Free A Million Kisses or More by A.C. Warneke Page B

if they didn’t have supper… well, she’d be able to sit down with them and not have to eat alone. Just in case it was the former, she had scooped out a small bowl that she’d be able to reheat when she got home.
    It was a little awkward opening the door but somehow she managed before she pulled it shut with her foot. Once again, the cold wind slapped her across the face and she almost turned around and went back inside. If Harrison and his daughter weren’t across the street, she definitely would have. Humming softly, she walked across the street, vaguely aware of the bounce in her step and the smile on her face. Anticipation was making her giddy as she knocked on the door, excited by the prospect of seeing Harrison once again. Of course, her memories of him were probably faulty since no one could possibly have eyes as chocolaty brown as his or a smile that melted bones. But then he opened the door, a slight smile on his lips, dimples creasing his cheeks, and she forgot how to breathe. If anything, her memories fell far short of the reality and she wondered if that was the way it was always going to be.
    “Ana,” he said, his low voice rumbling through her belly. “How did I know it would be you?”
    “Hi,” she squeaked, unable to tear her gaze away from his face. Holding up the pot of soup and the bag of clothes, she managed to speak in a normal voice as she said, “I brought your clothes back and I brought dinner.”
    Regret filled his eyes as he said, “We’ve already eaten. Well, I’ve eaten. Jolie is still working on her pizza.”
    She was afraid of that but hearing him confirm it made her face fall. Forcing her smile to remain in place, she said, “Well, you can put this in the fridge and eat it later. I’ll just go home and eat alone.”
    He laughed, almost against his will. Pulling the door open, he grabbed the heavy pot and leaned against the doorjamb. “Come on in, Ana. There’s plenty of pizza left if you’d like to eat with Jolie.”
    Her eyes lit up as she walked into his house, smelling the aromatic pizza and letting out a little sigh of pleasure. It wasn’t so much that she was eager to eat pizza, just that she was happy to eat pizza with Jolie and Harrison. “What about you?”
    “As I said, I finished just before you got here,” he explained, walking next to her as they made their way to the dining room. “Jolie, on the other hand, takes forever. She eats so slow that I’m afraid she’ll make an awful zombie.”
    Ana giggled, the sound making her cringe. Setting the bag of clean clothes down on the couch as they passed it, she said, “Well, I can’t say I’m disappointed. I hate eating alone.”
    “I’m sure Jolie wouldn’t mind if you eat with us in the future,” he said, color climbing into his cheeks as he stared straight ahead, unable to look at her. “She hasn’t stopped talking about you from the moment she got home from school. Apparently, she’s told all of her friends that she’s going to be a real zombie for Halloween.”
    Stopping in the kitchen so Harrison could set the soup down, he looked at her and gave her a boyish grin that had her grinning in return, though she had no idea why they were smiling at one another like a couple of fools. Lifting the lid, he took a deep breath and Ana swore his eyes rolled up in pleasure, “Lord, that smells good.”
    “Thank you,” she beamed, pleased by his response. Goodness knows she had made soup for plenty of people but Harrison’s appreciation was so much more… gratifying.
    “You made this?” he asked, looking at her. At her nod, he reached up and grabbed a bowl from the cupboard. “My stomach is probably going to rebel but there is no way I am going to put this away without trying it first.”
    “I don’t want you to get sick,” she protested as he ladled some into his bowl.
    Bringing the bowl up to his nose, he inhaled deeply again and sighed, “If it tastes anywhere near as good as it smells, I might