Page 33 of Romance and Peppermint Lattes
“What is it about me you find so unappealing?” She had to know what was driving him away, no matter how much the truth damaged her pride.
“Unappealing?” His abrupt laugh was filled with irony. “I wish I could find something,anything, unappealing about you, but I can’t.” Dropping his gaze, he stepped back and cleared his throat. When he spoke again, his words were brusque, impatient. “I was a lot more comfortable with you before we met.”
“You thought of me as a debutante.”
“I assumed you were a pampered immature... girl. Not a woman. I expected to find you ambitious and selfish, so eager to impress your father with what you could do that it didn’t matter how many people you stepped on. Then we did the Celebrity Debate, and I discovered that none of the things I wanted to believe about you were true.”
“Then why—”
“What you’ve got to understand,” Nolan added forcefully, “is that I don’twantto become involved with you.”
“That message has come through loud and clear.” She moistened her lips and cast her gaze toward the floor, afraid he’d see how vulnerable he made her feel.
Suddenly he was standing directly in front of her, so close his breath warmed her face. With one gentle finger, he lifted her chin, raising her eyes to his.
“All evening I was telling myself how noble I was,” he said. “Griff Bradley is far better suited to you than I’ll ever be.”
“Stop saying that!”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. “There can’t ever be any kind of relationship between us,” he said, his voice rough. “I learned my lesson years ago, and I’m not going to repeat that mistake.” But contrary to everything he was saying, his mouth lowered to hers until their lips touched.The kiss was slow and familiar. Their bottom lips clung as Nolan eased away from her.
“That wasn’t supposed to happen,” he murmured.
“I won’t tell anyone if you won’t,” she whispered.
“Just remember what I said,” he whispered back. “I don’t do well with rich girls. I already found that out. The hard way.”
“I’ll remember,” she said softly, looking up at him.
“Good.” And then he kissed her again.
***
It was three days before Maryanne saw Nolan. She didn’t need anyone to tell her he was avoiding her. Maybe he thought falling in love would wreak havoc with his comfortable well-ordered life. If he’d given her a chance, Maryanne would’ve told him she didn’t expect him to fill her days. She had her new job, and she was fixing up her apartment. Most importantly, she had her writing, which kept her busy the rest of the time. She’d recently queried a magazine about doing a humorous article on her experiences working for Rent-A-Maid.
“Here’s Nolan now,” Barbara whispered as she hurried past Maryanne, balancing three plates.
Automatically Maryanne reached for a water glass and a menu and followed Nolan to the booth. He was halfway into his seat when he saw her. He froze and his narrowed gaze flew across the room to the middle-aged waitress.
Barbara didn’t appear in the least intimidated. “Hey, what did you expect?” she called out. “We were one girl short, and when Maryanne applied for the job she gave you as a reference. Besides, she’s a good worker.”
Nolan didn’t bother to look at the menu. Standing beside the table, Maryanne took her green order pad out of her apron pocket.
“I’ll have the chili,” he said gruffly.
“With or without cheese?”
“Without,” he bellowed, then quickly lowered his voice. “How long have you been working here?”
“Since Monday morning. Don’t look so angry. You were the one who told me about the job. Remember?”
“I don’t want you working here!”
“Why not? It’s a respectable establishment. Honestly, Nolan, what did you expect me to do? I had to find another job, and fast. I can’t expect to sell any articles for at least a month, if then. I’ve got to have some way of paying the bills.”
“You could’ve done a hell of a lot better than Mom’s Place if you wanted to be a waitress.”
“Are we going to argue? Again?” she asked with an impatient sigh.
