Catch My Breath

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Excuse me, ladies? May I take your photograph for the foundation’s website?”

A young man with a camera bigger than his head stood in front of us, poised and ready. Not ones to turn down a picture, we posed for him. He thanked us and walked off to find some more willing subjects.

“I wish you had let me do your hair tonight. All that gorgeousness pulled into a ponytail makes me sad,” Stephanie pouted.

I frowned, playing with a few chestnut strands. “It’s fine. I was going for a simple look anyway since we were running late.”

“I would have done a nice French twist or something for you in the car.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Stephanie’s distress over my hair. In her slinky, full-length ice blue gown, she was the epitome of effortless glamour. The dress matched her eye color perfectly and contrasted with her short, jet-black hair. She was one of those girls who would look fabulous in a trash bag. At twenty-nine, she was a couple years older than me.

“You’re doing everyone’s hair next week for the wedding. I can go one night without a fancy up-do.”

“Fine,” she relented.

“Is it fun seeing Darren again? It’s been, what, two years or something since you’ve seen him, right? I’m surprised he remembered what you looked like.” I grinned.

“Smart ass. I’ve known him since I was sixteen. He could pick me out of one of those Where’s Waldo things. Blindfolded.”

“I could pick you out of one of those things blindfolded. You’d never be caught wearing horizontal stripes.”

We linked arms and went to check out the silent auction. Darren was already scrutinizing one of the tables when we found him. We spent a good chunk of the evening ogling all the luxurious items that were up for auction; a weekend for two in Paris, wine tasting in Tuscany, spa getaways and a number of other items that were extremely tempting.

“A group of us are thinking of going to The Living Room. This event is a bit boring. Do you two want to come?”

I was vaguely aware of Darren’s question. My thoughts were still tangled around my encounter at the bar.

“Hello. Earth to Lia,” Stephanie sang out. “Do you want to come out with us? Or would you rather go back to the suite and catch up on your beauty sleep?”

“Where are you guys going?”

“The Living Room. It’s a trendy lounge and nightclub. Right up your alley. Fancy cocktails and all that,” Darren said.

“Um, sure. Why not. I have to kick this exhaustion at some point, right?” I kept scanning the room for the nameless, stumble-rescuing, aesthetically pleasing Knight In Shining Armani. He seemed to have disappeared. To say I was sad was beyond an understatement.

Darren escorted us out to our waiting Land Rover. It was still parked behind the gray Mercedes SUV I almost fell onto earlier. The blonde girl from the bathroom was standing next to it. She looked annoyed but brightened when she saw Darren.

“Hi, Mac. I was hoping to bump into you tonight.”

“Hey, Sarah. Lovely to see you,” he addressed her politely, and then turned to us. ”Stephanie, Lia, this is Sarah Everett. She’s the vice president at my agency.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” she smiled. “Lia, you’re the girl I met earlier, right? Nice to see you again.”

She fixed her gaze on Darren.

“Where are you all off to?”

“Out for a quick bevvie. We’re trying to help Lia overcome jet lag by keeping her out as late as possible.” Darren slung his arm around my shoulders and grinned. “Waiting for someone?”

“Aren’t I always? Have you—”

“Good evening, Miss Everett.” A well-dressed man walked over to us from the Mercedes. I assumed he was the driver but his imposing frame made me think he could easily pass for a bodyguard. He smiled at me before continuing to address Sarah. “Sorry you’ve been waiting for so long, but he’s still tied up with some clients. He says to call him at the office on Monday if you’d like to discuss the marketing plan regarding the new acquisitions.”

Sarah’s face fell. “Oh. Alright. Thank you, Paxton.” She glanced at us, waved and walked off.

“Good to see you, Mr. MacCourty.” He shook hands with Darren.

“Ah, stop with the formalities, Pax. My dad is Mr. MacCourty.”

“Fair enough,” he laughed. “Have a good night.”

As he retreated back to his car, Darren opened the rear passenger door of the Land Rover for us to climb in. I yawned for the zillionth time.

“You sure you’re up for this Lia? We can go back to the hotel.” Stephanie half looked at me while fixing her hair in the rear view mirror.

“I’ll be alright. Another hour or so and … ”

Noticing the tall toned figure of a man, I shut up abruptly. Walking at a fast clip, he slipped through the crowd on the sidewalk like a ghost and climbed into the Mercedes. It was my handsome mystery guy.

CHAPTER TWO (#u0a54b365-2b51-5473-98e5-bae33eb7a3dc)

Kanye West kept trying to convince me that what doesn’t kill me, would make me stronger as I jogged along the streets of Glasgow on Saturday morning. It was by no stretch of the imagination a warm April day. A chill hung in the air, wrapping its frozen fingers around the city. It reminded me of the brisk spring mornings in Connecticut, where I grew up. I inhaled the frosty air, daring it to freeze out my lungs as I ran. It was a good way to keep myself honest, seeing as I’d been living in the sweltering heat of Florida for five years. One could get very used to the luxury of warm weather all the time.

Our hotel had a gym, but I preferred the outdoors. I loved to run. It was something I picked up in college as a stress reliever during midterms. Other kids drank; I ran. I often wished I could run right out of my skin sometimes. The escape was wonderful.

Some of my favorite moments were spent running along Cocoa Beach early on a summer morning. But that was with him. Thinking about those days brought back a flood of memories that I tried not to dwell upon. When things were good, they were great. Then it all went down in flames. I swallowed hard against the sandpapery lump that fought its way up my throat. I packaged the memories and shoved them to the back of my mind.

I jogged for a little more than a half mile before I came upon a clearing. A huge manicured field stretched out to my left. About seven or eight young boys were playing soccer on one end. A flurry of activity at the far end caught my attention, so I slowed my pace to a brisk walk.

A group of guys was playing rugby. I’d never actually seen the game played in person before, so I walked to the edge of the field. But it was just my luck that the match had ended. The guys all clapped one another on the back and chatted amongst themselves as they grabbed their gym bags. As I got closer, one of them looked right at me. The force of his stare stopped me in my tracks.

He walked over in long, graceful strides. Sunlight glinted off his dark red hair, accentuating the chocolate flecks. Oh wow, it’s him. I lowered the music and hastily wiped sweat from my cheeks.

“Well, hello.” His rich, velvety voice swirled around me.

I swallowed hard. “Hi.”

“I thought you looked familiar. Had any more encounters with wayward carpets since last night?”

“No. I walk exclusively on hardwood now.”

“Wise choice.”

Without the benefit of my high heels, he towered over me. He was hot even with mud caked on his clothes. And wow, did he smell good. Traces of cologne still lingered on him mixed with his post-game sweat and pheromones. It was so intoxicating I had to look away. When I focused on him again, he was studying me with the same guarded curiosity as last night. Part of me wished I wasn’t a hot, sweaty mess.