Not only had she been conned into working the carnival, but Kathy had signed her up for the kissing booth. It was only for an hour, but it felt like longer with each man, who had come up and kissed her. Her lips felt chapped and raw from the number of times she had wiped her mouth. How had she gotten herself into this situation? Kathy. The woman had used some Jedi mind trick on her and convinced her.
Kathy had brought up Olivia taking the day off, so she could takeIvyto the carnival, but Olivia declined, saying she needed the money. Kathy switched tactics and convinced her that instead of working at the diner she would get paid for working the carnival. Olivia couldn’t say no to the money, so she had readily agreed.Boy, was she regretting that decision now.
She had thought it would be a win-win situation. She would earn money, andIvycould have fun at the carnival.Ivydidn’t get many opportunities to have fun and hang out with other girls, so she was taking advantage of it. Kathy had even sweetened the deal by offering her daughter to go withIvy,since Olivia was paranoid of leaving her alone too long.
Ivydidn’t appreciate being treated like a child still, as she was thirteen, but Olivia wasn’t taking any chances of Royce finding her daughter and kidnapping her. It was a sure way to get Olivia to do whatever he wanted, and she wasn’t going to give him the opportunity.
She needed to relax, because Royce didn’t know where she was or how to find her. She made sure to stay under the radar. He hadn’t found her yet, and she had been on the run for the past three months. It didn’t stop her eyes from straying around the carnival to try and spotIvy. She had askedIvyto stay within eyeshot, but when did preteens ever listen?
As her eyes scanned the crowd, her gaze caught on a familiar face in the line, waiting for her.Heath.To say she was shocked to see him was an understatement. She hadn’t seen him over the past week, and not that she was looking. It was just an observation. She was glad he wasn’t bothering her anymore. He had finally taken her numerous no’s to heart. A part of her wondered if Kathy had somehow set this up to get her and Heath together.
Kathy never made it a secret that she wanted Olivia to stay. Her way of thinking was a man would be enough to convince Olivia not to leave, but she didn’t know Olivia well enough. A man was a sure way to get Olivia to run in the opposite direction. Men were the reason she was on the run, and her inability to recognize a bad man.
Olivia planned to have words with Kathy, if she had done this all in the hopes of getting her together with Heath. Yes, he was handsome, but he was shallow and conceited. Qualities she didn’t like in a man. She was just a game to him; one that when she gave in, he would move on to someone else. She had no intention of being his next conquest, as she had enough problems to deal with.
Was that why he had been staying away from the diner for the past week? In hopes of getting her to lower her defenses; hoping she would miss him, and now, she would be forced to kiss him. He was an even worse person than she first imagined. He would go through any depths to get what he wanted. Sadly for him, she wasn’t willing to give in.
Olivia dismissed him, as the next person sat down in front of her. Her gaze moved to her next customer, counting down the seconds, until she was done. Her lips lifted in the same smile she had given everyone else, but it fell, when the man sat down in front of her. She froze, like a deer caught in headlights. He found her. Royce found her. She closed her eyes, counting to ten, before opening them again. The man looked at her confused, and that’s when Olivia realized it wasn’t Royce. Just another man that looked like him. How was it possible so many people looked like him?
“Sorry,” Olivia laughed it off awkwardly, before giving him a quick peck. “Enjoy the carnival.”
The man walked away, mumbling how disappointed he was waiting in line for as long as he had for a kiss that he could get from his grandmother. Olivia didn’t care. She wasn’t about to start making out with strangers. If they wanted someone to kiss them like that, then they shouldn’t be at a kissing booth.
Olivia licked her lips nervously, as Heath took a seat across from her. She had been hoping her hour would be done, before it was his turn. She had been hoping for some kind of miracle to get her out of this. Out of all the men she had, had to kiss today Heath was the last person she would want to kiss. Judging by his face, he didn’t look much happier. If he didn’t want to kiss her, then why had he stood in line?
“Why are you looking at me like that?” The words leapt out of her mouth, before she could think them through. She shouldn’t care, if he was happy or not.
“Did that guy upset you?”
“Who?” Olivia asked confused.
“The guy before me. You looked scared for a minute.” He gritted out.
For the first time, Olivia noted his hands were clenched on top of his thighs, and if she had to guess, she would say he was upset on her behalf. But why? He didn’t know her, so why would he care? She was just another notch in his bedpost, and he shouldn’t care, if someone upset her or not. “I wasn’t scared. My mind wandered for a second.” It was the first lie that came to mind, and it sounded lame, even to her. “You know a kiss won’t change my mind about going out with you.”
She said, distracting him from earlier, and like she had hoped, it worked.
“You haven’t even kissed me yet.”
“You have one hell of an ego, if you think you have some magical kissing ability.” She rolled her eyes. The man was too full of himself for his own good. Though, she had no doubt he was a good kisser. He was probably good at everything he did. A man didn’t have that kind of ego without some experience to back it up.
“Kiss me and find out for yourself.” His lips pull into a grin.
She hated how her heart fluttered. She had thought about his lips a time or two in secret. What woman wouldn’t fantasize about this man? That didn’t mean she wanted to fall prey, as his next victim.
“I think I’ll pass.”
“You can’t now. You’re working a kissing booth, and I paid for my ticket.” He waved his ticket in the air.
Heath had backed her into a corner, and he knew it. Olivia wouldn’t have a choice, but to kiss him without some divine intervention. “Fine, let’s just get this over with.” Olivia leaned forward with her lips puckered. Her body and mind wared with itself. She wanted to know what kissing him felt like. She missed kissing and intimacy, but it had gotten her into trouble in the past. When she fell for a guy, she fell hard and fast. She had to think aboutIvyand her safety. She couldn’t allow herself to get swept away again.
Heath’s eyes twinkled in humor, because he thought he had won. It was a small victory, and he basically cheated to get it, but it would be the only one she’d give him. Heath leaned forward, and she could feel his breath against her face. Her body tingled in awareness. One kiss, and then he would leave.She could do this.
Olivia jumped, when she felt Heath’s hand slide along her cheek. It had been a long time, since a man touched her, and even longer with affection. It shocked her that she enjoyed his touch, because she thought Royce had ruined affection for her for life. Yet, Heath seemed to know what to do to erase her fears.
His fingers grazed along her jaw line. Her eyes closed involuntary, feeling his gentle touch, as his hand moved to the back of her head cradling it. She didn’t expect him to be so gentle for such a big man.
This was the closest she had ever allowed herself to get to Heath. Normally, she kept her distance, but up close like this, she picked up a scent of peat smoke, making her think of whiskey. She could feel the rasp of his beard that tickled her skin. The man was too dangerous to her senses, but she couldn’t resist.
