Hotter than Helen (The "Bobby's Diner" Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

honey.” It wasn’t a question. He didn’t look up at Georgette for an answer but, instead, placed his hand on Helen’s arm pressing her down. When she sat again, he rubbed it gently.
    “That’s right, Helen. Hawthorne is right. Sit. I’ll be back in a sec.”
     
    7
    Looking inside a glass door, Helen stood chilling in the frozen food section of Sunnydale’s corner market, the Sunnydale Food Center. She felt a blast of frosty air hit her nose. The scent of the cold gust reminded her of someone’s dirty freezer. That’s when she heard him.
    “You want some Jell-O with that wiggle?”
    The voice behind her made Helen turn around slowly, not sure if the comment was meant for her but still recognizing the deep bluster of his voice.
    “Oh, Hawthorne.” She stood up quickly and pawed at her hair. Her hands swept over her head down to the ends of her hair and finally, pulling at the ends, she made a long tress hang over the curve of her right shoulder. “You’re so bad.”
    She hadn’t brushed her hair after jogging this morning nor had she changed out of her clothes but instead went straight to the store in her tee-shirt and sweats. Now, she wished she hadn’t. Hawthorne had an indigo cardigan that matched his eyes slung over his broad shoulders like a college boy with the arms tied in front of his chest. The sweater’s color set off his salt and pepper hair. His steely eyes disabled her. They didn’t exude tenderness but rather intensity.
    “Hello, Helen.” Only one side of his mouth curved up.
    “What are you doing here?” She continued to pat at her hair, trying to smooth it down.
    “Picking up a couple things, you know. I still have my place.” He bobbled his eyebrows up and down.
    Helen leaned with one hand on the shopping cart as she spoke with him. Cold air gushed out and spilled around her ankles when the door fell closed.
    “You’re moving in soon with Georgette, right?”
    “You’re cold.” He looked squarely at her breasts then up to her face.
    She looked down. Her nipples had gone stiff. She slapped her arms in front of her chest.
    “Here, take my sweater.” He began untying the sleeves around his neck.
    Wrapping both arms tight around her she refused, “It’s okay. I’d swim in that thing. I just need to get out of this aisle. I’m freezing. It’s the desert and I’m freezing. Doesn’t make sense, does it?” She looked away, turning to see if anyone else was near, then to the shelves across from the bank of freezers where they stood, then back at Hawthorne.
    Seeing him there now, she understood how Georgette had fallen for this guy.
    “You have fun the other night?” He was grinning at her the same way he had at dinner.
    “At dinner?”
    “Uh huh, at dinner.”
    She nodded fast, exuding nerves, then pulled her shirt together at the collar making a tent in front of her and away from her chest to hide her breasts. Then she tried to angle her cart to the left, circling out from the area, turning out of the aisle but missing the turn, she clipped the corner of Hawthorne’s cart.
    He didn’t adjust for it, didn’t budge. Pulling back again and finally maneuvering the metal shopping cart in a semi-circle, she headed out.
    Helen continued to talk with him as she pushed her cart away. “Oh, yes. Georgette and I always have a good time.”
    “You like her a lot, do you, Helen?”
    “Of course. What an odd question, Hawthorne.” Helen squinted at him. “She’s my friend. Of course I do,” she repeated.
    At the end of the aisle she looked both ways as if in traffic. Seeing it clear, she continued left to the next bank of aisles. Hawthorne sped up to her and they walked together with their carts side-by-side as they spoke.
    “The only reason I’m sayin’ is because maybe you’d like to stand for her. You know, at the wedding.” The question stopped her. She looked up at him quickly to check his face for sincerity and found something in his eyes that looked more like