She laughed. “I hadn’t thought of it, but now that you said that, I’m going to have to.” She helped gather up the tinsel around his table and fold the tablecloth while he took down the cameras. She checked her phone. She had twelve minutes to get back to work. “So what’s next?”
He hooked his elbow around her neck. “Funny you should ask.”
“Why?” She eyed him playfully, ready to deliver an elbow to his ribs if he was joshing her.
“Because I’d like to cut you in half.”
She released her elbow.
He grunted and rubbed his side. “Come on! I’ll buy you dinner tonight and explain.”
“If you’re going to cut me in half, you’d better buy me dessert too.”
His whole face lit up like the North Pole on Christmas Eve. “Deal.”
She smiled all goofily at him for ten seconds longer than was appropriate, but she didn’t even care. It felt good to let this warmth in her heart come out. She’d been trying to hold it back for so long, trying to protect herself from being hurt again, that she ached. Her phone alarm went off, and she jolted. “That’s my warning that I’d better be on my way back to work.”
He motioned for her to walk.
“Thanks, Breck. This was … fun.” She ducked her head and took off at a brisk pace. Saying that much felt like she’d bared part of her soul. But she did have a good time. The kids in the crowd were genuinely astonished and amazed, and the adults smiled and laughed. They’d brought the Christmas spirit to quite a few people in the park, and once the video was up, they’d spread it even more.
Maybe that was why she was so light and airy—because she’d done something out of her wheelhouse, or because she had a hidden performer waiting to jump out.
Or maybe it was Breck.
Chapter Seven
Breck
Later that night, Breck hunched over the computer, putting the final touches on his post before uploading the video. He kept getting caught up in the sound of Harmony’s laughter. It pealed through the air like silver bells and made all heads turn her direction. Well, all male heads. He’d watched the video enough times to know that the men in the audience were drawn to her. Her head tipped back, slightly, and then the bells rang, and every guy in the crowd swiveled her direction. He hadn’t noticed while they were performing because he’d been so caught up inher.
He hit the back button to start the video from the top. The beginning was just him doing an introduction. He lifted his eyes from the screen and studied the round ball he’d cut the top and bottom off of. That would be the main body of the snowman costume Harmony would wear during their next performance. He’d studied many ways to cut someone in half, but they were always lying down. He had to find a way to keep the box vertical, or in this case, the snowman—er, snowwoman—standing upright. The logistics were thrilling and kept his mind turning so fast it was hard to fall asleep at night. He hadn’t told Harmony anything about the trick except that he wanted to saw her in half because he wanted the snowman part to be a surprise.
He wanted to see her eyes light up. That moment when they sparkled with wonder was the best. It filled his chest with this warmth that tingled and made him want to do crazy things like kiss her beautiful lips.
He leaned over to check the ball next to it that would be the next part of the snowman. He was halfway in, checking to see if the epoxy had dried, when someone knocked on the outside, startling him. He jerked and scraped his neck on the plastic on the way out.
“What?” He glared at his roommate, John, as he rubbed the soreness away. The guy wasn’t ever here, but when he was, he did his best to make Breck’s life miserable.
“What’s that?” John pointed a finger at what looked like a snowman homicide scene in the kitchen/living room. Three large balls, wires, weights, a soldering iron, bits of wire and scraps of papers with plans were scattered about.
“Just a prop.” Every magician kept their secrets close, and Breck wasn’t any different. Everything about John, from the college football jerseys he insisted were business casual to the guy’s constant mockery of all things magic, told Breck to never reveal so much as a card trick. If this hadn’t been the only apartment available …
John scratched his nose. “Weird.”
Harmony’s laughter rang out, causing both of them to turn their attention to the screen.
“Who’s the babe?” asked John, his eyes bugging out like a cartoon character.
Breck had a choice to make. He could hide Harmony from this guy, or he could flaunt her in front of him. And perhaps it wasn’t the smartest move, but there was a part of Breck that was dying to one-up John in something. So, for all the times John had made fun of Breck for liking magic, for all the comments about him never getting a woman because he was a magic geek, for the moments when he’d bring a woman back to the apartment and dismiss Breck as if he were a piece of the furniture—Breck smiled knowingly and said, “My new assistant.”
“Lucky dog!” John offered him a fist bump. “What’s wrong with her?”
“What do you mean?” He sat taller. Harmony was perfect, and any man who said otherwise was going to get his butt kicked.
“I mean, if she’s that gorgeous, why is she wasting her time with magic? She should be modeling.”
“Maybe she likes magic.”
