Free Cinderella Wore Tennis Shoes: A Novella by Holly Jacobs

Charlie momentarily looked like she might cry. But the moment was fleeting and was quickly replaced by what looked to be anger.
    “You jerk.” She slugged his arm and bolted for the door.
    Dan was quicker. He jumped out of his chair, sending it clattering to the floor, and grabbed her elbow. “What was that for?”
    She swung around to face him, her eyes bright with either anger or unshed tears, he wasn’t quite sure. He prayed it was anger.
    “You lied to me,” she hissed.
    Dan had wanted her to stop looking at him like some hero. But he hadn’t wanted to see her look at him like this, as if he was just another man in a long line of men who didn’t live up to her ideals.
    “I didn’t lie to you. You assumed I was just a truck driver, but I didn’t mention I was an owner of the company. That’s not lying. That’s omission. I am first and foremost just a trucker, a trucker who got lucky.”
    She shrugged his hand from her elbow. “I’m sick of men using me.”
    “Using you? What on earth could I want from you?” He held up a hand before she had a chance to answer. “Nothing. We’re not even friends. I just feel sorry for you.”
    “Sorry for me? I don’t need your pity. I don’t need anything from you.” She turned, ready to make her escape.
    Dan knew he should let her go. He’d burst her picture of him as some hero and she was prepared to walk out of his life. As soon as she did, his life could get back to normal.
    But instead of listening to the rational part of his mind, he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. “But feeling sorry for you, for the way your life has turned upside down, has nothing to do with why I want you.”
    Her eyes widened. “Want me?” She shuffled backward, toward the door. “You want me in an employee sort of way?”
    “No, I want you like this.” Dan pulled her into his arms and proceeded to show her exactly how he wanted her. It was the same way he’d wanted her when he’d first seen her hitchhiking in that ridiculous white gown, or eating dessert at the truck stop, or holding her after a nightmare. It was how he’d wanted her pretty much every moment that had passed since he’d met her.
    He wanted her.
    He’d needed to put distance between them, but he was beginning to suspect distance wasn’t going to help. He wanted her more with each passing moment. He’d tried to deny it, but he couldn’t. This woman twisted him in knots.
    He deepened the kiss, feeling a bone-deep sense of contentment despite his inner turmoil.
    “Wow,” she murmured when their lips finally broke apart. “I—”
    “Don’t say another word. Turn around and march back to your car. Unload your packages, settle in, and call it an early night. We leave for work at six.”
    “I—”
    “Just shut up, Charlie. I realize you want me to apologize for lying to you and probably for kissing you, but there’s no way I’m apologizing for either. I’m a trucker who owns his company and I’m a man who’s not beyond physical temptation.” Dan turned to walk out of the kitchen and make his grand exit. He was stopped by something hitting him in the back. He turned and Charlie’s shoe was lying at his feet.
    “I didn’t ask for an apology. I was going to say that with all the shopping I’d done, I hadn’t bought any food. I was going to ask you if you could recommend a pizza shop out here in the boondocks. And I was going to ask you if you’d like to split one, but bite me.”
    Biting her sounded tempting, but Dan had already said too much, so he didn’t mention it. “What do you like?”
    What did she like? She liked the way he kissed just fine, but Charlie wasn’t about to mention that. He was a conceited, pompous man who happened to kiss very well.
    A man who owned a trucking company and who must have money. Dan had as much as admitted that. He was just another rich man. She was done with rich men. She had to remember that. But that didn’t stop her from appreciating his kissing