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“In that case—” He stood and pulled the bike up beside him. “I’ll fix it.”
Her jaw went slack. “You can?”
“Sure. I have plenty of tools at my house.” He squinted overhead at the bright British Columbia sun. “In addition, I happen to be off work today, so I also have the time.”
“But your day off...” Addisyn hesitated. “You really want to spend that fixing my bike?”
“Sure. I like tinkering around with things.” He winked. “Guess I never outgrew my childhood love of Legos.” The impish look in his eyes made Addisyn laugh despite her misgivings.
“Well...okay. That would be great.” She couldn’t help but notice how the sun glinted off his rich brown hair.
“Tell you what.” Darius paused and brushed his lip with his thumb. Almost as if he were nervous. Then he plunged ahead. “How bout I pick you up after work today and take you to my house? We can have dinner, and you can get your bike. I should easily have it fixed by then.”
Addisyn’s heart surged upward in her chest, almost choking her. Darius was inviting her to his house? What did that mean? A thousand questions swirled in her mind, but somehow the one that mattered least was the one that slipped out before she could stop it. “You can cook?”
Darius must have read the skepticism in her eyes. He threw back his head and laughed. “Sure I can cook! What, you think I’m only good for climbing mountains and whatnot?”
“Well, a man of your physique seems more at home in the woods than standing over a stove.” She didn’t try to hide the playfulness sparkling in her eyes.
Darius cocked his head in attempted seriousness. “Hey, it takes a real man to survive in a kitchen.”
Addisyn couldn’t help but laugh again.
“What time do you get off work?”
“Four thirty. Maybe four forty-five.” The shop technically closed at four o’clock, but on the days Addisyn worked the afternoon shift, she usually stayed late to help Chelsea close.
“Great. I’ll come to the coffee shop around three forty-five. I don’t mind waiting till you’re ready to leave. Then we’ll head to my place for dinner and a bike transfer. Deal?”
What could she say? Addisyn twisted the bike helmet in her hands. This guy was unlike any other man she’d ever met—and just one look in his eyes was enough to unravel all her excuses.
“Deal.”
TELL ME THISis not my life!
Brian clenched his jaw until his whole face hurt. In an explosion of raw frustration, he hurled his cell phone across his office. It landed with a dull thud, cushioned by the luxury rug.
He gripped the arms of his desk chair, seething. Red specks danced before his eyes.
He’d been so confident. No, more than that—absolutely positive. Positive that very soon, Addisyn would break down and confess the simple truth: she needed him. Emotionally and professionally, she was doomed without him. And that gave him a trump card that couldn’t be outmatched.
So this morning, when he’d seen, at long last, a missed call from her, he’d been delighted. Not surprised, exactly—he’d always known the girl couldn’t resist him—but still delighted.
But this...
How dare she leave him a voicemail like that? Coolly and curtly telling him to get himself out of her life. That’s what it amounted to, anyway—because she was “not certain of her career direction.”
Brian gritted his teeth and thumped his fist on his desk. Not certain of her career direction. What a joke.Baby,I’mcertain of your career direction. Without me, it can only be down.
Suddenly even the opulence of his fourteenth-floor office in the New York Figure Skaters’ Agency felt stifling. The mass of papers on his desk were a vicious whirlpool, sucking him down. He muttered a curse under his breath and snatched his coat from the stand near the door. If he didn’t get some fresher air, the walls would cave in on him.
Ten minutes later he was sitting on a bench right outside Central Park. Odd, but even with his intimate knowledge of posh restaurants and upscale business centers, this humble bench had always been one of his favorite spots in the city.
At this corner, with the urban grace of Central Park behind him and the ritzy glitz of Fifth Avenue ahead of him, Brian had always felt powerful, invincible even. As though he were so close to the throbbing heart of the world’s greatest city that he could absorb some of its boldness and magnetism into his own soul. A horse-drawn carriage filled with chattering tourists rumbled past, the horse’s head wearily bobbing in time with its steps. The afternoon sun blazed from the sleek metallic sides of the skyscrapers. A gaggle of mustard-colored cabs jockeyed for dibs on the pedestrians thronging the curb.
He loved this world, loved its crazy chaos. What’s more, he was sure Addisyn loved it too. And she loved him. And she loved skating. The combination would irresistibly draw her back to the Big Apple like a triple lodestone.
Right?
