“You’re beautiful,” he murmured against her hair. “So beautiful, I can hardly believe you’re here. Finally with me again.”
Every cell in her body—and her heart—responded to his sweet words. Other men had told her she was beautiful, but it had never mattered this much.
And that was just the problem. Tyce mattered too much, even after just sixty seconds in his arms. Another sixty and she’d be forgetting everything. Her family, her job, her fiancé, the future she already had planned.
A future that didn’t include Tyce.
Steeling her voice to be crisp, she said, “We can’t do this, Tyce. Things have changed since the last time we saw each other. It’s been a long time.”
“Trust me,” Tyce replied softly, “I know exactly how long it’s been.” He pulled her a little closer and her body betrayed her by melting against his strong, hard muscles. “It’s been much, much too long.”
Five years.
Five years since they’d last been this close to one another.
Five years since she’d felt the heat of his skin touching hers, the strength of his arms around her.
Five years from the one night they’d spent together in San Francisco.
And yet as Tyce led their dance, his arms strong and gentle all at once, Whitney could still remember every moment of it like it had been yesterday.
* * *
Five years ago...
“Whitney,” Annette said, tugging at her arm, “come on. The headliner will be on in a minute!”
“I just need some air,” Whitney said. “I won’t be long.”
Annette paused, obviously caught between wanting to get back inside the club and feeling that she should stick with her cousin. But when Whitney waved her away and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll come back inside soon,” it was all the encouragement Annette needed to plunge back into the press of the club.
Whitney pushed out of the fire door at the side of the club and stepped into an alley, illuminated with lights strung between the brick walls. The barest hint of fog was coming in over the bay and Whitney slipped her arms into her coat as the catchy melody of the last song performed by the opening act, a band called
T5
, ran on repeat in her head.
Neither she nor Annette had heard of
T5
and her cousin had initially suggested they get to the club late to just catch the headliner. But considering this was Whitney's last big night out before having to formally take over her father’s responsibilities in the family business, she had insisted on coming on time so that she wouldn’t miss out on even a minute of freedom.
She was more than glad that she’d heard the opener play.
T5
had been electric. More to the point, the singer had been incredible. He was gorgeous, but she’d been struck by more than just his good looks.
He’d sung with such passion. Such conviction. On the rock numbers, he’d totally taken over the stage. On the slower ones, it had been like he’d been singing just for her.
She smiled at that fanciful thought, sure that every girl in the room had felt that same way.
Suddenly, Whitney heard a whimper come from behind some garbage cans a little further up the alley. She’d once planned to go to veterinary college and had majored in animal science at UC Davis, so she knew how to work with animals. She hoped this one wasn’t too hurt, or too scared to let her close.
She stepped around the garbage cans and found the dog. Its fur was matted in a way that made it clear it had been outside for a while, and she guessed it was part terrier. It wasn’t wearing a collar, and when it trembled and backed away from Whitney, she could see that it was limping to try to keep weight off of its left front paw.
“Oh, you poor thing,” Whitney said. The dog looked up at her and then yipped. Fortunately, it wasn’t growling, which meant she might be able to assess its injuries. “I hope you’ll let me help you.”
The poor little dog was obviously hurt, not to mention starving and filthy. “I just need to find something to bandage your paw with and then we’ll find you something to eat.”
The dog’s ears unflattened a bit as if it understood exactly what she’d just said.
“Do you need help with something?”
Whitney immediately knew who had joined them. After all, she’d just spent the last hour listening to that marvelous low voice.
Turning to look over her shoulder, she watched the singer move closer to her. She couldn’t help but be struck by the fact that he looked even better now than he had out on the stage.
“Hi, I’m Tyce. I was in the band that just played.”
“I’m Whitney.”
“And who’s this?” Tyce asked, concern darkening his eyes as he looked down at the ragged little dog.
“I found him in the alley,” Whitney told him. “He’s obviously a stray, and he’s hurt his paw. I was just going to head inside to see if the club has a first-aid kit.”
“I’ll do it. He obviously feels safe with you, so you should stay with him.”
Tyce wasn’t just gorgeous, he was sweet too, she thought as he headed back inside the club.
Less than five minutes passed before he came back with a bowl of water in one hand and what looked like broken up hamburger in the other. He also had a roll of bandages tucked into his belt.
He slowly went down on one knee in front of the little dog, then held out bits of meat on a flat hand. The scruffy looking mutt sniffed at them for a second or two, then flinched and started shaking.
Whitney’s heart broke in two as she wondered what had happened to the dog before she found it.
“It’s okay,” she said softly, hoping he’d understand her the way he seemed to before. “Nothing bad is going to happen to you again. I promise.”
She took the meat from Tyce and held it out in her palm. This time, the dog cautiously ate the food. When he had eaten it all and drank some of the water from the bowl Tyce brought out, she gently put her hand on top of the dog’s head and stroked it.
At first the terrier shook at her touch. “Didn’t I promise you I wasn’t going to hurt you?” she whispered to him. “I’m simply going to bandage up your paw now.”
She could feel Tyce’s eyes on her, and despite the cool air, she felt warm all over. Maybe he thought she was strange for talking to the dog, but she’d always had such a strong connection with animals.
The perfect assistant, Tyce passed the bandages to Whitney. She lifted the little dog’s paw, wrapping it up as carefully as she could. He cringed again, but didn’t pull his paw away.
“Good boy,” she murmured as he stilled to let her wind the bandage slowly around his leg.
When Whitney was done, she looked up into Tyce’s eyes, and her breath caught in her throat at the way he was gazing at her.
“You knew exactly what you were doing, didn’t you? He really trusted you.”
“I took a few animal science classes in college, but it’s not like I’m a vet or anything.” Feeling suddenly shy at his compliment, she changed the subject by saying, “Do you know anyone who could take in a very sweet little dog? I wish I could take him home with me, but I can’t.”
Her new building had a strict no-animal policy. She thought it was a silly rule, but the location had been perfect for getting into the office with the minimum of traffic. Besides, with her new responsibilities at work, she wasn’t going to have much free time anymore. She couldn’t stand the thought of leaving a dog all alone in her apartment while she put in long hours at the office.
Tyce slowly reached out his arms for the dog. The Terrier sniffed his hands for several moments before suddenly leaning into the singer’s arms.
Tyce picked him up. “Actually, I think I do,” he said with a slow grin.
Oh my, weren’t they a cute pair? The gorgeous rocker with the mangy mutt tucked under his arm.
Still she had to say, “That’s very sweet of you, but a dog needs a stable home, not someone living on the road.”
“My life’s a lot more stable than you’d think,” he informed her with the same sexy grin. “So, how about you let me take you for a drink to celebrate my new dog? Or,” he said looking at the terrier who was already snuggling into his strong arms, “perhaps we should go for a walk instead.”
Whitney didn’t know anything about Tyce besides the fact that he was a great singer...and had a major soft spot for dogs in need.
Well, she thought as she also grinned, that was enough for a walk, wasn’t it?
Pushing aside the unwelcome thought that a guy like Tyce wouldn’t fit into her corporate life at all, she said, “I’d love to go for a walk with you.”
After she texted Annette to let her cousin know the change of plans, they headed off. As they walked, Tyce ran his hand over his new dog’s fur, gently untangling it with his long, strong-looking fingers.
“Do you know what you’re going to name him?” she asked.
Tyce stared down at the dog for a moment. “I think he looks like a Milo.”
“That’s a perfect name.” Whitney reached out and Milo immediately burrowed his head beneath her palm. “Hello, Milo. You really are adorable, aren’t you?”
“Clearly, he feels the same way about you,” Tyce said. “So, how long until you’re officially a vet?”
“I’ve dreamed of being one since I was just a little girl,” she said, then shook her head. “But I’m going to be taking over a new position in my family’s business soon. Tomorrow, actually.”
Tyce frowned. “Will you still be able to pursue your dreams?”
She took a deep breath, working to center herself before saying, “Maybe. One day.” Not wanting to ruin what had turned out to be an exceptional evening so far, she said, “Let me guess, your dream is to play packed stadiums while people chant your name?”
“Actually,” Tyce said as he stared out at the bay, the water a dark purple, “my dream is a lot simpler than that. I just want to write a perfect song one day. And I want someone to really be moved by it.”
They kept talking, and walking, until Whitney completely forgot about both Annette and the club. It felt like the night was just beginning…
* * *
Whitney came back out of her memories in a rush, with Tyce still holding her tightly as they danced at the Rose Chalet. When she was in his arms again, it was so easy to feel like everything was the same as that night.
Only, so much had changed since then. Too much for her to be standing here dancing with Tyce.
Too much for this moment to ever be more than an illusion.
She wasn’t the same girl she'd been five years ago. And her life had changed to the point where the feelings she was having for Tyce were horribly inappropriate.
“I’m getting married here in four months,” she reminded Tyce.
Tyce’s muscles tensed against hers as she spoke. A tension that was matched by her own suddenly stiff muscles.
He lifted her hand to look at her engagement ring before saying, “Tell me about your fiancé. Does he make you laugh? Does he make you happy? And tell me why he isn’t here with you tonight? Because if I were your fiancé, I wouldn’t want to risk some other guy coming in and stealing you away.”
Whitney froze in his arms. She couldn’t do this. She
shouldn’t
this.
“Whitney?”
Knowing nothing she said tonight could change the past—or a future that was already set in stone—she did the only thing she could.
She turned and fled the dance floor, not stopping until she was completely clear of the Rose Chalet.
Chapter Three
The morning after.
Tyce Smith couldn’t make up his mind whether the worst part of the morning after was getting over having a little too much fun the night before, or helping to clean up the Rose Chalet grounds after a wedding.
He packed up his amps before pitching in with the others on cleanup. Everyone was there but Phoebe, who still hadn’t surfaced since she’d disappeared with RJ’s brother after Marge’s wedding.
Rose, the chalet’s owner, was dressed in jeans and a sweater today, rather than one of her well-tailored suits. RJ, the chalet’s handyman, had just started taking apart the reconstruction of Tara that he’d built for Marge Banning’s wedding. Even the chalet’s dress designer Anne had shown up, which was something of a surprise. Normally, the blonde haired, blue eyed designer came and went at hours that only really made sense to her. Her wedding gowns were so spectacular that Rose rarely, if ever, complained about her strange work schedule.
Tyce picked up a wilted rose and pricked himself hard, wincing. He couldn’t concentrate on anything but Whitney.
She’d been so beautiful yesterday. So perfect. And there had definitely been chemistry between them.
For Tyce, it had felt like the intervening five years hadn’t happened at all. If only she hadn’t run out like that…
Yet she had, and Tyce knew he ought to leave things alone. Not only was Whitney getting married in the fall, she was getting married at the chalet. Rose would kill him if she thought he was trying to steal away one of their brides, and Tyce seriously doubted that telling his boss about his amazing night with Whitney five years ago would do anything to help.
Yes, leaving Whitney alone was the smart thing to do. The right thing to do.
So then, if leaving things alone was so
smart
and
right,
what explanation was there for the way fate had stepped in, bringing Whitney into his life not once, but twice?
And how could he possibly ignore the fact that Whitney had been with him every second since their dance? In his head. In his heart. In his dreams when he’d finally fallen into a restless sleep.
“I’ve got to switch out some of this gear at my place,” Tyce said, hefting his guitar and pedal board. “I won’t be long.”
Rose frowned. “Is this just a ploy to abandon us in the middle of the hard work?”
“Would I do that?”
Rose raised an eyebrow. “Yes.”
“You’ve still got us,” Anne pointed out to Rose. “Hasn’t she, RJ?”
The look RJ gave Rose lingered just a little too long. “Yes,” his friend said to their boss, “you have me.”