I froze. That voice – it was cool, masculine, and way too familiar.
I looked up and sure enough, spotted Mister Wall Street striding toward us. I glanced around. He couldn't have been speaking tome– even if he was clearly making a beeline in my direction.
And then it hit me.
Of course.
He'd been calling out to my customer. This shouldn't be a surprise. They were cut from the same cloth. They probably belonged to the same country club – assuming that was still a thing.
But when Mister Wall Street reached us, he kept his eyes trained on me. "It was my alarm."
I gave a confused shake of my head. "Excuse me?"
"Yeah. It didn't go off. Power blipped at the house."
I stared up at the guy.Alarm? House?The way it sounded, he'd overslept, but why was he tellingme?
Before I could think to reply, he'd already turned to "Chad" and said, "Chadwick Kensington, right?"
"The third," Chad corrected.
"Right," Wall Street said. "The third." He paused. "I'm afraid I've got bad news." He flicked his head toward the customized bike. "That one's taken."
I did a double-take.Wait, what?
Chad stiffened. "What do you mean it's taken?"
Wall Street shrugged with apparent regret. "It's on-hold for a VIP."
Chad's face contorted. "Hey,I'ma VIP. Who the hell are you?"
Good question.
That's when Mister Wall Street returned his attention to me. Our eyes locked as he said, "Her associate."
My breath caught.Holy crap.Was this guy actually coming to my rescue? If so, he was the first person who'd had my back in weeks – at least when it came to the bikes.
He gave me the faintest nod – like we were in this together – and for reasons I couldn't explain, I felt steadier on my feet.
And now I couldn't look away. As our gazes held, I tried not to notice that his eyes were the most compelling ones I'd ever seen, like he knew things and wasn't afraid to share them. Before I knew what was happening, I'd already given him a slight nod back.
Chad's voice broke the spell by turning his wrath on my rescuer. "Hey! I'm the customer here. Why are you looking at her?"
Wall Street turned to him with a grin. "Because she's the one in charge." He said it so casually, like it was obvious, like he believed in me more than I did.
I couldn't help but stare.What the heck was going on?And why did Mister Wall Street look so good when he smiled?
Today, he was wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt in basic black. But there was nothing basic abouthim, and I was stilltrying to make sense of it when Chad sputtered, "And what's this about my bike?"
Hisbike?
Wall Street leaned closer to Chad and dropped his voice. "Sorry, it's double-booked. My mistake, not hers."
I almost choked in surprise.
Chad's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
Wall Street replied, "You were offered an eclectic bike, correct?"
