Once Upon a Kiss Page 4

  “I don’t believe your interest in medical research is purely for the profits,” she said as the orchestra began a slow number.

  He held her close, guiding her into a gentle sway behind the trees. “Calling my bluff?”

  “Tell me why.” She held her body away from his. “You made a fortune from your other companies. Why did you invest in labs and research?”

  He turned her slowly until her dress brushed the branches. A fairy shook loose from the tree and fell at her feet. She stopped and stared down at the decoration.

  “While serving in the Army, I was deployed to the Middle East.” He released his hold on her. “We were evacuating the civilians from a city ravaged by war and there was this girl, about seven or eight. She had leukemia and had to be carried out. She was so weak. I held her in my arms for eight hours.”

  He knelt down and picked up the fallen fairy. Then he stood and held it out to her. “The whole time I had her in my arms I kept thinking, if she’d been in the US, if she’d had modern medical care…”

  “She would still have cancer.” She took the slip of decorative paper from his hand. Looking down at it, she realized the smiling winged creature was printed, not painted or drawn, onto the paper. She felt a tinge of disappointment. She’d known they weren’t real fairies, of course. Fairies didn’t exist. But she’d fallen under the illusion the paper decorations were tiny works of art decorating the trees, handcrafted to cast a spell over the gala. In reality, they were probably generic images found online.

  “Yes.” He placed his hands on her hips and guided her back into a dance. “I couldn’t do a damn thing for her then. I still can’t. The girl died not long after we pulled out of her village. I hated letting that child down.”

  She lowered her hand holding the paper fairy and stared up at Carter Burke, the billionaire former soldier. Sorrow shone in his eyes. The tension in his jaw suggested he’d held on to the frustration from the day he held that sick child.

  Oh, Carter.

  She lived and breathed science. Her world was built from facts. She didn’t make room for fairies and miracles. They simply didn’t exist. But looking at his expression, she wished that the girl had been been granted a medical miracle.

  I wish my father had received one, too, she thought.

  “I get it,” she said softly. “You couldn’t take care of her, but you can fund cancer research.” She understood. She’d lost the father who raised her after her mother left. She’d lost him to a disease without a cure. But fighting because of a family member’s memory wasn’t quite the same. Carter Burke had invested his fortune because he couldn’t stand to see one little girl, a stranger, lose her battle with cancer.

  He guided them out of the trees. She still clutched the paper fairy in her hand, running her fingers over the smooth surface as her arm draped over his shoulder. Other couples moved around them as he drew her deeper and deeper into the sea of beautiful gowns and tuxedos.

  “Somewhere beyond the glitzy makeovers and silly one-liners, beyond the profits and business maneuvers, somewhere deep down, you have a heart,” she murmured.

  “Disappointed?”

  “No.” She released the paper fairy and watched as it floated over to the dance floor. A pair of golden heels trampled the wings. She looked up at Carter. “Relieved. It means you’re just an ordinary man.”

  He raised an eyebrow and the curl fell across his forehead again.

  Who is also a gorgeous billionaire…

  She stopped in the middle of the dance floor and stepped back. She bumped into a woman twice her age and offered a quick apology. Other couples glanced over at her.

  “Come with me.” She took his hand and led him through the maze of curious men and women. Well, mostly the ladies stopped to stare at their hasty retreat. Or maybe they merely wanted a glimpse of Carter Burke.

  They reached the edge of the ballroom. She cast one more look at the lights twinkling in the trees as she pushed through the double doors.

  “May I ask where we’re going?” he said once they were in the hall and heading for the elevator banks.

  “To show you my idea of a fairy tale.” She hit the elevator button and the doors opened. Releasing his hand, she stepped inside and spun to face him. “Are you ready for a night filled with scientific adventure?”

  He joined her. The space around her and the Marchesa dress seemed to shrink.

  “Lead the way, Ms. Grant.”

  “Sure thing. We just have to make one stop first.”

  Chapter 10

  Adrenaline pulsed through Ivy’s veins as she toyed with her college roommate’s access card to the world-famous Museum of Natural History. Karen had handed over the card without protest. Ivy’s intricate hairdo, uncharacteristic makeup, and the Marchesa gown seemed to be explanation enough. Now, one little swipe at the service entrance and they would be inside.

  I can’t believe I’m doing this.

  When she’d graduated Harvard, she’d never imagined she would end up using her smarts to plot a wild adventure for a billionaire in the hopes of winning him over.

  For his funding.

  “Are you ready for a private, middle-of-the-night tour of the smallpox exhibit?” she asked the man rocking back and forth on his heels beside her.

  “I like the way you make a lesson in eradicated diseases sound sexy, like we’re about to jump out of a plane.”

  She cast him a sideways glance. “I don’t find the idea of falling through the sky appealing.”

  “Hmm,” he murmured. “That must be what they mean by opposites attract.”

  “Though I must admit,” she continued, ignoring his words. She wasn’t pursuing a mutual attraction tonight. And she needed to keep her focus on the goal—funding. “What we’re about to do isn’t that different from skydiving without a parachute—”

  “I’m in, Ivy. Risk and all.” He covered her hand with his and swiped the card. The door beeped and the red light on the keypad flashed green. “Ladies first.”

  She stepped into the access hallway that led the museum staff through the employee-only areas. The click of her borrowed heels echoed against cement floor. She slipped off the shoes and padded down the hall with her gown trailing over the floor.

  “You can’t abandon your slippers.” Carter knelt down and picked up her shoes. Carrying her heels in one hand, he followed her.

  “You sound like you have experience in breaking and entering,” she muttered as they reached the door leading to the main hallway. She swiped the security card again and pulled open the door. They crossed the threshold between the staff-only area and the public spaces of the renowned museum. This wide corridor teemed with visitors during the regular hours of operation.

  “I have training.” He took her hand. “Experience helps, too. But this is my first time breaking into a museum.”

  “Mine, too,” she said softly. “Tonight has been a series of firsts. My first makeover. My first designer dress. My first gala.”

  He turned to her and raised his free hand to her chin, tilting her gaze to meet his. “For me, too.”

  She heard the rough edge to his voice and her hormones rioted again.

  Kiss him!

  Her lips parted. A thrill ran through her and settled into the parts of her body begging for his touch. She could risk one kiss. After sneaking into a museum in the dead of night, she could—

  “Tell me, Ms. Grant,” he continued. “What is your plan for getting past the security guard?”

  Ivy blinked and then glanced to her left. Light glowed from the doors. Beyond the entrance, she saw signs for the 81st Street subway station.

  Carter nodded his head to the right. She looked past him and spotted the wood- and glass-paneled security booth. Inside, a guard sat with a large, bright computer screen in front of him. But his attention was fixed on his cell phone.

  Ivy rose up on her tiptoes. Without her heels on, she was still shy of Carter’s ears. “We’re on the lower level,” she w
hispered. “The special exhibition gallery is on the first floor, and the stairs are on the other side of the guard.”

  He turned to face her, the lapels of his tux hovering an inch away from her. He placed his hands on the wall behind her, forming a box around her. Her shoes still dangled from his fingers.

  “Do you trust me?” he asked.

  When it comes to breaking and entering…

  She nodded.

  “Here’s my plan.” He leaned close enough to kiss her. Her teeth bit down on her lower lip. But he bypassed her lips and pressed his mouth close to her ear. His trim beard tickled her earlobe and she bit back a giggle.

  Focus.

  He spelled out his approach and she could hear the excitement coursing through his barely audible voice.

  He is loving this.

  Maybe, just maybe, she’d win him over. She’d get him drunk on adrenaline—seduced by adventure—and then—

  “I’ll leave your shoes here,” he said as he drew back and met her gaze. “Now drop down to your hands and knees.”

  “What?” she whispered.

  “The plan.” He grinned at her. “We need to crawl.”

  “Right.” She slid her back against the wall. He moved away to give her space, but remained close enough for her to see every inch of his tux-clad chest as she lowered down past his cummerbund. Her knees hit the ground and she paused. The look in his eyes had nothing to do with security guards and midnight adventures—or at least not the fully clothed kind.

  She placed her palms flat on the floor. Then she glanced up at him. Pure lust stared down at her. His lips were parted and his eyes shone with desire. No one had ever looked at her like that. As if he wanted to take her. Claim her.

  “I guess this dress isn’t appropriate for crawling through museums,” she whispered. It had to be the Marchesa. The makeover. If he spotted her on her hands and knees in her lab, he wouldn’t look twice.

  Carter carefully set her shoes on the floor and silently settled onto all fours at her side.

  “It’s not the dress, Ivy.” He nodded his head to the security booth. “Now move.”

  Chapter 11

  Nothing beats the pulse-pounding rush of adrenaline and a perfect view.

  If Carter closed his eyes, he could still picture the landscape below, rushing toward him, as he fell through the air alongside his teammates. The Middle East had seen years of war and conflict, but from the air, the jagged peaks in the hills had stolen his breath away. He still jumped out of airplanes, mostly in New York’s Catskills. But upstate New York and war zones half a world away had nothing on the shimmering backside crawling in front of him.

  Stop ogling your scientist’s ass.

  He sped up. The hard floor pressed against his knees. His tux would never be the same. Mrs. Lindsey would reprimand him for ruining the four-thousand-dollar suit. But tonight was worth a closet full of eveningwear and then some. And not just because of the view.

  They crawled past the security booth and turned left. A wide set of stairs appeared in front of them, filling the cavernous hallway. Side by side, they climbed the steps and emerged on the first floor.

  He scanned their surroundings, searching for guards and security cameras. He found a few of the latter. Plus a dinosaur. The fossil reared up on its hind legs and stood in the dimly lit rotunda to his right.

  “We’re not visiting the Barosaurus tonight,” Ivy whispered. “This way.”

  She turned left and headed for a pair of glass doors. In the center of the large hall hung a giant blue whale from the ceiling. The sculpture glowed in the orange emergency lights.

  “I think the best way to access the special exhibition is through the small mammals hall.”

  “That guy is not small,” he murmured as they walked down the stairs leading to the open space beneath the famous whale.

  “This way.” She swept into a dark, narrow hallway. The tulle skirts moved around her dramatically. And with the light from the surrounding wooden-framed dioramas, he could see the outline of her legs again. She glided past the mink, the squirrels, and a wolverine. It was like watching a badass, fictional movie character in action.

  Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, meet Dr. Ivy Grant, Museum Adventuress.

  But I’ll bet Lara Croft never set out on a mission in a gown.

  Plus, Ivy was flesh and blood. She was real.

  And tonight, she was his.

  She swiped the access card once more and held open another door. “After you,” she murmured.

  He scanned the exhibit and started reading a plaque. “Three and a half million cases of smallpox in the eighties and only about twenty-two now,” he said, summarizing the writing on the wall. He glanced at Ivy. “That’s pretty amazing.”

  She nodded. “And we’re close to eradicating so many others. Take the Guinea worm, for example.”

  He homed in on her words, listening carefully as she spoke faster and faster. He’d listened to his previous girlfriends describe the nuances of celebrity relationships with the same excitement. Even if he didn’t give a damn about the who’s who of Hollywood, he understood the language. But every other word out of Ivy’s mouth sounded foreign.

  “You know all that off the top of your head?” he asked when she took a break.

  A slight flush rose in her cheeks. “I keep up with the latest medical journals. And I’ve seen this exhibit before.”

  “Ivy, I could spend a week studying this stretch of the museum and not know a quarter of what you just told me,” he said.

  “This is what I do, Carter.” She turned and gestured to the wall. “Anyway, these are just a few of the diseases former president Jimmy Carter’s foundation has focused on. The work of researchers and scientists is saving countless lives. What you’re doing, the projects you’re funding, has the potential to save millions. Please don’t limit yourself to one illness. You can do so much more if you’re willing to take the risk.”

  He turned away from his beautiful and brilliant date. He’d come a long way from the kid in Brooklyn who thought joining the military was his only hope to make his mom proud and send home money. But if he hadn’t taken that first chance, he wouldn’t be where he was today. He wouldn’t have been able to afford the apartment with the view of Central Park that he’d bought his mother. He knew taking calculated risks paid off, damn it. When had he become so cautious?

  When I realized it wasn’t my money—or future—at risk, he thought.

  “I wanted you to see what happens when science works, when it has a real impact on people’s lives. Forget profits for a moment.”

  “I can’t—”

  Tap. Tap. Tap.

  Footsteps sounded on the other side of the door.

  “Ernie,” a deep, muffled voice said, and the sound of radio feedback echoed through the hall. “I hear something in the gallery next to the Northwest Indians. I’m going to check it out.”

  Ivy’s eyes widened.

  “Oh, no,” she whispered.

  “We need to get out of here,” Carter murmured.

  He placed a hand on Ivy’s back. His fingers brushed bare skin. And his pulse pounded.

  The thrill of adventure.

  The chance they would be caught.

  The beautiful, fierce woman who wanted him to save the world…

  It doesn’t get much better than this, he thought. And he could take this risk. He could afford one wild night, one crazy adventure in a museum with a woman who made him feel like there was more to life than spreadsheets and success.

  The footsteps grew closer.

  Unless we get caught.

  “Which way?” he demanded.

  “This door leads to the Grand Gallery,” Ivy whispered. “There’s a way out to the street from there.”

  “Let’s move.” He guided her toward the far exit.

  She swiped the magical access card again. He pushed open the door and followed her into the dimly lit exhibit. On the far side, he spotted the exit marked WEST 77TH STRE
ET.

  One step through that door and the adventure ends.

  Interlacing his fingers with hers, he drew her away.

  “If we leave, they might see us on the cameras.” He guided her around the corner to a set of stairs.

  “But—”

  He pulled her into his arms. His hands wrapped around her hips as he bent his forehead to hers. “What’s upstairs?”

  “The dinosaurs,” she said. “But we should leave—”

  He pressed one finger to her lips. “Listen.”

  The footsteps faded. The sound of her sharp breaths filled the space between them. He listened a moment longer. “The guard’s gone.”

  He felt the tension ease as she let out one slow exhale. “You’re sure?”

  Nodding, he drew his hand away from her lips. He fought the temptation to kiss her. Not now. Not here. He wanted to put more distance between them and the guard.

  “Still,” she whispered. “We should leave.”

  “If you take me up to the T. rex, you’ll have more time to convince me,” he said. “Unless you’re giving up.”

  “Never.”

  She pulled free from his hold.

  I should have kissed her while I had the chance.

  She grabbed fistfuls of her gown. Glancing over at him, she lifted her skirts. His gaze shifted from her determined expression to her hemline.

  When was the last time I was turned on by the sight of a woman’s ankles?

  “I’ll race you,” she said. And, damn, if there wasn’t a sultry note in her voice. What if her passion had shifted from science to him? He’d seen the way she looked at him as she dropped to her knees. What if—

  “Ready, set, go!” She bolted up the stairs.

  Carter tossed back his head and laughed. Then he followed, taking the marble steps two at a time.

  Chapter 12

  “Look at him.” Ivy placed her hand against the case holding the T. rex skull. “He’s magnificent.”

  Carter stopped at the entrance to the Museum of Natural History’s famous fossil display. The scene in front of him blew his fantasies away.