Nobody's Fool Read Online Free PDF Page B

the hood. She had a hard time keeping her eyes off his hands. Every time he touched the gearshift it made her think of him touching her. His fingers curled around the steering wheel made her think of those fingers curled in her hair. While he kissed her. Slowly. Lavishly.
    Her mind flashed back to his comment about his tongue and cream-filled donuts, and got stuck there.
    “Cat got your tongue?”
    He was psychic.
    “Tongue? No, I was just thinking, that’s all.”
    “Nervous?”
    “No. Why should I be?”
    Court slid her a sideways glance. “I don’t know. ’Cause you’re going to see all your old boyfriends, maybe?”
    “Ha. They’re the ones who should be nervous.”
    “Why’s that?”
    Why was that? Why had she said that? In that particular tone of voice?
    “Think they’ll all be eating their hearts out when they see you, huh?” Court asked. He sounded amused.
    That was exactly what she’d been thinking. Sort of. But she’d be damned if she’d admit it. She was supposed to be here to fix the past, not gloat.
    “No. I don’t know what I meant. Maybe I’m just nervous.” Now. Thanks to Court. “What about you? Are you nervous?”
    “Not really. I’ve kept in touch with quite a few of the kids I hung out with in high school.”
    “You didn’t stay in touch with me,” Jolie pointed out.
    “No, I didn’t.”
    Jolie wanted to ask why, but she was afraid she already knew the answer. She’d given Court no reason to believe she wanted anything to do with him once they’d graduated and gone their separate ways. A vague sense of disappointment settled over her.
    What had he said to her that day he’d given her the locket? She tried to recall his exact words but couldn’t. Something about how he’d always be there for her.
    The memory she’d buried most deeply, the one she wished she could forget now was the look on Court’s face when she’d glanced back as she and Chip drove away.
    Thank goodness he no longer had a crush on her. He no longer cared about her as anything other than an old friend he hadn’t seen in ten years. She couldn’t hurt him any more and that was a good thing, wasn’t it?
    Of course it was.
    The Sunset View Supper Club was what passed for an upscale restaurant in Oak Ridge. The place did an imitation of class, but after spending much of her time in LA and living in the Big Apple, Jolie knew it fell short of the real deal.
    Still, it was the place she remembered from earliest childhood where special occasions were celebrated. The food was good, if unremarkable. The furnishings were dated, but the linens were clean, the staff experienced.
    Court allowed a teenage boy masquerading as a valet to park his car. Hadn’t he noticed the kid’s awe over a chance to get behind the wheel? He’d probably take it for a joy ride while they were inside, like in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off .
    “I can’t believe you let that kid park your car,” Jolie told him as they approached the restaurant.
    “Why?”
    “How can you trust him?”
    “It’s just a car, Jolie.”
    “Just a car? What planet are you from? It’s an M3. A fifty-thousand-dollar car. Most men I know wouldn’t let a kid like that get anywhere near it.”
    “That says something about most of the men you know, doesn’t it? The car was a gift from a grateful client. I’m not overly attached to it.”
    He opened the door and Jolie had to clench her jaw to keep it from dropping. How could Court be so nonchalant about such an expensive car? What sort of grateful client gave BMWs as gifts?
    They approached the registration table where two vaguely familiar women were seated.
    “Court,” they cried in unison, abandoning their posts to give him heartfelt hugs. Jolie hung back, feeling a bit left out. She thought one of them might be Erin Miller. Had Erin been drum majorette or captain of the dance team? Her features were animated, her smile genuine as she chatted it up with Court.
    The other woman, who Jolie couldn’t