Nobody's Fool Read Online Free PDF

she’d left it. She buried it in her jewelry box, just as she’d buried her feelings for Court.
    She closed the locket and turned it over. She opened the clasp and fastened the chain around her neck. Forever was a long time. But it didn’t seem quite so long as it had ten years ago.

Chapter Four
    “Ready to go, Princess?”
    Court grinned and Jolie felt her knees go weak. He leaned against the doorjamb, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. Armani, if she wasn’t mistaken. She wondered if he’d ever considered modeling. He had the physique for it, the hair and the killer smile. Even the way he adjusted his cuffs right now looked like he was posing for the camera.
    Courtney Harrison, male model. She shook her head at the thought. Who’d have thought someone as geeky as he’d been would turn into such a hunk?
    “I’m not surprised,” Court said as he crossed the threshold.
    Was he psychic, too? “You mean you always knew you’d turn out this way?” Then why didn’t you tell me?
    Court cocked his head as if she were speaking a foreign language. He glanced at his watch. “Have you already had a few? I meant I wasn’t surprised that you aren’t ready yet.”
    “What do you mean? Of course I’m ready.” She pirouetted for his inspection. What more could she possibly do? She’d bathed, shaved, exfoliated and moisturized. She’d painstakingly arranged her hair in an elegant upsweep and taken forever getting her make-up just right. The little black dress from Calvin Klein and the dainty Badgley Mischka high heels were sure to make the local heads turn. She doubted Oak Ridge had ever seen such high fashion within the city limits. She picked up her Chanel evening bag.
    “Okay, then, let’s go,” Court said.
    “Ah, ah! Not before I get a picture of the two of you.” Her mother appeared, holding a camera high. “Hello, Court. Don’t you look handsome this evening?”
    “Hi, Mrs. Kramer. Thanks.”
    “Come on, you two. For old times’ sake. Let me get a couple of shots before you leave.”
    “Mother—” Jolie began, hoping to thwart her mother’s intentions.
    “Where would you like us, Mrs. Kramer?” Court asked.
    “How about right here, in front of the stairs?”
    Jolie sighed, not inaudibly. She wished her mother would stop acting like this was prom night again.
    She stood next to Court, clutching her bag. She didn’t want to get too close. She didn’t trust herself around him.
    Her mother squinted at the camera’s small screen. “Oh, come on, you two. You can do better than that. You’ve known each other forever. You could at least act like it.” She waved Court closer to Jolie and he obliged.
    He slid his arm around her waist and she stopped breathing. Her smile froze in place and the flash blinded her.
    “Okay, one more.”
    “Sure.” Court moved behind Jolie and looped his arms around her shoulders, his head next to hers. She swore she could feel him grin at the camera. Maybe he was a male model after all. The flash went off again.
    “Perfect.”
    “I didn’t mess up your hair or anything, did I, Princess?” Court asked. He winked at Mrs. Kramer.
    “Here, why don’t you take the camera and use it at the party? I’m sure you’ll want pictures of all your old high school pals.”
    She handed the camera to Court and he slid it into his pocket. “Thanks, Mrs. Kramer. I’ll try to get a few shots suitable for framing. If Princess here will oblige.”
    Her mother tittered and made some inane comment in reply. Jolie wasn’t listening, glowering at both of them, but especially at Court. Her mother seemed entirely too fond of him.
    He escorted her out the door to a black BMW parked by the curb. Jolie was impressed but she’d be damned if she’d act like it. She loved sports cars. Especially expensive black ones with good-looking men at the wheel.
    Court made no attempt to impress her with flashy maneuvers or excessive speed. It was almost disappointing given the power under