Breaking the Rules

by Melinda Dozier

  Damn, the man not only surprised her with secrets, but each time she kissed him, he electrified her neediness. No matter how many bells and whistles her head initiated, her heart ignited with a fire so full and so bright, it frightened her. And it made her see that hiding her feelings from this man was almost impossible, especially with kisses like that.

  When she finally had the nerve to look at him again, a slow smile spread on his face.

  Breaking the silence and trying to change the subject, she asked, “So, if you had a list, what would you add? Anything I can help with?”

  He widened his eyes. “You’re really asking me that after that kiss?”

  She laughed. “I really want to know.”

  “I can think of a million ideas you could help me with, but you probably wouldn’t think friends should do them.”

  “The fine line of what our friendship means is kind of skewed right now, though.” She touched his hand and rubbed his thumb.

  “So, will you let me feel you up again?” He laughed when Hope opened her mouth wide.

  She shook her head and stood up. “Come on, I have another bucket list item to take care of.”

  He took her hand and twined their fingers together. “Your place or mine?”

  Hope tripped on the carpet. “You and your dirty mind.”

  “Steady.” He held her up so she wouldn’t fall.

  “I saw a tarot card reader somewhere. Let’s have our future predicted.”

  He stopped at the entrance of the bar and waved bye to his friend. Then he looked at her. “That’s on your list?”

  “Never done it. Lots of firsts tonight and I don’t want this exhilaration to end.” She walked on the boardwalk, dragging him behind her. If someone had told her she’d spend her afternoon with Colin, alone, staring at the ocean, playing piano — kissing — she would have laughed in their face. But now that they were together, having too much fun, she couldn’t imagine a better afternoon. “She was somewhere around here.”

  Colin grabbed his aviators and slipped them on. “Let’s just hope she sees me in your future.”

  She almost tripped again when his image flashed in front her. “You wish.”

  “We’re talking about dreams, aren’t we?” He squeezed her hand.

  “We’re talking about making dreams come true.”

  “Exactly. You don’t need some lady in a gauzy dress to tell you that you’re in my future. That’s for us to decide.” He stopped and pulled her tight. “I’ve decided that it’d be pretty damn nice.”

  Chapter 9

  Hope walked over to the woman wearing a colorful scarf in her hair and a long, flowing skirt. “There’s a lady.”

  Colin laughed. When she set her mind on something, there was no stopping her. Now, if he could just set her mind on him.

  “Hello. I’m Sister Star. Sit down.” The lady motioned to the chair in front of the table. She held out a cardboard poster. “Here are the prices and the types of readings I can do for you.”

  Hope stared at it, her finger slowly gliding down the words on the board. “What do you think, Colin?”

  “Don’t look at me. I’ve never done this either.” He bent down and whispered in her ear, “You sure you want to waste your money on this crap?”

  The woman snorted. “Don’t listen to him, honey,” she said in a thick, vagabond accent. “For you, I give two readings for the price of one.”

  “I guess I’ll go with this one first.” Hope pointed. “The Three Fates Spread.”

  “Yes, darling. First take this deck and shuffle it.” The woman studied Hope and then Colin. He was sure she sized them up to get any kind of information from them.

  Hope shuffled the cards, sneaking a peek at Colin. He gave her a half-smile hoping to reassure her he didn’t think she was crazy. Even if he didn’t believe in this stuff, it was kind of cute to see her all giddy about it.

  The lady reached over and took the cards, raising an eyebrow. “Good, darling. The Three Fates is an interesting reading because I will give you information about your past, present and future.” She laid the cards in front of Hope, making a show with her fingers, as if she were the Vanna White of card reading. “Cut the deck in two.”

  Hope followed the instructions. Colin angled his body closer to see the cards. Hope’s rosy perfume filled the small space between them as she moved, making Colin dizzy with wanting her. Because he couldn’t stop himself, he placed his hand on her shoulder, which made her flinch.

  “Now,” the woman continued, taking him out of his dream, “pick the first three cards and lay them out.”

  Hope obviously believed in all this. When she turned a card over, a little gasp escaped her. That sweet sound was what Colin wanted to hear while kissing her. Or better yet, when his legs went between hers. Colin pressed his lips together in a slight grimace. There he went again into fantasyland. This card reading was important to Hope, so he needed to stay on task. He forced himself to focus on the fortuneteller.

  “The card on the left represents an important element in your past.” A jingle of the woman’s bracelets echoed around them as she pointed to the card. “A-ha. You picked the Queen of Swords. This shows us that you are an extrovert, an organizer, a leader and sometimes overwhelming.”

  Colin laughed, but shut his mouth when the women stared at him. “What?”

  Hope smiled at him. “You think I’m overwhelming?”

  “No, just … exhilarating. Remember?” He rubbed her shoulder and looked at the card so the woman would continue.

  “You can also be of deep sentiment and susceptible to flights when feeling too much. You have had some inner torment from the past and have escaped this emotional pain.”

  Hope’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything, just bit her bottom lip.

  Huh. Must be true. What did she escape? Maybe he could learn something about her from this con artist, after all.

  “The middle card is the Ten of Staves. This represents your present.”

  “Staves? Like in sheet music?” Hope’s expectant eyes lit up. She really was a musician at heart. Even though he had no idea what she was saying about staves and music, it made his insides warm, remembering her at Tucker’s piano, all soft and relaxed.

  The woman coughed hard and Colin guessed she sported a three-pack-a-day smoking habit. “No dear. Staves are wand-like structures. See the tall sticks on the card?” She pointed with a jangle again.

  “The ones held up by that naked goddess,” Colin pointed out.

  Both women looked up at him.

  He shrugged. “I’m just saying … I mean, the cards have goddesses on each of them. She’s guarding the staves … Naked.”

  Hope shook her head. “Men.”

  “Yes, darling.” Sister Star looked in Hope’s eyes, a strong message sent straight to her core. “You are in a final trial, like the goddess.” She looked at Colin and smiled, baring her yellow teeth. “See here, the goddess stands before others and will be on trial, but in the end there will be an enduring reward. For you, my dear, a reward will come.”

  Hope nodded. “I have this new administrative position and I always feel like I have to prove myself worthy.” Then she held her lips together and covered them with her hand. “I probably shouldn’t tell you anything, huh?”

  “It’s okay, darling. Just remember the greater the struggle, the greater the reward.”

  Colin cocked his head to the side. “Not bad advice, Hope.” Since he was part of the struggle, she should listen to this advice. In the end, it could really pay off for him.

  “Last is the future card.” The lady looked at Colin and smiled. “Interesting and lovely card, my dear. You chose the Ace of Cups.”

  Colin lifted an eyebrow. “Can I just point out again that this goddess is naked, too?
”

  “Really, Colin. Don’t you see she’s holding a beautiful cup above her head, full of … what is it?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know, but I can’t get my eyes off the two — ”

  The woman cackled. “The cups represent a free rein of the heart and an immense joy … That is why she’s holding it up to the gods, in appreciation of that which is good and happy. But what is most important to you, I suspect, my dear, is that she is full of abundant love.” She looked at Colin again and Hope followed the lady’s eyes.

  Hope cleared her throat and turned her head back to the cards. “Well, I don’t … hmmm.”

  Colin picked up the card. “I like the sound of that.”

  “Of course you do, young man.” She took the card from his hands and added it to the rest. “Now, your last reading will be my choice. Shuffle these and ask one question aloud.”

  Hope shuffled them — and shuffled them — until Colin reached down and stopped her hand from doing it again. “Any day now.”

  She shrugged. “I just want to make sure they’re the right cards for me.”

  “Ask your question,” the lady huffed.

  Hope stretched her head back and twisted it from side to side. She then sat up, took a deep breath and looked at Colin. When he lifted an eyebrow in question, she turned back to the card reader and smiled. “Should Colin and I be more than friends?”

  “Interesting,” the lady responded. “I suspect your gentleman friend will want an answer to this question.”

  Colin raised his hand. “I say yes.”

  “Shh.” Hope pushed his hand down. “Don’t misrepresent the answers.”

  “Turn the card over, my dear.” When Hope did so, the lady snickered. “You picked the Four of Staves, also known as Completion.”

  “Staves again?” Hope scooted to the edge of her seat.

  Colin leaned closer, too.

  “What does it mean?” They both asked at the same time.

  The fortuneteller let out a short bark of laughter. “It means you should be more than friends. To be more exact, it means you should join together and form a pleasurable and amorous interlude.”

  Hope and Colin shared a look and he quirked an eyebrow at her.

  Hope looked away quickly. “Well, thank you. Very informative.”

  She reached in her purse and pulled out her wallet.

  Colin smiled. “Uh, can I buy those naked cards?”

  Instead of answering him and taking Hope’s money, the lady grabbed Hope’s hand and looked at her in the eyes. “This is not a game, little one. Don’t deny what the cards tell you. If you do, there will be chaos again, like the Queen of Swords told you earlier. You will take flight again if you ignore your heart.”

  Hope’s face reddened. “Thank you. Now let go.”

  • • •

  Hope allowed Colin to take her waist and lead her down the boardwalk as the lady cackled a dismissal, “Listen to me, darling, or you’ll be sorry.”

  Once out of earshot of the lady, Colin snickered. “That was spooky.”

  “Yeah, it was. But the good news is I can scratch another item off the bucket list.” She drew an imaginary line through the air with her finger.

  “Well, the good news for me,” he stopped walking and tugged her hand so she stood in front of him, “is that we should be more than friends.”

  He was really cute when he played with her like that. Hope shook her head. “Colin, Colin, Colin, you were the one who said it was a bunch of crap.”

  “I’ve changed my mind.” He tipped her face up to his. “Besides, we should never second-guess the cards of the naked goddesses.”

  “What is it with men and pornography?”

  He laughed. “Pornography? If you want another bucket list item, I bet there’s a sex shop around here.”

  “Whoa, Yank, you’re pitching a fast one. Slow down, boy.”

  He laughed and winked. “You know I’m playing with you.”

  “I like this playful Colin, actually.”

  “We can have more fun, if you let me.”

  Hope’s cheeks flushed. Up close and personal, it was hard to miss how gorgeous he was. If she stepped up on her tiptoes, she’d be able to touch her lips to his. He studied her with quiet intensity, surely thinking the same thing. Her fingers wiggled at the wanting.

  Since she didn’t have the guts to do it, she squeezed his hand instead. “Let’s get an ice cream.”

  “Over here.” He kept a firm grip on her hand and guided her to a stand a few yards away.

  Once they each had a cone, Colin steered her to another lookout point.

  Across the boardwalk in the other direction, Colin pointed to the little shop whose sign read Body Ink. “Hey, I bet that could be another bucket list.”

  “Oh, you mean a tattoo?” Her tongue grazed the ice cream, licking the side of the cone so it wouldn’t drip down her hand.

  Colin’s gaze darkened, then he turned his head and stared out at the ocean, nodding. “Yeah. A lot of people get tattoos as a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

  She smiled to herself. “Already got one,” she whispered.

  He held his cone out away from his mouth. “I haven’t seen one.”

  “Yeah, well, you haven’t seen all of me.”

  He shook his head. “No fair. I can only imagine where you have a tattoo and it’s probably worse than what it is.”

  She wiggled her eyebrows. “Yep.”

  “Doesn’t it bother you that I’m imagining you naked, like that goddess on those cards?”

  “It doesn’t bother me a bit.” She smiled, a glint of humor in her eyes. “As long as you don’t mind me picturing you with a little less on.”

  Even if she headed into wrong territory with those words, she couldn’t hold back. They were having too much fun and she liked it. She didn’t have enough fun in her life and spending time with Colin made her feel alive. If only she could convince her brain what she felt in her heart.

  He bent over, took her cone in his hand and threw them both in the bin next to them. Even with that small touch, the fire that burned inside her spiraled out of control. He faced her and ran his hands down her arm. And — damn it to hell — it was perfect. His provocative touches always brought wicked thoughts to her mind. But, even better than his contact was what lay behind the man — his humor, his passion, his smarts. He was irresistible.

  The air blew her hair back behind her, with wisps of it falling around her cheeks. Her body was relaxed and she stood with a hip resting on the railing.

  Colin tangled a piece of Hope’s stray hair in his pointer finger. “You’re testing out this new theory, aren’t you?”

  “What theory?” She licked her lips. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold back.

  “That cup full of whatever crap. Love. Joy. Playfulness.” He stepped closer. “Whatever you want to call it, you can try it out.”

  She bit her lip again. He was right on. She did want to try it out, but damn it, her brain told her that it just wasn’t right. Joy and playfulness were all good and well, but love? How could she handle that while being Jason’s principal? She looked down, breaking the eye contact. “We should get going.”

  Before he could stop her, she walked in the direction they started.

  Running to catch up to her, Colin broke the silence. “Forget all that.”

  She boldly met his eyes. “Yeah, right.” Easier said than done.

  “Okay. Uh, back to small talk. What do you think of Harbor Bay?”

  Nice. Change in topic. She gestured in a sweeping motion with one arm. “This is my home now and I can’t complain about the weather, either.”

  “It’s a great place.” He nodded. Then, after a few beats, he reached for her ha
nd, stopped in his tracks and pulled her to his chest.

  “What?” She crinkled her nose.

  He shook his head. “I can’t believe we’re doing this.”

  “Doing what?” She looked around, confusion in her eyes.

  “Talking about the weather.” He scooted closer to her, making her back up toward the railing.

  “Colin — ” A warning came from her mouth.

  He scooted her all the way back. “You can’t go around saying stuff like you did back there and just pretend nothing’s happening.”

  “I’m sorry, Colin. I didn’t think before I spoke.”

  He put his arms around her, holding onto the rail. “Sometimes it’s better to just speak what’s on your mind.” He lifted one hand and caressed her cheek. “Damn it, Hope. Life is too short to ignore the truth and the truth is that we are extremely attracted to each other.”

  She opened her mouth, then closed it before saying anything. He was right, but she didn’t know what to do about it.

  “Don’t deny it.” He brought his thumb down and touched her bottom lip.

  Leaning into his touch, she said, “Remember we’re just friends.”

  He shook his head. “To hell with friends, Hope. I haven’t felt like this in so long.” He placed his forehead on hers and leaned in more. Enough that she could feel his quickened breath on her chin.

  “Me too.” She sighed. Leaning back, she looked in his eyes. “I know it’s not fair, but we can’t.”

  “I’m not going to lie — this is freakin’ frustrating.” He scraped his hand over his face. “I mean, I haven’t been on a date in months, because I just don’t feel it with anyone. Then, when I do feel ‘it,’ I can’t do anything about it.”

  She looked down. “I feel the same way and I’m frustrated, too.”

  “Then why are we ignoring it? Even the tarot card lady said we should be more than friends.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh, and she is a knowledgeable source to trust.”

  “Just hear me out, Hope.” He stroked her hair, causing her heart to beat faster. “We’ve had an amazing afternoon together.” He pointed back and forth between them. “This is who we really are. You. Me. Hope and Colin. Just two people having an incredible time together. See how much fun we can have if we forget all the labels? No principal, parent, doctor bull crap. Just us.”