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

by Fennell, Judi

  “What’s between us?” She was holding her breath.

  “You’re parroting me again.”

  She bit her lip to stop the tears. He was teasing her. That had to be good.

  “I have something for you,” he whispered.

  “You do?” What more could she possibly want than his belief in her?

  He retrieved the paper-covered something, tore the wrapping, then stopped. “Jolie, this was never intended for the show. I started it that day… after the dinner at Bella’s. Before the manuscript. I never hung it. No one’s seen it but me.”

  She turned to fully face him, holding her breath. She’d never seen him this, well, nervous.

  He tore the rest of the paper away and turned it around.

  It was her. All of her.

  She was on her side on that sofa, propped against pillows, with the drop cloth draped over her thighs. Her hair was mussed, falling over her breasts. Her lips were just a bit swollen as if she’d bitten them—or someone had been kissing them moments before. Her bottom leg was bent slightly, the upper one raised as if in invitation to discover what was beneath the cloth. And there was no doubt the artist already knew.

  Everything she’d ever felt while they’d made love was there, in her eyes, looking out from the canvas. That something he’d wanted to capture.

  This was a painting by a man who knew his subject in all her moods. And felt quite a bit for her.

  Did she dare hope?

  “Do you like it?” His soft voice wrapped around her like the silence of a moonlit courtyard.

  She shook her head. “No. I don’t.”

  The hope in his eyes faded and she couldn’t let the teasing go on any longer.

  “I love it, Todd.” She touched his arm. “Almost as much as I love you.”

  “Thank you, God.” He blew out a breath and set the painting aside, pulling her back into his arms.

  She met him halfway, and then they were kissing each other as if they could make up for all the hurt and separation.

  “I was so worried, Jolie,” he said after, oh, ten minutes or so. “When you saw that picture, I thought I’d blown it. I hadn’t had the chance to prepare you, and I knew you’d take it the wrong way. I would have.”

  It was her turn to raise her eyebrows.

  “All right, I guess I did with your manuscript. I get it now, though the book thing does perplex me. Perhaps Mr. Griff will be able to shed some light on it.” He linked his fingers with hers. “But it doesn’t matter. We’re together and that’s what’s important.”

  “Together.”

  “Forever.”

  “Forever?” Did he say the “F” word?

  He pulled back. “You don’t want forever? I thought you liked happily-ever-afters?”

  “Is this one?” She was trying so hard not to get her hopes up in case she was reading too much into this.

  He smiled. “Oh, yes, Jolie Gardener, this is one big happily-ever-after.” He traced her cheekbones, then her lips, his eyes going all soft. “I love you. I want you in my life. Always.” He slipped off the bench to one knee. “Will you, Jolie Gardener, marry me?”

  Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh—

  “Yes!”

  She threw her arms around his neck, her body into his, and she mauled the guy’s lips as she almost crashed them to the terra cotta floor. He wanted to marry her! He loved her! They could have a family—

  Oh boy. Now she was the one who pulled back.

  “What?”

  “Family,” she squeaked.

  “Mike and Barb already love you.”

  She shook her head as they resettled back on the bench. Good thing because Knees weren’t able to stand yet. “No. Family. You and me.”

  “Ah,” he smiled. “Yes, I want a family. Dozens of kids.”

  “Dozens?”

  “Enough to have my own football team.”

  “I’m not sure that’s physically possible for me, Todd.”

  “Well, then, we’ll just have to adopt some, won’t we?”

  Honest to God, she loved this man. She honestly and truly loved him and she needed to crawl inside his skin and show him how much.

  But not here. Obviously.

  They needed to be in his house. Their house.

  Their home.

  He was right there with her as he stood, tugging on her fingers. “Come on, Jolie. Let’s go home.”

  “But what about the benefit?” Not that she was complaining, but still… niceties and all.

  “The pictures were sold the minute I unpacked them. My work here is done.”

  “Spoken like a true superhero.” Their shared joke earned her another smile, then his eyes went all mossy green velvet.

  She knew that look. And this was not the appropriate place. “Yes. Let’s go home.”

  His smile reminded her of the one between Mike and Barbara. Between Bella and her husband. That “This is our world and we’re the only two here” smile.

  He picked up the painting as he intertwined their fingers.

  “Where are you going to put that?” she asked.

  “I thought since no one else will be sitting for me, I’d like to keep it in my studio.” He kissed her fingers. “To be inspired. Okay with you?”

  “You know,” she said as they headed out the iron gate, dipping beneath shuttered honeysuckle flutes and traipsing through scattered rose petals, “I kind of like that idea.”

  “And I kind of like the idea of having a naked woman in my studio.”

  Yep, she tripped.

  The End

  The Beginning

  M E M O R A N D U M

  TO: Raphael, Archangel

  RE: HEA, Case #TBJGB14215642360982019939.A8

  As follow-up to reports A1-A7 concerning Charges, Todd Best and Jolie Gardener Best, I have the following updates:

  1. Jolie Gardener Best has opened her own pastry shop, Très Jolie Pâtisserie, and continues to write romance novels. She has had fair reception from publishers and will continue onward to publication.

  2. Todd and Jolie have four beautiful children—one for each bedroom in their home—and are in the process of adopting three more.

  3. Jasmine and Earl Gray have moved in with them after Todd added an east wing to the house. The weekend the Grays went away was a bonanza for everyone: their son, Charles, and his wife are enjoying the set of triplets they added to the four children they already had. Not a spare inch of room for the grandparents, however. So Todd and Jolie forgave their well-intentioned interference and invited them to stay with them. Jolie has the family she’s always wanted.

  4. I have put off their questions regarding the book, The Best Man, by saying the publisher, Beatus, Inc., went out of business.

  5. Detective Phillips determined the fire that destroyed Jolie’s apartment was indeed an accident. Maurice in 2B, a deaf man, had been making his wife an anniversary dinner and didn’t hear the fire alarm when a stray white cat jumped in the window and knocked a ewer of oil that was sitting on the window ledge into a saucepan, and it kind of… exploded. A dishtowel went up, which then caught the curtains and the rest, well… It actually worked out rather well, despite the missing photographs and personal items. The insurance money came through, with a large fine for the landlord for having too many apartments in a building that wasn’t up to code. A developer took over and built brand-new, affordable, good-sized condos for the residents. There is talk, by the residents, of thanking the mysterious white cat.

  6. Speaking of cats, Jolie was upset to find Boots missing, so St. Francis created a replica for them. I think Jolie may be suspicious, but since she thought she was imagining things when I was Boots, the replacement hasn’t raised any untoward questions. No one ever came forward from the Found posters.

  7. And, last, but by no means least, my wing buds have begun to itch.

  Respectfully submitted,

  Jonathan Griff, Guardian

  Acknowledgments

  If I were
to thank everyone who helped with this book, I honestly think the list would be longer than the book itself. This story was part of the American Title Contest (III) run by Romantic Times BookReviews Magazine, and I have to thank everyone who voted for it, as well as Leah Hultenschmidt, who chose it for the contest, and the wonderful Romantic Times staff for the contests and the conventions, especially Jo Carol Jones, Carol Stacy, Faygey Levy, Giselle Hirtenfeld/Goldfeder, Elissa Petruzzi, Stephanie Klose, and Liz French for all the fun over the years.

  To the folks at Gather.com for their First Chapters Contests, and everyone who voted there for this story. I’m so glad you finally get the chance to read it in its edited form.

  To the Wisdom of Wombats, in particular Beth Hill and Jill Lynn Anderson. Thank you thank you thank you to all of you for your help, your encouragement, and all that wisdom!

  As always, to my family. Thank you for being you.

  And to Stephanie Julian, convention roomie, eye-roller supreme, and critique partner extraordinaire, who keeps my half full cup from running over when it really shouldn’t. And for not snoring.

  And thank YOU for reading Beauty and The Best. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please help other readers find this book:

  1. This book is lendable, so send it to a friend who you think might like it so she can discover me, too.

  2. Help other people find this book by writing a review.

  3. Sign up for my new releases e-mail by contacting me at JudiFennell@JudiFennell.com, so you can find out about the next book as soon as it's available.

  4. Come like my Facebook page.

  About the Author

  Judi Fennell has had her nose in a book and her head in some celestial realm all her life, including those early years when her mom would exhort her to “get outside!” instead of watching Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie on television. So she did—right into Dad’s hammock with her Nancy Drew books.

  These days she’s more likely to have her nose in her laptop and her head (and the rest of her) at a favorite writing spot, but she’s still reading either her latest manuscript or friends’ books.

  A PRISM Award and Golden Leaf Award winner, Judi is the author of the Mer series: In Over Her Head, Wild Blue Under, and Catch of a Lifetime; the Bottled Magic series: I Dream of Genies, Genie Knows Best, and Magic Gone Wild; and the Once-Upon-A-Time Romance series featuring: Beauty and The Best, If The Shoe Fits, and Fairest of Them All; and, surprisingly enough, an anthology of psychological thriller/horror short stories, entitled Off The Beaten Path, A Terrifying Tales Anthology, under the pseudonym, J.A. Fenn.

  Check out her website at www.JudiFennell.com for excerpts, deleted scenes, reviews, and contests, as well as the chance to discover a whole new world!

  Connect online at:

  Twitter.com/JudiFennell

  Facebook.com/JudiFennell

  Judi Fennell Amazon Page

  And now, read on for a preview of another Once-Upon-A-Time Romance, If The Shoe Fits

  If The Shoe Fits

  by, Judi Fennell

  Once upon a time…

  a long time ago

  in a land far, far away,

  there lived a girl by the name of Cinderella.

  This is not her story.

  This is the story of Lucinda Isabella Casteleoni,

  who, like her namesake,

  has a wicked stepmother, two tacky stepsisters,

  and countless hours of hard work to (not) look forward to.

  But unlike that fairy tale princess,

  Bella’s Prince Charming is nowhere to be found.

  Until a little old man with sparkling green eyes

  opens a shoe store down the street.

  Then the magic begins...

  And it begins…

  Where was a fairy godmother when she needed one?

  Bella Casteleoni gripped the railing on the steps outside the law office. Her stepmother was not going to send her little sister to boarding school if Bella had anything to say about it. Unfortunately however, the language she needed to speak was Cash since a custody battle required lots of it. And while Bella had been saving for one, she hadn’t counted on it happening just yet. But Madeleine’s latest threats had upped the stakes.

  That witch had been using Sophia—as well as the family business—as a pawn for years. And now the woman wasn’t just threatening to sell off the family restaurant, but also to send the fourth-grader away merely because, in the six months since Dad’s death, she’d found single parenthood counterproductive to the life she’d become accustomed to since marrying their father.

  Bella would show her counterproductive…

  She picked up her pace, her pumps clicking on the stone steps. First thing tomorrow, she’d tell Giacomo and Guiseppe that the catering business she’d started on the side out of her family’s restaurant was going to be more than just a side thanks to the discussion she’d just had with Uncle Vinny’s lawyer. Without the resources she wouldn’t be able to stop Madeleine from selling the business, but she could make sure she still had a business when it all shook out so she could still fight for custody.

  She was going to have to ramp up the word-of-mouth campaign and set up sample tables at local events. Put out flyers. Build a website. Give referral discounts. Yes, she had a lot of ideas and she was going to do whatever it took to earn enough money to knock Madeleine’s feet out from under her.

  Like the dove that flew in her face did to her…

  Bella missed the next step, stumbled down the last one, and found her skirt ripped up the middle when she landed butt-first on the pavement with one of her pumps flying off to God-knew-where.

  Two seconds later, something—make that someone—ended up sprawled across her lap.

  “Ooomph!”

  A very large, very male someone.

  Bella groaned as the big hunk of maleness hefted himself off her and got to his feet while she yanked the torn edges of her skirt together. Great. Add mending to her To-Do list. As if she needed more on it.

  A hand appeared in front of her. “Here, I’m sorry. Let me help you up.” The deep, husky voice resonated down her spine.

  She looked up. Standing above her with broadly sculpted shoulders outlined against the afternoon sky, was one of the most gorgeous men she’d ever seen. Coffee-colored eyes, perfectly molded lips, sleek mahogany hair that showed just a hint of wave as it blew in the afternoon breeze, and those cheekbones. Good Lord. This guy could’ve been the model for Michelangelo’s David, but with a much stronger jawline.

  And clothing.

  “Miss? Are you okay?”

  “Um, yeah. Yes. I think I am.” She looked around and spied her shoe on the next section of sidewalk. “Great,” she muttered, taking the proffered hand.

  “I said I was sorry.”

  At five-six, Bella wasn’t exactly short, but he dwarfed her by a good eight inches. Tall, dark, and handsome. Like something from a fairy tale. Too bad she’d stopped believing in those ten years ago when a drunk driver had killed her mother and put Dad in a wheelchair and downward spiral of depression that had led to her and Sophia’s current situation.

  No. She couldn’t go there. Fighting Madeleine was going to take every bit of strength she had. And some she didn’t.

  This guy looked to have some strength to spare.

  She shook her head. Why drag someone else into her mess?

  Speaking of mess… She brushed away a strand of blonde hair that had escaped the ponytail she’d scraped it into earlier. “I wasn’t talking about you. My shoe.” She nodded toward it. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, thanks. Hang on, I’ll get it for you.” Tall, Dark, and Handsome crossed the three feet of concrete with the grace and speed of an athlete. Filled out those slacks pretty nicely, too.

  Bella bit back a smile. Good to know Madeleine and her machinations hadn’t sucked all the beauty from her world.

  Then he rocked it with one hell of a sexy smile when he returned with her shoe.r />
  Tall, Dark, and Potent.

  Bella teetered on her one pump as she tried to put the other back on, the teetering having more to do with balancing on one thin heel than his potency. At least, that’s what she told herself.

  The hand he put on her waist to steady her, however, made her a liar.

  “Here, let me,” he said, slipping the shoe from her suddenly boneless fingers, then sinking to one knee and slipping it on her foot.

  Charming, too. Prince Charming, maybe?

  As his light blue dress shirt stretched across those strong shoulders and the unbuttoned collar gapped open to reveal a strong, corded neck, she took a deep breath. If only he really were Prince Charming…

  She glanced heavenward with a silent plea, only to have to duck as the dove circled back around and nearly poked her in the eye with its wings as it headed toward one of the ornamental cherry trees lining the sidewalk.

  Prince Charming stood and put his hands on his hips. “There. Shoe’s in place. How ’bout everything else?”

  “Everything else?”

  His eyes skimmed her body. “Yeah. Anything else broken? Missing?”

  “Well, if you don’t count the skirt, I guess I’m in good shape.”

  He quirked his eyebrows and she blushed at the double entendre she hadn’t intended. Oh, God. He thought she was flirting with him.

  She so wasn’t. She didn’t have time to flirt now, much less date, Prince Charming or not. Sophia’s fifth grade year started in five months and Bella had to ensure that her sister stayed in that school. With all she needed to accomplish in such a short period of time, she’d be lucky to have time to sleep alone, never mind with anyone.