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I stood under the overhang as she dashed down the street to the parking garage. I shifted my gaze up to the sky as the rain began to come down in torrents. Damn, I wish I had brought an umbrella. I considered hailing a cab, but it was only three blocks to my condo.
Crap, I sighed as I hunched forward and rushed out into the rain. As I tried to avoid puddles on the sidewalk, I dwelled over the scene in the shop earlier. Would I ever find that instant kind of chemistry with someone? Would I be able to step up to a man and start a conversation that didn’t revolve around sauces or blending or fresh produce?
I pursed my lips because I knew the answer—no.
I ducked around the corner and slammed right into someone, bouncing back and starting to lose my footing. A hand shot out, and the shopping bags dropped from my fingers as I clung to whatever I could.
I was jerked upright and stared into the tense features of the man who held me. His green eyes were drilling into me with an almost angry look—or was stressed. With a blink of the eyes, his features softened as his deep voice slithered down my spine. “Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
I was practically struck mute—like I always was when an attractive man spoke to me—but I managed to nod and mutter, “Unexpected storm,” as I memorized the shade of green in his eyes.
“Yeah, unexpected.” He let go of me hastily and stepped around me to retrieve my bags as I stood there gawking. His hair was dark, and rivulets of water ran down his face—probably exactly how it was on mine. Oh man, I probably looked like a drowned rat!
Was it the rain or was his hair the same color as mine? It was cut short and showed off the cutest ears—and oh, how I wanted to touch them. His shoulders were broad, and as he turned back to me, I realized he was the perfect height. I loved men who were only a few inches taller than me. We could easily look into each others eyes, and there were never any awkward neck positions for either of us.
“Sorry,” he said with a wince as he held the bags out to me, and I slowly took them, unable to tear my gaze from his. “You alright?” he asked abruptly.
I managed to nod, and then for two seconds, we stared at each other. I forgot about the rain, forgot about being soaked, or that my packages were probably ruined. In those brief moments, I saw things that I would never have expected to have seen. There was confusion, pain, and maybe even a little sorrow there, and it was like someone had just reached right into my chest and squeezed my heart.
A sharp ringing sound had me startling, and we broke eye contact as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cellphone. He nodded at me and spun on his heel, taking long strides down the sidewalk and out of my life. Any chance of ever knowing more about him was gone, and I slowly turned and headed through the torrents of rain just as thunder vibrated overhead.
It was the story of my life.
Chapter Three
Harvey
Iglanced back over my shoulder; the woman I’d practically trampled was turning the corner and now out of sight. I’d been lost in thought, shielding myself from the rain that came out of nowhere. With my head down, I hadn’t been paying attention until I slammed into her. She’d had a silent beauty about her. One that radiated from deep within, but I didn’t have time for that. A brother needed my help, and you never left a brother when they were in need. As I turned back around, I chalked it up to a missed opportunity and headed to the buddy’s apartment.
* * *
Monday morning,I approached the building, glancing up at the sign above my head that read, Barbara Armand Dance Academy. What the hell was I doing here? Holly was lucky that I was here at all. Last night had been a nightmare. Todd, a close buddy of mine from the Marines, had one of his episodes, and several of us were there to talk him down and get him to take his meds. I hadn’t gotten home until almost four. Now at eight, as I pulled open the glass door and removed my shades, I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like my reason for being here.
I took the stairs to the second floor as instructed and glanced around at the madhouse. People were milling about, with a ton of large plastic pelican cases and other hard equipment storage containers lining the hallway. What the hell was my sister filming, and why did she want me here?
It wasn’t the first time that I had visited one of my sister’s production sites, so it wasn’t new to me, but I was still trying to figure out what was going on. What did my sister possibly need me here for? I knew nothing about dance or production. Maybe she had a star here and wanted some security. I glanced around the main room and down both hallways to locate my sister.
“Can you tell me where Holly Melton is?” I asked a woman as she began to pass me.
She pointed to the hallway on the right. “Second door on the right.”
“Thanks,” I told her as she hurried away.
As I stopped at the door, I heard my sister say, “I know he’ll do it. He’s my brother. He will do anything for me.”
I rapped a knuckle on the door and stepped in. “Um, that might change depending on what you want me to do.”
Holly turned bright eyes toward me. “Harv!” She threw her arms around my neck. “Thank you so much for coming.”
“Yeah, well, I’m here. Now tell me why.”
She winced slightly and glanced at the other man who had a wild beard and a baseball hat on backward, his arms covered in colorful ink.
“I’m filming this fun new show. It’s a reality show.” She paused and then spoke the next sentence in a rush. “The guy who was supposed to be in this episode was injured, and I needed a stand-in for him.”
I laughed, never imagining myself on television. “You want me to be in one of your shows? Doing what? Am I just standing around, or do I have lines?”
The man beside her chuckled, and Holly slapped him in the chest with the back of her hand. “No speaking, well, there is some speaking, but what I really need you to do is dance.”
