A Million Kisses or More by A.C. Warneke Read Free Book Online Page A

his previous words. Maybe he could convince her he was still pissed and it would take weeks of brownies to make it up to him. “Though I wouldn’t say no to a few dozen more. When did you find time to make them?”
    Her smile made him re-reconsider his words. It was definitely her and not her brownies. “I couldn’t go back to sleep after I read your book and since I prefer baking to cleaning….” She shrugged her shoulders and continued on, “I also wanted to apologize for dragging you out of bed by screaming at you.”
    “I was already awake,” he admitted. At her look, he explained, “I’m working nights for the next couple of weeks and since I don’t like switching my sleep schedules, I was writing last night. This morning.”
    Her eyes widened in excitement as she leaned closer, “The next Justice novel?”
    “What else?” He couldn’t resist teasing her, even though he knew better. Leaning closer to her until they were almost touching but not quite, he lowered his voice, “Of course, Justice is dead so….”
    She swatted at him as she sat back in her chair and laughed, “So what? Are you going to do a Justice novel without Justice? How would that even work?”
    “Very carefully,” he grinned, polishing off the brownie and reaching for another one. But the tempting minx grabbed the plate and pulled it out of his reach. At her mutinous glare, he chuckled and reached a little further, snagging one despite her efforts to stop him. Taking a bite, talking with his mouth full, he said, “Though I might bring him back in a dream sequence or flashback or something.”
    “I’ll never make you another brownie again,” she vowed dramatically, her eyes sparkling with laughter.
    “Yes but I’m sure I could get Jolie to ask you to make some and I doubt you’d be able to refuse her anything.” He took another bite and his eyes closed as he groaned in appreciation. Looking at her from beneath heavy lids, he admitted, “I’m not above using my daughter to get more of these.”
    “You’re probably right,” she conceded on a sigh. “But I will only make them under duress.”
    “Fair enough,” he grinned, enjoying himself more than he had in a long, long time. It was easy to forget she was too young when she was so charming. “Just so long as I have brownies.”
    Catching her lower lip between her teeth, watching him with those amazing eyes, she leaned forward and asked, “If I bring you lots of brownies, would you reconsider having more of Justice in your next book than just a measly dream sequence?”
    “I might,” he answered evasively since the entire book was about Justice. But she didn’t need to know that.
    “What if I offered to make cupcakes or caramels?” she offered, hope glistening in her eyes.
    “Caramels would not be unappreciated,” he said casually, trying not to give away the fact that for caramels, she could have just about anything she wanted.
    Leaning even closer, she asked, “And if I made them covered in chocolate?”
    His mouth watered and a groan escaped before he could stop it. At her delighted chuckle, he looked at her and shook his head, trying to regain some sense of sanity. “What did you mean when you said you were only going to be here for a few months?”
    “I’m moving out to L.A. after Christmas,” she said. Her brow puckered slightly as she added, “Hopefully the roads will be clear otherwise I might have to leave sooner.”
    “Are you going to try your luck as an actress?” he asked, his stomach tight at the thought of her going out there and losing that spark that made her so unique. At her look, he remembered the earlier conversation and almost sighed in relief. “Or perhaps you hope to be a makeup artist.”
    “I wouldn’t mind that but, no,” she answered, picking at the crumbs on her plate. “It’s actually for an internship at Madd Talent Agency. It’s for a year and if it goes well, they might hire me on.”
    “So soon after