I smile and wave as he heads for Phillip’s table where all the bulk food is kept.
“It’s almost like the universe shouldn’t put those two together,” Sophia whispers to me. “Phillip and Brayden are like night and day, or oil and vinegar. I’ve never seen two people less alike.”
“They don’t really have much in common,” I agree.
Just then, June wanders over to them, and I watch as she introduces Brayden to Phillip. As the three of them stand together and continue chatting, I wonder what they’re so deep in conversation about. When they all turn slightly and Phillip points directly at me, I start to have a clue.
* * *
Brayden
Leleila’s fiancé extends his hand.
“Phillip Rowe. Thanks for helping out my fiancé the other evening.”
I want to ask him how the hell his work is so important that he couldn’t be there for Leleila, but I force myself to simply nod.
Leleila’s fiancé is taller than me by a couple inches, but he’s rail thin. He’s in good shape, the way someone who bikes or runs would be, but he doesn’t look like he’s ever lifted a weight or been involved in a contact sport. He’s got lines of tension around his mouth and eyes like he works way too hard.
“I have a favor to ask of you,” he says.
“Okay,” I say noncommittally.
When he explains that he’s going to be too tied up to attend dance lessons with Leleila, and could I fill in for the next three weeks, my answer is instant.
“I can’t. Sorry.”
June gives me a hard look. “Why not?”
I gesture to the box of canned food I placed on the table a few feet away. “You mind helping me unpack that?” I say to her pointedly.
She takes the hint and leaves Phillip and me alone.
Phillip eyes me carefully. “What’ll it take for you to say yes? I can pay you double what June does for that hour of your time.”
I stare at him like he’s nuts. “This isn’t about money.”
“I get it. It’s time you don’t have. Time is money. I guess Leleila will have to skip the dancing then.” He sighs, and the frown on his face…he actually looks genuinely upset. “I just hate to disappoint her. I haven’t seen her this excited about something in ages. She’s going through a tough time right now.”
I tug at my hat. “So if I don’t do it, she won’t be able to take the class?”
“I just have no time. But maybe I can find someone else to dance with her.” Phillip scans the area like he can pick up a guy right this minute.
A pain hits me in the gut. I don’t want to stop and analyze what it means. “Fine, if it’s just three weeks, I can fill in,” I find myself saying.
His eyes flash with relief. “That’s great. And it’s definitely only three weeks. We’re getting married right after that, and once that happens, Leleila won’t have time to do anything frivolous. She’ll be too busy being my assistant. Now that she’s not going to be a professor, at least for the time being, I’ve decided to hire her as my assistant as a wedding gift. She doesn’t know yet, so don’t say anything.”
I wouldn’t dream of it.
He doesn’t have time? What kind of an idiot a-hole is this guy? Leleila Wills is the most unique, beautiful, intriguing woman I’ve ever met, and her damn fiancé treats her like she’s expendable.
From the little I know of her, Leleila is smart, and she’s strong, but this “find yourself a stand-in dance partner bullshit” clearly has her feeling vulnerable. And the idea of any man hurting her slays me.
For some reason I can’t explain away, I feel an urging to look after her. The way she reacted when we ran into each other again—it was like we were still on the same damn wavelength or something. Her green eyes glittered with the same intense interest they had the first time we met, and the curiosity staring out of the emerald depths nearly knocked me over. I felt her unspoken message immediately—she still felt a connection to me, but she didn’t understand why.
So I’ll be her friend. The loneliness in her eyes is haunting, almost like she’s never really felt close to anyone. I ball my hands into fists at the thought of her dick of a fiancé demanding she find a new dance partner. I can’t imagine how much that must have hurt.
But he’s clearly not going to help her out with the class, and she seems pretty damn determined to learn to dance.
