Melody Anne's Billionaire Universe: Refuse to Settle (Kindle Worlds Novella) (3 page)

Chapter 5

Colin drifted in that place between sleep and awake, where dreams felt real. Jilly was there, lying with him, tucked into the crook of his arm. Bathed in warm sunshine, he caressed her skin as silky strands of purple hair blew across his bare chest, the soundtrack of ocean waves in the background. She sat up, adoration across her face, and she smiled at him as she ran her fingers through his hair.

“Boss!”

The word came from her lips, but it wasn’t her voice. Jilly vanished and he opened his eyes. Sunlight streamed in through the window and he was on the dusty couch in his office, not on the beach with Jilly. Joe stood over him, smart-ass grin on his face.

“You musta been having a real nice dream.” He cocked his head to the side, motioning toward Colin’s lower section.

Fuck
. Morning wood. This was why one should never fall asleep at work.

“Were you here all night?”

Colin sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah. I guess so. I only meant to close my eyes for like ten minutes.”

“You should go home. You’ve been here non-stop.”

“I can’t. The owner of the ’51 Coupe de Ville is picking it up today. I want to be here when he does.”

“I don’t blame you. She came out beautiful. But you look like shit.”

“Thanks.” He stood and stretched. “I’ll go home after he leaves. In the meantime, we’ve got work to do.”

It had been three days but his father’s words still played in his head.
Get it out of your system.
He’d never understand. This wasn’t something he wanted to walk away from. He couldn’t walk away. He’d built this company from nothing. He took pride in that. Yeah, he’d had the funds to do it, but that didn’t mean it was easy. It took hard work to build a good reputation.

More of his employees arrived and they each got to work on their projects. Colin helped where he could and took calls from possible clients who had old clunkers and barn finds that needed restoring. He loved it when someone said, “Money is no object.” He’d never take advantage of that, but it really gave them a chance to create something wonderful.

After a long conversation with a guy from Dallas, he was ready to ship his beloved ’69 Mustang for some much needed TLC, and Colin was excited to get his hands on it.

Tommy poked his head inside the office. “Hey. The Coupe owner is here for pick up.”

“Thanks.” Colin stood and followed him to the showroom. “Mr. Davidson. How are you?”

“Pretty damn anxious.”

“I bet. You ready to see her?”

“Absolutely.”

Colin escorted him to the adjoining garage, a much cleaner space than the one they worked on the cars in. The Caddy was hidden beneath a gray cover. He loved this part. Stepping to the back, Colin grabbed the cover and gave it a yank, never taking his eyes off Mr. Davidson. That moment when they saw the finished car for the first time…he couldn’t describe it.

“Wow.” Mr. Davidson walked around the car, taking it all in. The bodywork was exact to the original design; it had a killer red paintjob and hand-drawn black and cream pinstriping. He peeked through the windows at the upholstery Joe had recreated from the few family photos he’d been given. The man looked up at Colin, tears in his eyes. “It looks just like it did when I was a kid.”

“We did our best to make it exact.”

“You sure as hell did that.” He held his hand out and Colin shook it. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re very welcome.”

This feeling right here. This was why Colin wasn’t giving up the business. And why he’d decided not only to focus on it, but devote as much time as possible to learning all he could. His father would have to get over it. Surely he’d have no problem finding a different Rutherford to take over for him at Rutherford Enterprises.

Colin and his team helped load the car onto the flatbed Mr. Davidson had brought, and waved goodbye.

“Another happy customer,” Joe said and slapped Colin on the back. “Now you can go home and relax.”

Colin looked at his watch. “Nope. I’ve got somewhere to be.” He headed to his office, grabbed his phone and the bakery box off his desk, still half-full with cookies from the other day, and headed out the door.

*   *   *

Jilly hurried toward the back entrance of the women’s shelter near the café. She was running late, but wouldn’t skip her stop there. Ever since she opened The Rhubarb, once a week she cleaned out her display case and donated the unsold treats to the shelter. These women and children might not have homes of their own, but it felt good to provide them with some comfort.

“Hey, Jilly,” one of the volunteers said when she saw her. “What do you have for us today?”

“Almond biscotti, cinnamon scones, flourless chocolate cake, and peanut butter cookies.”

“Oooh! Sounds delicious. You know where they go.”

Jilly headed into the kitchen area and found a box of cookies on the table. One of
her
boxes. Half-full of Lemon Dream cookies. She set her boxes down next to it then peeked her head into the office.

“Nicole? Where did that box of cookies come from?”

“One of the volunteers brought it.”

It couldn’t be…could it? “Can I ask their name?”

“Colin Ruther—something.”

“Rutherford.”

“Yep. That’s it. You know him?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Nicole’s brow furrowed. “
Unfortunately
? He’s such a sweetheart. He comes two or three days a week. The kids love him. Brings them all kinds of toy cars to play with. He sits on the floor with them for hours.”

“You’re joking.” Jilly shook her head. “It can’t be the same person.”

“Look for yourself. He’s out there now.”

Jilly crept from the office, past the kitchen to the common area of the shelter. Shock surged through her body. It was him. The same Colin who did nothing but aggravate her. He was on the floor with toddlers and big kids, too, cars of all sizes everywhere. They’d built ramps for the cars and some kind of city out of blocks and other toys.

One of the toddler girls leapt into his arms and he pulled her tight to him, rocking back and forth, a giant goofy grin across his face. And that turned into a dog pile with Colin on the bottom. Jilly’s heart swelled with adoration. This man she knew very little about but had judged so harshly was nothing like she expected.

“Snack time!” the volunteer cook shouted above the ruckus.

One by one the kids got up and toddled or ran to the dining room. Colin stood, his hair disheveled, his tee shirt a little twisted in the mid-section, and started picking up toys. Jilly watched, unable to move or speak. She didn’t think she’d ever been more attracted to a man in her life, and it had very little to do with how he looked. Though if she was being honest, he looked pretty damn fine.

Suddenly he turned, his gaze locking on hers, shock crossing his features. “Hi.”

“Hi.” She moved toward him, her body filling with flutters, intensifying with every step.

“What are you doing here?”

“I…um.” Why wouldn’t her mouth work properly? “I brought pastries.”

“Oh. That’s great.”

She took another step, then another, as he moved toward her, too.

“Listen…about the other day. I—”

Jilly pressed her hands to his chest, her lips to his, shocked at her boldness, and fully aware that she had surprised him as well. Her mouth was certainly working properly now and it only took a second for the tenseness in his muscles to relax beneath her fingertips, for his lips to respond to hers, his arms to wrap around her tight, pulling her to him. Hers wound around his neck, needing him closer. She opened to him, his tongue sliding between her teeth, and then she devoured him.

Colin moved one of his hands to the nape of her neck, tangling in her hair. A sigh escaped her throat and he gripped her tighter, deepening his kiss, which she didn’t think was possible. Her head spun, her knees weakened.

Jilly pulled away, gasping for breath, and rested her forehead against his chest. He was breathing heavy, too. “I’m sorry about that,” she said.

Colin tugged at her chin, forcing her gaze upward. “Don’t ever be sorry for kissing me.”

She stared into his eyes, neither of them saying anything, but then that gorgeous perfect smile spread across his face and relief filled her core. He put his hands on either side of her face, tilting her neck, and bent to her once again. A gentle kiss, his soft lips caressed hers. Damn, that man knew what he was doing.

He nuzzled her nose with his then pressed his forehead to hers. “That was…really nice.”

A giggle bubbled up, like some giddy teenager, her smile so wide it hurt her cheeks. “It was.” Jilly put her hands on his wrists. “But I really should go.”

He straightened. “Why?”

“I have to meet my friend at the salon.”

“The salon? Are you sure you’re not just trying to get away from me?”

Another schoolgirl giggle. “For once, no.”

“Can I call you later?”

“Yes.”

Jilly stepped back, away from his touch, and a shiver raced through her body. She turned to head back where she came from, but Colin grabbed her hand before she could get far. He tugged her against his body, those wonderful lips back on hers, strong arms around her body tight. She laughed against his mouth then relaxed into his kiss.

The text alert on her phone dinged in her pocket and she pulled back. “I’m sorry. I really have to go.”

“I understand. You don’t mess with a girl and her salon appointment.” That damn dimple again. It was so tough to resist.

“Trust me, I’m only going for moral support.”

He slid his hands down her back and took her hands in each of his. “We’ll talk later.”

“Okay.” She knew she should leave, but her feet were glued to the floor, her eyes locked on his in some kind of goofy trance.

And then her phone dinged again.
Damn you, Charlene!

Jilly stepped away backwards and ran into a table, almost knocking over a vase of flowers. She giggled and her cheeks warmed to a thousand degrees.
What the hell is wrong with you?
A few toe-curling kisses and she turned into a freaking lovesick idiot! Colin chuckled at her sudden clumsiness, and wow. Even his laugh was sexy as hell.

I am in so much trouble.

Jilly turned and picked up her pace or she’d be back in his arms ignoring all of Charlene’s texts.

“I thought you didn’t like him,” Nicole said as Jilly breezed past her office door.

Jilly stopped and slowly backed up, giving Nicole a side-eye glance. “You saw that?”

“Yep.”

“Apparently I lied.”

“To me or yourself?”

“Both.”

Nicole just shook her head and laughed. “See ya next week.”

Jilly jogged to her car and got in, another text. “Geez, Charlene!” She pulled her phone out, preparing to reply and tell her she was on her way, but the newest text wasn’t from Charlene.

You’re beautiful.

She looked toward the back door of the shelter and Colin was there, leaning against the doorframe, phone in hand, that sexy-as-sin smile.

*   *   *

“Where the hell were you? Charlene asked the second Jilly walked into the salon. “They were almost gonna give your spa chair away.”

“Sorry.” She yanked her boots and socks off and climbed into the leather chair next to Charlene, sinking her feet into the mini foot Jacuzzi. “I was at the shelter.”

“How long does it take to drop off some cookies?”

“Well…” Jilly was too giddy to keep it inside. “Colin was there.”

“And did you tell him to stay away from you?”

“Not quite.”

Charlene’s head spun toward Jilly, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. “What did you do?”

Jilly hid her face with her hands. “I kissed him.”

“What?” The outburst made the entire salon glance in their direction.

“Shhh!”

“You better start talking.”

Jilly relayed every second of the encounter with Colin, then showed her the text he’d sent.

“Aww!” Charlene cooed. “See! There are good guys out there. Sometimes they just seem like assholes at first.”

“I don’t know.”

“What’s there not to know?”

“Everything. I barely know him.”

“And that’s why he’s going to call you. So you can talk and get to know each other.”

Jilly let her head flop back. “This is crazy. I feel like I’m in high school with a crush on the captain of the football team. And he actually gave me the time of day.”

“I know! It’s so exciting!”

“Not really. I was never into the popular guys.”

“Good thing this is real life and not high school.”

Charlene had a point. “I don’t even know what to say to him. This seriously feels like high school.”