piece of glazed doughnut and fed it to him. He licked the glaze off her finger and Julie felt the immediate response in the pulsing between her thighs. He looked so absolutely sexy with the dark stubble on his chin and his eyes heavy-lidded and loaded with desire.
“I’m not sure if that look is for the doughnut or for me,” she said unable to keep a straight face.
“I’m not sure either,” he said. His grin widened.
She could eat him up. Maybe she would after a doughnut.
“Why are you smiling?” he asked.
“Because I like when you smile.” She fed him another piece and this time he sucked her finger. Julie inhaled sharply and watched his eyes darken. It would be too easy to go another round right this second, but she wanted to talk. “I made you coffee. Want some?” She reached for his mug and he sat up against the headboard.
His gaze landed on the small pink book on the end table and he lost the smile. Julie sighed as she handed him the coffee and sat back on his thighs.
“You know you don’t have to tell me what had you up all night. But if you want to, I’m here to listen.”
Troy took her hand, linked their fingers and studied her. “You...are...”
She waited, not sure what he had on his mind. “What? A pain in the ass? A godsend? A missing member of the Avengers? There are so many things to choose from.”
The smile came back and Julie’s heart rolled over.
Yes, it was official. She liked him a whole lot. Serious, serious like. She’d have to tell him too, because she didn’t like hiding her feelings from him. She wanted everything out in the open. No pussyfooting around. Now if she could bring herself to open her mouth...
“You are not what I expected,” he finally said.
She was used to that. People were bound to have preconceived notions of her. She was nothing like her television character or the characters she played in the movies. She was a regular woman with regular issues. She just happened to have a crazy public job where people thought they knew her or had a right to know her. It was part of the territory, but skewed nonetheless.
“I’m afraid to ask what you expected.” She took a bite of her doughnut and waited, watched him think about that. She remembered his words from that night on the balcony when she’d gotten so angry with him, angry enough to make her turn on him, which had ultimately saved her life.
“I guess because I’ve been around so many people in entertainment, I expect selfish and pampered. I haven’t come across too many strong, intelligent and natural people. You’re the first.” He sipped his coffee.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
His contagious smile had her grinning back at him. But she sobered because something weighed heavy on his mind and she wanted to help. She grabbed him a fresh doughnut and handed it over before sliding under the sheets next to him. For a few minutes they ate in silence and sipped their drinks. When the doughnuts disappeared, Julie linked their hands again as she twisted on her side and faced him. She didn’t plan to ask him again. Either he’d confide in her or he wouldn’t.
Troy grabbed the book and rubbed the cover with his palm. “This is straight out of a soap opera.”
She thought about making a joke out of it, As the Stomach Turns, but managed to bite her tongue because it was obviously serious stuff. Instead she waited for him to say something else. It took him a full minute to find the words.
He shot her a glance. “I almost don’t know where to begin.” He shook his head. “My mom was seventeen when she started this,” he said, referring to the diary. “She was in high school. She talked a lot about the Mills brothers. My dad and my uncle. They were only a year apart and my mom was in the same class with my dad. Apparently my mom really liked my uncle. She went so far as to arrange to be lab partners with my dad so she had an excuse to call the house or go by on the pretense of homework. I guess my uncle didn’t pay too much attention to her because she was younger and he had a girlfriend. Turns out it was my Aunt Celia. I didn’t know they’d been high school sweethearts.” He paused, shook