Beauty and The Best (Once-Upon-A-Time Romance)

by Fennell, Judi

  “Smart girl.” Henry wasn’t the most forgiving of husbands. Nor the most faithful. Given his track record, Jolie would refuse him, too.

  “True.” Todd turned the page. “Henry then sent Holbein to paint Anne of Cleves.” He cocked the book toward Jolie. “Her.”

  Anne had a tiny waist and was dressed in a copper-colored outfit, complete with jewels and chains all over it. Those people back then certainly knew the meaning of the word ostentatious. She had a funky little cap on her head with dangly things on the sides, kind of like Princess Leia, though Anne dear might have been bald under it, ’cause not a wisp of hair escaped.

  “Henry was quite taken with the portrait and offered for her. She, poor thing, accepted.”

  “So, what was the problem?”

  Todd closed the book with a wry grin. “Holbein was put between a rock and a hard place. Henry had already struck out with Christina, and Anne was not quite the, shall we say, most inspiring of subjects—”

  “A bow-wow?”

  “That’s one way of putting it. But since Holbein was so famous for his portraits, he must have either wanted to portray her well, or Henry’s advisers wanted the king married no matter what. Whatever the case, Holbein, um, took some liberties with his subject.”

  “Aha! I bet Henry was none too thrilled when the beauty in the portrait ended up being more beast-like.”

  “Considering their marriage was annulled six months later, I’d say that’s a safe bet.”

  “Holbein’s lucky Henry didn’t behead him or something.” Henry’s bad temper being somewhat legendary and all.

  “True. But Holbein the Younger was one of the outstanding artists of his time. Henry would have been hard pressed to replace him. The man was a great observer of detail in his paintings, had superb handling of color, a compelling realism.”

  So, Todd went off on a tangent, looking more alive in the last fifteen minutes than he’d been all day. Or any time since his wife died, according to the news coverage she’d seen. Mr. Griff’s book could be a good thing for him. Funny how the man knew just which book to give.

  Dinner arrived and Todd continued to wax poetic about Hans Junior. It was interesting for about the first ten minutes, but when he went in depth about brush strokes and pigmentation and a whole bunch of other mumbo-jumbo she’d heard before but never really took the time to learn, she got distracted. Not daydreaming, just distracted. Like noticing how his mouth looked really sexy when he said the word “strokes.” Made her want him to do that to her.

  Well, okay, that wouldn’t be the smartest idea she’d ever had, but when the guy was lit up like a Christmas tree, going on and on about something near and dear to his heart, it was kinda hard not to go that route, since she’d never been near and dear to anyone’s heart.

  So, with some daydreaming on her part, and art lessons on his, they made their way through dinner—lobster thermidor and asparagus with hollandaise being some of her personal faves. The maitre d’ checked in periodically, but not intrusively, thankfully. She’d always found it to be a bummer to be having this great conversation and right when she was ready to make the point, the big comment that made her seem brilliant and witty, there’d be a, “Would you like coffee with that?” What a dénouement, and not in a good way.

  Todd went on about Sir Holbein. Or Mr. Holbein. She couldn’t remember if he was knighted or not. It would’ve been nice for the guy to get that reward, but, hey, with Tudor job positions fluctuating according to the king’s whim, it seemed keeping one’s head in that period of English history would be reward enough.

  “Would you like dessert?” Todd asked, closing the book.

  No, she was not going to ask for whipped cream. “No, thank you. Dinner was more than enough.”

  Todd held her chair as she scooted out of it and it was utterly ridiculous how happy his warm body against her back made her. Yes, so maybe she did scoot slower than necessary, what of it?

  He touched her elbow to lead her back toward the stairs, Mr. Griff’s book slung under his other arm, and she tried to suppress the shiver his touch evoked.

  She gave a little finger wave to the d’ who apologized yet again for the intrusion, and within minutes, they were outside the ship, back on terra firma where the wind blew her hair all over the place—again. It figured. A girl could not have a good hair day around a ship.

  “Thanks for this, Jolie. For tonight.” Todd’s voice was husky, which she might not have noticed had she not heard how difficult this would be for him during her little eavesdropping incident at the office earlier.

  “No, really,” she said. “Thank you. It’s the best dinner I’ve had in a long time.” Ever, actually, but she did have some self-preservation.

  “Look,” he said, leading her to the car, “it’s pretty late and Lord knows I’ve had enough to eat. Why don’t you take it easy tomorrow and come around lunchtime? I think I can skip breakfast.” He opened her car door again and she fought the swoon.

  “But it’s my job and high time I started, don’t you think? I’d like to earn my paycheck, if you don’t mind.”

  He closed her door with a “If that’s what you want,” then slid his toned thigh, calves, and firm tushy (and she should know) into his seat. He did that twisty-turny move to put Mr. Griff’s book in the space behind the seats, then he glanced at her.

  Once again, she fell victim to those eyes. God, they were incredible. His piercing gaze made her feel as if he could see into her very soul.

  Here’s hoping he can’t or he’s in for a surprise.

  Naughty Girl just had to ruin the moment.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  Uh oh. Maybe he could.

  “Ready?” she squeaked out.

  “To head home?”

  Duh. “Yep,” she said in an effort to keep the blush and embarrassment off her face. “Anything in particular you want me to make tomorrow? Or should I just wing it?” The engine purred as they headed onto the pseudo-freeway.

  “Nah. Surprise me,” answered the walking advertisement for fantasy lovers everywhere.

  “Okay.” She sat back and let the wind muss her hair some more. At this point, it was hopeless anyway, so she might as well enjoy the sensation.

  The ride back was nice. Quiet, but nice. There was none of the angst from their earlier conversations and, despite the reporter interruption, Todd was doing okay. Mr. Griff’s book helped. Todd had certainly jumped into that with both feet.

  All in all, he’d done rather well. He’d talked about painting, had mentioned his wife—albeit briefly—and had remained at the restaurant after the reporter debacle. The night wasn’t a disaster. Maybe he was starting to heal.

  As they pulled onto her street, Jolie realized that her life, too, seemed to be on the upswing. It was finally at the point where she could say she was pretty happy with it. Not overly ecstatic, but nowhere near the bad places she’d been, and definitely headed down the road to her goals and personal happiness.

  But when they rounded the bend toward her apartment complex, her thoughts of a decent life went down the tubes.

  Or, rather, up in flames.

  Before them—and about twenty fire, police, ambulance and reporter vans—her apartment building was on fire.

  Taking everything she owned with it.

  Chapter Ten

  Her apartment.

  Her home.

  Her entire life. Gone.

  Up in smoke. Flames. Ohmygod.

  Jolie had the car door open even before Todd stopped, and she hit the ground running toward the line of bystanders, praying that whoever was screaming near her would just shut up already because it was really getting on her nerves.

  It wasn’t until Todd appeared beside her and yanked her into his arms that she realized the screaming banshee was her.

  That shut her up.

  “Jolie, Jolie,” he said into her ear as her face was jammed into his shoulder.

  Any other time she’d relish this moment, but
not now. Everything she’d ever owned, bought, treasured was gone.

  She clutched the sides of his shirt, vaguely remembering not to grab the skin beneath. She needed this, him, his support, otherwise she’d collapse. The disbelief, the agony was just, well, crushing.

  Someone official talked into a bullhorn. She tried to dry her tears on Todd’s shirt, figuring he’d have to have known what to expect the minute he pulled her into his arms. Hysterical woman equaled tears. Simple arithmetic really.

  “Sshh, Jolie.” He rubbed little soothing circles on her back. “It’ll be all right.”

  “All right?” She sniffled and pulled back. “All right? How can you possibly say that?” Okay, so maybe that tap on his chest was a little harder than she intended, but, honestly, all right? Was the man mad? Out of his mind? “I’ve lost everything. Everything!”

  Said man picked that moment to go all sweet on her, cupping her drenched cheek in his hand and searching her eyes. “No, you haven’t lost everything. You’re still here. Still alive.” He brushed some wild hair off her face and went back to cheek-cupping again. “Remember your happily-ever-after scenario? You need to focus on that now. It could be so much worse. You could be inside that building. Things are replaceable—people aren’t.”

  He did have a point.

  So there they stood, surrounded by blaring horns, mist from the dozen or so hoses aimed at the burning pile of brick and mortar she used to call home, hundreds of people milling around, and the world shrunk to one tiny plot of concrete where Todd held her.

  “You’re right.” She leaned back, trying to muster the bravery she’d carried around like a shield since, well, forever. “I could’ve been in that building. It’s after eleven, so I might have been asleep. It could be worse.”

  No, she couldn’t find the bravery. Not yet. She’d never lost everything before. Not in one fell swoop. Not like this.

  She sunk back into his arms. Since he was offering, she might as well take him up on it as she took inventory of what was left of her life.

  Luckily, she’d been in too much of a hurry to get to her reading sojourn that afternoon to fully unpack her car. Her manuscript was still in the back seat of the little German engine that could, and she had her purse, so all means of access to her money were still hers. Oh, and the clothes on her back. Okay, so everything wasn’t gone.

  Todd was right—it could’ve been worse, though it could’ve been oh so much better.

  But she’d been through nasty disasters before; she just hadn’t been counting on ever having to start over from nothing. But, Lord knew, she was fully capable of re-establishing residency in the blink of an eye. Now if she could only stop those eyes from blinking back tears and clear her vision.

  She had to pull herself together. After all, she was alive. “Let’s make sure everyone got out,” she said to Todd, mustering the courage to pull out of his arms.

  They skirted the huddled groups of sobbing people and she was about to head toward the front of the pack, when Todd grabbed her hand. Fool that she was, she felt that tingle.

  One would’ve thought losing her entire life’s worth of possessions would have deadened her nerve endings, but apparently not where he was concerned. She probably didn’t want to know what it’d take to do that.

  “Jolie, this is a friend of mine. Detective Phillips.”

  “A detective? Is it standard procedure for a detective to show up at a fire?” she asked.

  Detective Phillips shook his head. “The fire marshal said the origins look suspicious so we’re on hand to check it out.”

  Todd took her hand, intertwining their fingers, and thoughts fled her mind.

  “Suspicious?” he asked. “Do you think someone set it on purpose?”

  Detective Phillips shrugged. “Too early to tell. But the fire alarm was pulled before anything happened, so, luckily, everyone got out. It was either an incredible coincidence or someone wanted everyone out before they tried to gut the place. We’ll go in with the arson team once the fire’s out. What’s your interest in this place, Todd? I thought you were over in the Mirror Lake Development?”

  “I am. Jolie lives, er, lived here,” Todd answered.

  Detective Phillips flicked his head toward the collapsing pile of rubble. “Sorry about that, miss. You’ll need to make other arrangements. The Red Cross should be setting up around here shortly to help you with shelter until you get back on your feet.”

  Detective Phillips nodded then, with a quick clasp to Todd’s arm, headed off.

  “It’s going to be okay, Jolie.”

  She sighed. “I know. I’m over the initial shock that my entire old life is gone.”

  Todd raised his eyebrow and she had to chuckle. “Well, okay, maybe I’m not completely over it, but I’ll make it. I always have before. Now it’s time for me to stand on my own two feet—in the only pair of shoes I have left, apparently.” She couldn’t help herself when she reached out to touch his arm. That darn touchy-feely-ness he’d started…

  “Thank you, Todd, for helping me through the worst of it. Not really what you expected this evening, I’m sure.” God, it felt so good to lean—just a little bit—on someone else.

  Remember the last time you did that?

  Naughty Girl had a point. Mom hadn’t done such a hot job on the support thing and forget about Chucky. He’d been a lost cause even before they’d begun but she hadn’t realized it.

  Jolie pulled her hand away. “I’ll let you get on home while I find the Red Cross and discuss my options. Thanks for a really nice evening. Up ’til now, of course, but then, you didn’t have anything to do with that.”

  “Jolie.” And just like that—again—Todd stopped her rambling. “I’ve got four unused bedrooms in my house. Why don’t you crash there until you can find other accommodations? No need to stand in line behind dozens of other people waiting for the overworked volunteers. Plus—” there was a twinkle in his eye— “just think how easy it’ll make your morning commute.”

  Stay in his house? In a bedroom a few dozen feet down the hall from his? He might think nothing of it, but then, he wasn’t aware of the little flamenco dance that’d been going on under her skin all evening. And just from being near him. But sleep under the same roof? Her hormones were going to go into the spin cycle for sure.

  As if they weren’t already.

  She opened her mouth to say, “Thanks, but no thanks, you really don’t need to rescue me,” (but, sure, why not?) and found herself saying instead, “Really? That would be so nice. Thank you very much.” Okay, Naughty Girl, what are you doing butting in?

  Shut up and thank me later.

  Naughty Girl and those good points of hers…

  So Jolie did a bit of searching among the throng to find her car and caravanned behind Todd’s be-all/end-all of cars to his house, her new home.

  Home—oh Lord, her apartment.

  I will hold it together. She would. No big deal. It was just a few things. Things. Things shouldn’t mean so much.

  But in the confines of her little car, she could admit to herself—only—that they did mean something.

  A lot.

  All her books, her clothing, her shoes—goodbye kicky yellow flats—meant something. Things she’d bought, worked for. Earned. Owned. All gone in the blink of a planetary eye. All because of someone’s momentary carelessness.

  She refused to consider arson. Yeah, it was kind of suspicious that someone emptied the building before it went up in flames, but she was going with coincidence. That someone could have done it on purpose hurt more than she could bear. So she just wouldn’t think about it. What was it Scarlett O’Hara said? She’d think about it tomorrow.

  Or never. What good would it do anyway? This was the hand she’d been dealt. Same as any other event in her life. She would, however, like to discuss with the Dealer the extraordinarily bad hands being dealt her.

  She pulled into Todd’s driveway and drove into the bay beside his while he unlocked the
door to the covered walkway between the garage and the house and held it open for her. Still chivalrous in the face of tragedy. Gotta love this guy.

  Whoa. That was just an expression and her subconscious—or Naughty Girl—better ban it from their collective thoughts. Pronto.

  “Top of the stairs to the left,” Todd said with a nod up the back staircase once they were in the mudroom. “Take any room you’d like. I’ve got a t-shirt you can borrow to sleep in. I donated my wife’s clothes before the move, so unfortunately I don’t have anything feminine for you.”

  She pshaw-ed him with her hand while her brain played catch-up. He mentioned his wife so calmly. She was impressed.

  “A t-shirt is fine. Really.” They hit the top landing and she hung a left while he went right.

  “I’ll be right back. Any preference on color?” He smiled and she couldn’t help but return it. The guy could be quite charming when he wanted to be.

  And even if his charming-ness was just to pick up her spirits after losing all her worldly possessions, she’d take it. Her nerves were a bit frazzled from the whole trying-to-keep-it-together thing. “Whatever color you’ve got, though pink is my favorite.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  I’d like to see what he can d—

  Enough, Naughty Girl.

  Jolie spun around and entered the room. Soft sage walls with crown molding. White-washed furniture. Big ol’ four-poster with mounds of pillows. Comfy chair in the corner, window seat with a cushion that matched the muted slate-and-sage plaid bedspread. Understated elegance. Probably came from a decorator because Todd was known for the vibrant colors in his paintings. She doubted he’d had anything to do with decorating this place since he had yet to hang anything on the walls except a flat screen TV.

  But the quality was there. The pillows were down, the intricacies of the trim meant it wasn’t off the rack, and the carpet was the plushest she’d ever felt. She stifled the groan. It was one thing to work in the kitchen then go home to her world. She could appreciate the luxury, but leave it behind. Because she had to. If she weren’t able to leave it behind, she’d end up coveting it, and that was just so not healthy for her—or anyone’s—self-esteem.