Prologue
PROLOGUE
EVERLEIGH
A pril
“Get it together Everleigh… two more hours before the biggest audition of your life. Twenty-four hours before your life could change completely… Well, the next seventy-two if I make it that far. “ God please let me make it that far,” I whisper chant to myself. Taking another sharp inhale to exhale. It’s not lost on me that I am standing at The Lake in the heart of Central Park after just arriving in this magical city six hours ago. Me taking a redeye flight from Louisiana to New York wasn’t the smartest move for my tiredness, but at least it was the cheapest. A grueling realization I’m not in the South anymore while at the airport tryin’ to figure out where I was goin’. Twirling in circles trying to find my luggage and order a Lyft to the hotel. Overwhelmed with the noise of horns and people with all the bright lights.
Two hours of sleep, an hour to straighten my untamed locks to pull back in bun and already did my first official run through Central Park at sunrise. Still sitting crisscross on my mat, I look down at my watch. Two more hours before I need to head into Manhattan. Deep breath. I take a long look around and notice the paths are bustling with more people now than earlier. But they all seem to stay on the pavement or sit on benches engrossed in their phones. Not really appreciating the landscape surrounding them.
I prefer to do my yoga stretches and find my peace as close to the water as possible. Givin’ me a sense of home away from home. “Alright girl, time to get moving,” as I stand up and do a little shake in my arms while stretching my neck. I’m hyped for this beautiful spring day. Though still chilly this morning as I breathe in the city air and bounce on the balls of my feet in nervousness. “I guess it’s time to head back and get this show goin’,” saying to myself as I bend down to roll my yoga mat up, only to be met with a big white fluffy dog. I hear a demanding gravel voice that pulls my attention upright and when I try to turn my body towards the man speeding in my direction, I find myself free-falling into the freezing lake water.
Benjamin
“What in the actual fuck just happened?” I say breathlessly. No, literally, what just fucking happened because it all happened so fast but also in slow motion because now, I am drenched sitting on the shore with a gorgeous woman shivering to death and a dog looking way to happy about the chaos he just caused.
“Was that a..a…rhe…rhetorical quessstion?” The woman asks with chattering teeth. I don’t have the energy to oblige her with an answer, instead I swipe my hands through my wet hair with a sigh and stare off into the oblivion replaying the scene.
I’m bent over tying my sneakers before we finish the last leg of our run this morning. We, being myself and this white fluff named Leo. He isn’t one to take off after anything, not even a squirrel. Hell, there have been plenty of times I’ve let him off leash running blocks around this city and park, because of how obedient he is or my other theory he is too scared to leave my side and knows he won’t survive without me.
Having a dog was never on my want list. I’m too busy with work, never home, always traveling, but my sisters and niece thought I needed a “sidekick” as they call him so I wouldn’t be so lonely all the time. My six-year old niece knows I can’t say no to her at all so they conspired to use that tidbit to their advantage.
Now before I could even put my foot down on the pavement and reach down for his leash, his tail caught my eye as he ran over to a woman bent over rolling up something. A slender woman with lean leg muscles defined in skintight leggings that should be illegal and a perfectly round ass. I take off after him watching in horror as he circles her legs, the tail-end of his leash stuck under her shoe causing the leash to wrap around her ankles.
“LEO,” I yell. Praying he does not take off, dragging this poor woman somewhere or worse, tipping her to the cold lake. “LEO…LEONARDO DAVINCI,” I shout, getting closer to them. Knowing damn well I am drawing unwanted attention.
She must hear me this time, because she shoots up from petting Leo and tries to turn her body in my direction only to start falling sideways into the water. Leo has a look of panic on his face as water is his mortal enemy number two. Number one is the robot vacuum that circles the floors of my penthouse and eats his tail. I mean it, every time I say my dog has broken parts. What retriever hates the water and going swimming?
Once I make it to the edge, Leo is digging his paws into the sand as the woman sits up trying to unravel the leash from her ankles. “Here, let me help you,” splashing into the cold-ass water, bending down to help, but she swats me away.
“No! No thank you, just ugh! Why won’t this get off me?” she cries out in frustration. I can see that her and Leo are doing a tug of war with the leash as he isn’t relenting to stay on dry land, and she needs him closer to loosen up the strap so she can unravel it from her ankles. I bend down again.
“Please just stop trying for a minute.” gritting through my teeth.
She huffs at me, bringing my attention to her face. Her perfect face with high cheek bones, the perfect button nose and Fuck … I’m met with such piercing light gray eyes; All time and everything around us vanishes for minutes, feeling like hours, because I don’t want to leave this moment with her smoky swirls staring back at me.
BARK, BARK, BARK
Leo brings me back to the present and to a grimacing shivering face of a stunning woman who I now need to rescue from this crazed polar bear near us. Keeping my balance on the balls of my feet to not soak myself, I tug on Leo’s leash.
“Come here boy, just give me some wiggle room.” He holds his ground as I tug, and he pulls. “Come here Leo,” I pull again, “Just give me….”
POP- SPLASH !
His leash along with his collar is now in the lake with both of us. Sitting back up, Leo continues to bark from the shoreline causing more witnesses to flock to our chaos. My bodyguard comes running up.
“Boss, what happened?” I glare over at him as I see he is struggling to keep his smile hidden.
“Novas deal with these people.”
“Yes, sir.” Turning back around to deal with the masses and screening peoples cell phones for videos.
I stand up, my entire work-out attire soaked and bend back down, picking up the woman who is hysterically laughing now. Carrying her and placing her down on the ground. I ignored the zing of tingles when her body was against mine. Taking a seat next to her.
“Are you okay?” I ask without fully looking at her. She shrugs with no verbal answer, which brings us back to now. Leo scoots closer to me, placing his paw on my leg. “You are in so much trouble,” he lets out a soft whimper.
“Don’ttt blame him. Notttt sure how yoouu can ever get mad at that teddyyy bear faceee.” She chatters out. “I I I wasn’t paying attennntttion to being wrapped like a mum..mummy.” I want nothing more than to wrap my body up around her to offer some warmth, but I’m not sure she would appreciate that gesture from a stranger let alone we still have a wandering audience.
“Come on, let me get you somewhere warm and buy you some dry clothes.” I say standing then offering my hand to her to help her up. Her gray eyes widen as she looks from my hand to my face, before slipping her slender hand into mine. Hoisting her up quickly she loses her balance slamming into my chest and hands catch her slender hips, locking her body against mine. I met this woman five minutes ago, yet my body burns for hers to be close. For her gaze to be locked on mine for eternity.
I need to have her, but I can’t. Her eyes, her face, tell me already she plays for keeps. She plays for the long haul, and I don’t. I don’t even like to play for a whole weekend .
But, what-if? What-if I…nope, be done with this fantasy. Can never happen , I think in my head, gently pushing her away from me.
She looks down twisting her fingers together but then I notice her body tensing when she catches the time on her watch.
“Oh my god, I need to go. I am going to be late now, and I can’t be late. Oh my god.” She drops my hand to leave. Changing her mind briefly she turns back around.
Everleigh
This man is a walking Adonis wet dream if I saw one. His light blue wet shirt clinging to his picture-perfect abs and pecs. His tight jaw clenching under his dark stubble and whiskey-colored eyes swirling with a drop of honey. Damn , he is probably so annoyed with me. I take a quick peek back at his dog, Leo as I make my way back to him. I desperately needed to leave, but then I realized I was being rude. With adrenaline coursing through me, giving me some reprieve from the warmth I lost when he pushed me away from him.
I’m not short by any means at five-seven, but he must be at least six-four, making me feel small standing in front of him as he glares down at me with a ticking jaw. “Um, so I just wanted to say thank you for getting soaking wet to rescue me from your dog’s leash. Please don’t punish him, it was really an accident. I really need to get myself refreshed as I have a huge thing today. But again, thank you – and I hope you have a great day.” He says nothing so I turn hurrying away, only to feel a tight squeeze on my elbow.
“Wait,” followed by a bark from Leo. I turn back around to face Benjamin and damn, he keeps taking my breath away. “Can I please take you where you need to go and get you some warm clothes. A coffee at least?”
“Thank you, but my hotel is just a block over and I don’t drink coffee.” I shift on my feet. His left eyebrow quirks up wanting to push for more information. “Just not a coffee drinker. I’ll drink hot tea in the morning or hot cocoa but not coffee. But yeah…um I appreciate the offer, but I really need to get going.” His hand shoots out in front of me.
“I’m Benjamin and this goofy polar bear is Leo,” he states with a smirk, and I notice the honey swirl becomes more prominent as I repeat his name in my head.
“Everleigh.” As I respond as I place my hand in his.
“Everleigh,” he repeats my name gravelly, and gah -it sounds intoxicating. I feel the thrum in my lower core and become very thankful my pants are already wet from the lake at this very moment. My watch beeps loudly with the alarm telling me I should be heading to Radio City at this very minute. Amid my watch beeping right before I say bye and rush off, I must imagine hearin’…
“As in- my forever.”