Just One Kiss (Fool's Gold #10)

Patience slipped the necklace over her daughter’s head, then fastened it. Lillie ran toward the downstairs bathroom.


“I want to see! I want to see!”

Patience smiled at him. “Her birthday’s in a couple of months and she doesn’t know it yet, but I’m going to let her pierce her ears. I already bought the butterfly posts for her.”

He touched her cheek. “You’re a good mom.”

“I hope so. Thanks for helping with all this. Her last day of school crept up on me. I’m totally not prepared.”

“You’ve had a few things going on.”

Lillie returned and threw her arms around both of them. “I love it, Mom. I really love it!”

“I’m glad.”

Justice squeezed her tightly before letting her go. They all stood.

“Okay,” Patience said. “Eleven-thirty. We’ll all be there.” She looked at him.

He nodded. “I’ll be there on time. I promise. We’ll take pictures.”

Lillie beamed. “There’s not a ceremony or anything. It’s not like next year when I graduate. But there will be cookies.”

Patience bent down and kissed her daughter’s cheek. Lillie moved to Justice, her body language expectant.

It took him a second to realize what she wanted—the same kiss on the cheek. He bent forward and lightly touched his mouth to her smooth skin. When he straightened, she danced away.

“Bye. See you at eleven-thirty.”

“Bye,” Patience called after her. When the door closed, she turned to Justice. “Okay, I have to get back to the store. You know where the school is and everything?”

He nodded.

She kissed him on the mouth, and then she was gone, too.

He was left standing alone, apparently the only one aware of what had just happened.

* * *

“YOU’RE NOT listening,” Felicia said.

With any other woman, the words would be a complaint, but with Felicia it was simply a statement of fact.

“I know you find the topic of the business interesting,” she continued. “So your inattention must have another source.” She raised her eyebrows. “Patience?”

They were at the dining table of the small, furnished town house Felicia had rented. Papers were spread in front of him, but he hadn’t read any of them.

“Patience,” he agreed.

“It wasn’t a significant guess for me. She’s been on your mind a lot lately.”

“It’s not just her. It’s Lillie, too. And Ava, although less her. She’ll be moving out to live with Steve.” He rose and walked to the window, then turned back. “I can’t sleep anymore. I can’t stop thinking about them. Lillie’s going to be eleven. I don’t know anything about eleven-year-old girls. But she hugged me and wanted me to kiss her on the cheek.”

“She loves you. You’re a natural father figure. Did you think she wouldn’t bond with you?”

“I didn’t think about it one way or the other. I was focused on Patience. I like Lillie. I’d do anything for her. But what if I hurt her? I could hurt them both.” He felt his hands curl into fists and had to consciously relax his fingers.

“How can I know I’m good enough? How can I be sure he’s gone?” He shook his head. “I know my father is dead. You don’t have to remind me. That’s not what I mean.”

She stood and crossed to him. “I know what you mean. You’re afraid that who he was is a result of biology and that you’ve inherited his, for lack of a better word, evilness.”

“I can’t risk it.”

She pressed her palm against his chest, over his heart. “You love them.”

He closed his eyes, then opened them again. “I don’t want to put them in danger.”

“Love can’t do that.”

“It can.”

“Your father didn’t love anyone. Not even himself. But you’re not him. You never were. As for the rest of it, this is Fool’s Gold, not an op. You walked away from that life, Justice. More significant, you came here on purpose.”

He covered her hand with his. “I didn’t know where else to go. I had to see Patience again. But I wasn’t supposed to stay.”

“You’ve been drawn to this place since you left. You belong here. You have something special, something that can’t be manufactured.” Her expression turned sad. “Something so many of us want.”

He squeezed her fingers. “You’ll find the right guy.”

“I hope you’re correct. I want to and I’m afraid. I’ve never had such mixed emotions. Sometimes the desire is stronger and sometimes the fear. I’ve tried to create a formula to predict my emotions, but I’m unable to.”

He released her and stepped back. “Maybe that’s part of the magic of being human.”

She smiled. “I agree. There is an element of magic. And chemistry. While I can detail the process and even the hormones involved, I can’t tell you why one person will cause the reaction and another won’t. You were never interested in me that way.”

“No.” He pulled her close. “Life would have been easier if I had been.”

“For both of us.”