Mr. Big

by Nana Malone

  She shuffled into the living room and kitchen area to assess the damage Tamsin was doing to breakfast.

  “Ah, good morning, love. How’d you sleep? I worried you’d be jetlagged. Then I realized, belatedly, that the room has no drapes. Normally it’s not a problem with the weather and all, but today it was sunny of all things, so of course, the sun was going to disturb your sleep and…”

  That was Tamsin. She had a tendency to ramble and speak at the speed of light. Due to her thick Manchester twang, Abbie missed part of what her friend said, but she got the gist.

  Tamsin bustled around the kitchen, yammering at a hundred miles an hour as Abbie walked over to her. She finally paused when Abbie stepped right in front of her and hugged her tight. Abbie wasn’t big on hugging. Any kind of touching usually made her uncomfortable. But in instances like this, sometimes a hug was called for. Without even knowing it, Tamsin had saved her life. She was the reason Abbie could breathe for the first time in years.

  Tamsin wrapped her arms around Abbie’s waist. “Ah, love. What’s with the hugs? Are there going to be waterworks too? If there are, I’ve got Kleenex in the pantry.”

  Abbie sniffled. “No. No. I’m just really happy to be here. Really happy to have this. I’m excited too.”

  Tamsin smiled, displaying even teeth and dimples in her heart-shaped face. “You should be excited. No one I know has the guts to do what you did. Pack up in a moment’s notice and move out of country. Abbie, I swear.” Tamsin let go of her and handed her a mug of tea.

  Abbie took the tea, even as she winced. “Well, let’s face it, I sort of ran away.”

  “Don’t call it running away. Call it running to a new adventure. I’m so glad you called me the other night.”

  “I’m so glad you’re letting me stay. I know it’s a bit of an imposition.”

  “Shut up. You know that’s bullshit. You saved me from having to get a random stranger for a flatmate. I’m still considering it with Sophie being gone all the time. Maybe she should move in permanently with her boyfriend.”

  Sophie was the third member of their triumvirate. They’d all shared a dorm room at NYU.

  “Let’s not suggest that until I’ve been here for a while, okay? I’ve been looking forward to the three of us getting some girl time.” Abbie wrinkled her nose as it finally occurred to her that it was Monday. “Shit, Tams, am I keeping you from work?”

  Tamsin worked as an Assistant Coordinator for a PR firm. “No, I’m working from home today. I’ve got a pile of calendar stuff I need to pitch, and I’ll never get anything done with the other girls in and out of my office.”

  Abbie took another sip of her tea. “So this is real. I’m really doing this?”

  “Looks that way, doesn’t it? What’s your first move?”

  Abbie exhaled. “Step one is get a job. I have some money saved, but I’ll be needing equipment and stuff. It’ll be easier if I don’t have to deal with the parentals to get it. After that, I need to head to campus and do some administrative stuff. I was lucky they still let me into the course since I was so late accepting.” What she didn’t let on with Tamsin is how dire her money situation was. She had just enough to make it through the semester, but that meant no extras.

  Tamsin nodded. “I still can’t believe what Evan did. Sophie called it though. She’s always hated him.” Abbie suppressed a shudder. If ONLY Tamsin knew what else he’d done to her.

  “I wish I’d seen this coming. Maybe I wouldn’t have wasted my college years with an asshole.” She squared her shoulders. The sooner she got on with her life, the sooner she’d forget what she’d left behind. It was time to take back some of the control Evan had taken from her. “But I’m here now, and I’m about to start living. Which means I better get ready for class.”

  An hour and a half later, Abbie sat in the back of the small auditorium watching as her classmates took their seats one by one.

  A collective hush fell over the room the moment Xander Chase walked in. Abbie had seen photos, but they were nothing compared to seeing him in the flesh. She’d known he was young, but honestly he could be one of the students.

  “You can call me Xander. Mr. Chase is my father.”

  He was tall. At least six feet, two inches with broad shoulders and playful dark eyes. Shaggy blond hair framed his angled jaw and features. He also had a smile hot enough to make any red-blooded female consider dropping her panties. Self-confidence and sex appeal oozed off of him in waves.

  “So, for those of you who don’t remember, I’ll give you a brief overview. During the course of a week, you’ll have one lecture, two advisory sessions, an assignment, and a critique.”

  A legend like him was going to give her critiques and advice. Bile churned as her stomach flipped. Of course she’d expected that, but still. Theoretically knowing her work was going to be picked apart and actually having it happen were two different things.

  Then there was also the small matter of being stuck in a room with a man, any man, and only one exit. She wrapped her arms around her middle. She’d better learn to steel herself or she wouldn’t survive a day, let alone the whole term. He might be good-looking and in a position of power, but he was not Evan. And she’d faced Evan and hadn’t died. She could deal with this man.

  “Oh, and one other thing to get out of the way. I want to remind the female and male students alike that it’s pointless to try to sleep with me. I don’t sleep with my students. I promise you, it’s not going to happen. So save us all some time and don’t. I’d rather get on with teaching you.”

  Wow. Okay. Way to put it all out there. Abbie snuck a look around the room and instantly understood why he’d laid out his cards. Every single girl—and at least a quarter of the guys— appraised him. She had to wonder if anyone would make the attempt. There were only fifty students in the program, and of them, only twenty were female.

  A tiny brunette sitting next to her whispered, “Just a tad full of himself, isn’t he?”

  Abbie giggled and whispered back, “I’d heard British men had a problem with confidence. I see he doesn’t suffer from that affliction.”

  The girl grinned. “I’m Ilani Bruce, by the way.”

  “Abbie Nartey.” She smiled back.

  As she listened, energy hummed through her veins. The work would be exciting. She certainly wasn’t going to enjoy the critiques. But then again, who did?

  Xander was speaking again, and Abbie dragged her attention back to him.

  “Remember, I hand-selected each of you based on your portfolio submissions. I think each and every one of you has a raw talent waiting to come out. I need your commitment to be honest. Don’t give me trite and pretty. I want you exposing yourselves and putting yourself in every single image.”

  She and her classmates all nodded enthusiastically.

  “Okay, first assignment is as follows. Since all of you are so fresh faced and bushy tailed, I want you to photograph joy. In all of its forms. Gritty, serene, blissful—I want it all. Think you all can manage that?”

  There was a general murmur of accord. The excitement was palpable as each student fiddled with their camera.

  “Good. Now go and do your worst. And by worst I mean better than your best.”

  As soon as class was over, Abbie headed over to Xander. Unlike the other students who crowded him, she stopped well outside his sphere of personal space. “Excuse me, Xander?” She forced a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She would have to learn to talk to him if she wanted to work for him.

  He cocked his head, and his almost-smiling mouth tugged into a glimmer of a real one as he assessed her. “Little Bird. I’d wondered if you’d come and introduce yourself.”

  Little Bird? He remembered her photo? Abbie flushed. It had taken her three days to find the hummingbird nest and capture the mother feeding her chicks.

  Up close she realized Xander’s eyes weren’t dark at all, but rather a slate gray. She forced out her carefully selected words. “I, uh, wante
d to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to study with you. It’s already changing my life.”

  He chuckled. “Well, if you think today was life-changing, then wait until I actually start teaching you something.” He studied her closely. “I’m glad you accepted. I was starting to worry that you wouldn’t when we hadn’t heard from you.”

  Her skin prickled with embarrassment. He had been waiting on her acceptance? “I had no idea you were waiting on me—”

  “Like I said, Little Bird, I hand-selected all of you. In the process I become quite attached to your works. To you.” This time his grin was the slow, cocky, confident smile of someone who was accustomed to women falling at his feet.

  It fell flat on her. The longer she stood in his presence, the less nervous she became. Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard after all.

  “Right. Well, anyway, thank you again. I’m looking forward to learning from you.” With a little boost of confidence, she turned to leave.

  He called out to her, “Don’t you want to know why I selected you for this program?”

  Abbie turned but walked backward to keep her momentum. “Nope. You already told me why. And I know what I can do with a camera.” She didn’t wait for a response as she turned back around and strode out of the lecture hall.

  Ilani followed her out of the building, and they made their escape.

  “You’re a Yank, aren’t you?”

  Abbie nodded. “Yeah, I guess the accent gives me away.”

  Her new friend grinned. “Only a little. Listen, some of us took Xander for undergrad and used to get together right after crits to drink our sorrows away. You game for a bit of a laugh after the first one?”

  “Yeah sounds good. They sound pretty scary.”

  Ilani followed her out of the main lobby into the rare British sunshine. “They are. He’s usually not satisfied unless at least one person cries.”

  Abbie’s eyes widened, and she swallowed hard, resolute not to be the crying student. “Ouch.”

  “It’s his way, I guess.” Ilani shrugged. “Anyway. Good to meet you, Abbie. See you next week.”

  “Yeah you too.” She smiled encouragingly, even though her stomach pitched at the thought of those crits.

  As Abbie headed down the cobblestone steps of the Ealing campus and made her way to the bus stop, she let her lens be her eyes. The excitement of the new city fueled her blood. The first step to living her dream was already in motion.

  33

  As Abbie’s luck would have it, the earlier sunshine was a fluke. The skies darkened to a blackened gray, fat raindrops pelted her arms and battered her umbrella. “Damn it.” Sucking in a resolute breath, she marched forward. A little rain wasn’t going to ruin her day. She’d come here knowing the weather pattern. It was just one more thing she’d have to get used to.

  Quickly, she checked Tamsin’s scrawled directions to Sophie’s boyfriend’s place. 1257 Camberwell Road. She glanced at the numbers on the row houses on her right. 1232, 1234—at least she was moving in the right direction, though she needed to cross the street.

  With rain pelting the sleeves of her thick sweater even harder, she trotted to the edge of the sidewalk and checked for oncoming cars. Just as she was about to step onto the road, she heard a revving motor.

  From behind, someone shouted, “Look out!”

  In one smooth snap of icy talons, fear gripped her spine as strong arms jerked her backward with enough force to knock the wind out of her. Her head swam. In an automatic reply to being grabbed, her body went numb, and her oxygen would only come in short stabbing bursts as her hands flew up in an attempt to protect her face. But then, the tiny voice inside screamed, You are not helpless. It was just the motivation she needed.

  Abbie fought the stranger’s hold and struggled, immediately losing her footing. In the split second her brain registered her downward trajectory, she squealed and tucked her camera into her sweater to protect it as she fell. The arms tightened around her again and turned both their bodies. Nausea swelled as she tried to free herself from the grip of strong hands.

  She and her would-be attacker landed ass-first in a grimy puddle with a thud hard enough to make her teeth rattle. She blinked rapidly, her brain trying to register what had happened as a Mini Cooper whizzed by. The driver shouted epithets in her direction.

  Unable to calm the panic as adrenaline flooded her veins, she continued to try to free herself and fight for control.

  “You’re okay. I’ve got you. Stop struggling. I didn’t just save your life so I could hurt you. Just relax for one second and breathe.”

  The masculine voice crooned low and soft in her ear, working its magic on her inch by inch. In those endless seconds, her brain registered that the strong hands that held her weren’t squeezing too tight. They weren’t manhandling her, they weren’t striking her. In fact, they were only tight enough to have pulled her back. These hands had caused her no harm. Unlike Evan’s.

  She was safe.

  Through the thunder of her heart, she heard the splish and splash of heavy raindrops on the pavement and her downed umbrella. Her own ragged breathing filtered in next, along with the harsh breathing of her puddle partner.

  She yanked her camera out of her sweater and carefully examined it. No cracks to the lens or anything. Thank God. She didn’t have the money to replace it.

  With one arm, Abbie tried to leverage herself up, but she slipped and landed back on her savior’s lap…hard. She whipped her head around to face him and he stared at her. Raindrops clung to his dark, sooty lashes. His wavy hair was plastered to his head. She tried to make her mouth move, but nothing happened, almost as if the command had gotten lost in the cataloguing of his features.

  Wide gray eyes that smoldered. Midnight black hair. Full lips that looked like they were on the verge of smiling. Straight Roman nose, and a square jaw. He was beautiful. She wanted him on a canvas, just like he was now, his brow lightly furrowed and his eyes concerned. There was something so familiar about him.

  “Are you all right?”

  Abbie blinked, tried to form the words, and failed. Then she tried again. “Uhm, yeah. I think so. Th-thank you.”

  A blond guy stood nearby, holding an umbrella over the two of them. Finally Gray Eyes stood, pulling her with him. His hand was firm and warm, despite the chilly rain. “You have to make sure to look both ways okay?”

  Again her brain stuttered as the whiskey-smooth texture of his voice rolled over her. She could listen to him talk forever. Quickly, she tugged her hand free of his. “Uhm. I–uh.” Mortified, she covered her face. “Yeah. Thanks. I’ll be careful.”

  He studied her with a quizzical expression then whispered, “Okay. Cheers.”

  After quickly checking her camera for damage again, she stepped to the curb once more. Careful to look both ways–twice–she crossed the street to the opposing row houses. As she muttered the numbers to herself, tension ebbed out of her.

  She stopped in front of the address Tamsin had texted. Before Abbie could even knock, Sophie yanked the door open with a squeal.

  “Oh, my god, oh my god, oh my god. You’re actually here. I can’t believe it. Yay!”

  The hugging came next. Abbie held her camera away from her body as her friend wrapped her arms around her and attempted to squeeze the air out of her lungs. Sophie was a big time hugger. Abbie, not so much.

  “Hey, Sophie, you think you could actually let me in? The back of my pants are soaked.”

  “Oh, of course. Sorry, babes. I was just so excited.” She stopped trying to administer the reverse Heimlich maneuver and dragged Abbie through an elegantly lit foyer with recessed lights and a slate floor. “What happened to you anyway? You look like hell.”

  A gilt mirror hung in the hallway, and Abbie groaned when she saw her reflection. Her braided twist had come undone, and her make-up was now streaked and smudged, giving her the appearance of a wet, bedraggled Koala.

  She followed Sophie into the ultra-modern kitchen
and tried not to gape. The cabinets were red lacquer and the backsplash was red orange and gold glass tile. All the appliances were high-end stainless steel and the countertops were white marble. This was where Sophie lived? Tamsin’s digs in Chiswick were nice, but this was opulent. “I had a run in with a Mini Cooper and a puddle. Do you have a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt I can borrow? I must look like a drowned rat.”

  A low voice came from behind her. “I don’t know. You look well fit to me.”

  Abbie jumped and whirled around. She made a quick assessment of him just like she did with all men and filed him into the preliminary category of not-a-threat. She studied him closer, unsure of what to make of the auburn-haired guy leaning against the counter. He was cute in a quirky way. With his shaggy hair and animated green eyes, she could see how his disarming smile made him even cuter. He had several tattoos on his forearms and one peeking out from the top of his T-shirt. Fantastic. His whole aura screamed trouble. But there was something inherently kind about his eyes.

  Sophie giggled. “Jasper, behave, would you? This is my friend Abbie from Uni.”

  Jasper uncoiled his lanky frame and strode over. She wasn’t so sure about being in his personal space, but nevertheless, Abbie extended a hand to shake, but instead, he bowed and kissed her knuckles. Yeah. Charming as fuck. And he knew it. She tugged her hand back. “Nice to meet you, Jasper.”

  “I promise you, Love, the pleasure is all mine.”

  She turned to Sophie. “And you know Jasper how?”

  “Oh, he’s Max’s flatmate,” Sophie replied.

  “Yeah, my room’s just at the top of those stairs if you need or want anything.” He waggled his eyebrows.

  Abbie sputtered and laughed. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

  He nodded with unabashed good humor. “I’ve been told that before.”

  Tamsin came from a hallway at the other end of the kitchen and hip-checked Jasper. “Leave her alone, Jas. She’s a friend of ours and isn’t ready for your flirtation assault.”

  Jasper rolled his eyes. “Okay, fair enough.” He stood directly in front of Abbie, forcing her to take an automatic step back before looking up at him. “But if you come to me, all bets are off.” He winked before turning on his heel and jogging up the stairs to his bedroom.