Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

“Ms. Lalani,” Abigail Chen shouted as she ran to her. She smiled at the enthusiastic six-year-old.

“Yes?”

“My Tutu is going to be at the recital next month.”

“Abigail,” her mother said, chasing after her. Susan Chen was holding Abigail’s younger brother and looking, as she always was, exasperated with her daughter.

“No worries, Mrs. Chen.” She looked at Abigail. “Having your Tutu here will be wonderful.”

“Yes,” the little girl said clapping. “She said she would not miss it for the world.”

She leaned down so that she was eye level with her student. “And you must thank her for coming.” Abigail nodded. “And, you must stop running off from your mother. She’s got Daniel here to worry about, and it’s hard to keep up with you.”

“I am very fast.”

“Yes you are.”

“Come on, Abigail. We need to stop by the grocery store before heading home.”

She watched them leave hand-in-hand and had a sense of déjà vu. Her mother had always been the one at her practices and recitals. Her father was there when he could be, but it had always been her mother there.

She sighed and folded the happy memory away. A year later and she could get through a thought like that without tearing up. It was getting easier, but then, her mother had prepared Lalani for life without her.

After closing up, Lalani walked out of her studio and found Anthony waiting for her. He was leaning against the window of the store next door looking just as scrumptious as he had the afternoon he’d taken her out. He was wearing a dark red polo shirt and a pair of black cotton shorts. How could a man who never seemed to care about what he wore look so damned good?

She hadn’t seen him since their date, but they were both extremely busy with their jobs. Still, he had called or texted her every day. It hadn’t been what she had expected from him. Funny little memes along with the pictures he sent of Jon. No matter what, he was always surprising her, like now.

“Hey, Santini, what are you doing here?”

He shrugged. “Wondered if you wanted to take a walk on the beach and maybe get a bite to eat.”

It wasn’t a question. Not really. He was making a statement of what he wanted and he expected her to go along.

“I’m not going out like this.”

He had those damned mirrored glasses on, but she had an idea that his gaze traveled down her body and then back up. His mouth twitched.

“You look fine to me.”

The way his voice rolled over the words shivered across her senses. She knew a lot of men who could seduce. In fact, dancers were known for that particular skill. They would use intricate details to do everything they could to get you into bed. It was something she learned the hard way a long time ago. With Anthony, though, all he had to do was give a compliment and the tone of his voice had her melting. It was probably because she knew Anthony Santini would live up to the promise of that voice. Right now, she could imagine hearing him whisper naughty things in her ear as they lay in bed together.

“Lalani?”

She shook herself mentally, and realized he was staring at her with a knowing smile. Dammit. He knew just how he got to her.

“What?”

“I asked why you didn’t want to go to the beach dressed like that.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m in a leotard and tights. Not really beach walking material.”

“Okay. Are you parked around here?”

She shook her head. “I walked today.”

He hesitated for a second, which was very un-Anthony like. He always seemed to be a man with a plan. Then, something moved over his expression that she did not have time to figure out before it disappeared.

“I guess we should head back to your place.”

Now it was her turn to hesitate. He was going to be in her space, see her things. The first thing she tried to remember was if she had cleaned recently. She was notoriously messy. Her father hated it because he lived like he was still on active duty. It was her one way to rebel against him. But, as she thought about it, she remembered she had actually cleaned the living room the day before and done laundry. Then, she had to think if she wanted this man in her space. She knew having him in her apartment was a temptation she could not resist. But, once she went down that path, she knew there would be no going back to casually sniping at each other. Their lives were intertwined.

“Cat got your tongue?”

She looked at him; irritated she still couldn’t see his eyes.

“No. Just remembering what you said last time you were in my apartment building.”

He gave her one short, definitive nod. “True, but I think I might be able to control myself long enough for you to change into something more suitable.”

With a sigh, she shook her head. “Come on, Santini.”

As they walked side-by-side, she knew he said he could control himself, but at the moment, Lalani wasn’t so sure she could control herself.

Pushing that thought aside, she turned and waited for him to follow. There wasn’t much traffic since she had gotten a great location for her studio. She often walked to work because it was just down the street from her apartment building.

“You could have come in to watch, you know.”

She didn’t look at him, but she felt him glance over at her for the briefest moment. “Not that I would have minded, but I didn’t feel like walking into a dance studio filled with little girls.”

She snorted. “More likely, most of the women would forget all about their little girls the moment you walked into the room.”

He said nothing, but she sensed he was amused by her comment. Much like Marco, Anthony might understand that he was considered attractive, but it didn’t seem to matter to him. Of course, pretty men like him never really understood what it was like.

“So, calls and texts and then you just show up on a Friday afternoon. I might have had plans.”

“I would expect a woman like you to have plans.”

“But you would expect me to cancel them.”

He didn’t say anything to that for a few moments. “I would expect you to tell me to fuck off if you had other plans and would rather keep them.”

She digested that as they walked around a family more interested in their argument than where they were going.

“Well, I would rather you to call and make a date.”

“You like things formal.”

Not really, but she would not sit around for a man ever again. “No. I like to be appreciated.”

She didn’t mean to make her voice so sharp, but realized she had when he glanced at her.

“I didn’t mean to make you think that I didn’t.”

“Sorry. I just…when you have dealt with men who have egos as big as the Hawaiian shoreline, you get a chip on your shoulder.”

“Understood,” he said, stopping to let her step in front of him so she could unlock the door.

They stepped onto the elevator and he pushed the button for her floor.

“Are you going to come in tonight, or wait in the hall?”

He took off his sunglasses and looked at her. “I’ll come in.”

She smiled. “Nice to see you finally got the nerve.”

“It wasn’t about nerve.”

“Is that a fact?”

“Yes.”

The word was ground out from behind his teeth.

She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and cocked her head. “So, what was it about?”

“I told you.”

“But you can control yourself tonight?”

His eyes lit up as he leaned closer. “Let’s just say I’m willing to take a chance.”

She said nothing. She couldn’t. Her body was reacting to the look in his gaze and the way his voice had deepened over the words as he said them. Heat shifted through her as she felt her nipples harden. The man had yet to touch her and she was ready to jump his body.

Thankfully, the door dinged open and she released a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.

He stepped back with a knowing smile curving his lips.

“Gives a whole new meaning to being saved by the bell.”

She said nothing to that as she stepped out of the elevator. She didn’t run, but it was a very near thing. After unlocking her door and checking her messages, she turned to face him.

“Need something to drink?”

“Point me in the direction of a glass and I can help myself to some water.”

“Cupboard by the sink has glasses in it, and the water from the fridge is filtered.”

He nodded but didn’t move. He just kept standing there staring at her. If she stood there much longer, she might just lose all of her control and beg him to take her.

“I’ll be just a minute.”

She left him there, but she felt the fine hairs on the back of her neck stir. She knew he had watched her until she shut the door. She leaned back against it and closed her eyes. Lord, what was she going to do. They had been moving in this direction probably since the first time they had met. And she wasn’t a woman who had a problem with her sexuality. But this felt…different.

With a shake of her head, she pushed away from the door. She could control herself tonight. Hopefully. She had to because she needed to figure out just why he seemed so damned important to her happiness after such a short time.