.
    He brought his lips down on hers. Jamie shuddered as they connected for the first time. Impatient, the bear inside him wanted him to take control and plunder her mouth. Instead, he kept the kiss light, drawing her to him, teasing with a swipe of his tongue. Pulling back slightly, he grinned at her.
    She opened her mouth then shook her head. Not understanding, Jamie cursed silently. She’d responded to his kiss so her reaction confused him. He started to withdraw more but paused because she laughed softly.
    “Let’s try that again,” she murmured, reaching for him. Brandy buried her hands in his hair and tugged him forward.
    This time the kiss was explosive.
    She pushed her tongue at the seam of his lips. He opened for her, allowing her entrance, and their tongues rubbed gently.
    Swallowing his moan, Brandy pushed off her chair slightly to press their shoulders together. Jamie wrapped his arms around her back, losing himself in the intimacy of the moment.
    Too soon, he had to take a full breath and he ripped his mouth from hers. He stared at her, panting, and desperately hard.
    “That’s much better,” she told him with a brilliant smile.
    He couldn’t have agreed more.
     
     

Chapter Seven
     
     
     
    Checking the map in his hands, Jamie tried to figure out where he was on the large university grounds. He was supposed to meet with the roommate of the missing college student Victor Douglas, but couldn’t seem to find the student union.
    He stuffed the piece of paper into his back pocket, deciding just to go with his instincts. They hadn’t let him