Riding into Love

by Nicki Night

Cadence cut a strip of her chicken with the side of her fork. “He’s been asking about you.”

  Alana didn’t expect her heartbeat to stutter. Her gasp was slight. She cleared her throat to cover her reaction, hoping it went unnoticed, but Cadence’s prolonged glance, coupled with a somewhat lifted brow, confirmed that Cadence had heard. Alana sat back and sighed. “Why?”

  Cadence put her utensils down and gave Alana a suspicious gaze. “What’s really going on with the two of you? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  “No. Why would you think that?”

  Cadence tilted her head but kept her eyes on Alana.

  “Listen, lady—” Alana pointed her fork at Cadence “—you don’t have to believe me, but I was serious when I said I wasn’t dating.” Alana pierced a forkful of salad and swirled it around her plate. Suddenly, she wasn’t hungry anymore. “Especially with Drew. I don’t have the patience or energy to have a rendezvous with that man. When I start dating again, I want someone who I know will focus on me and me only. Besides, Drew is hardly ever here. I’d never survive a long-distance relationship.”

  “You don’t have to convince me.” Cadence held her hands up in surrender.

  “And another thing—” Alana pointed again “—this next frog is going to have to put in some major work to win me over.”

  “Right!” Cadence threw her head back.

  “Seriously. From where I stand, they’re all frogs until proven princes. Cute frogs, tall frogs, muscular frogs, frogs that break up with you by text and frogs that race motorcycles for a living!”

  Cadence leaned back in her chair, holding her belly as she laughed.

  Alana couldn’t help but join her. “My grandma used to say that if you lie down with dogs you’ll wake up with fleas. Well, I say, if you spend time with frogs, you’ll end up with warts!”

  “Stop! Please!” Cadence begged, still laughing. “I think Drew has prince potential. If Blake and Hunter could settle down, so can he.”

  Instead of answering, Alana twisted her lips and filled her mouth with salad, forcing down her food and her smart remark.

  “Alana, if Drew pursued you and was truly sincere about being in a committed relationship, would you consider dating him again?”

  “Cay, that man probably couldn’t spell commitment.”

  “Just answer the question.”

  “I don’t know.” Alana shrugged. “I doubt it.”

  “Aw, I kind of wish things would work out between the two of you. It would be so cool, don’t you think? Best friends dating brothers.”

  “We’re not sixteen, lady.”

  “I know, but it would still be pretty cool, wouldn’t it?”

  “I guess.” Alana looked at her watch. “We’d better get back.”

  Cadence signaled their waiter for the check just before her phone rang. “Hey, babe!”

  A smile that beamed like a sun ray eased across Cadence’s face and Alana knew it had to be Blake on the other line. When her facial expression turned serious, Alana became concerned.

  What’s wrong? Alana mouthed.

  “It’s Drew,” Cadence whispered. “What hospital did they take him to?”

  What? When? Is he hurt badly? This time Alana’s heartbeat didn’t just stutter—it stopped beating altogether for a few moments.

  Chapter 10

  When Drew saw Alana’s number, he picked up right away, reaching for the phone with his good arm.

  “What happened?” Panic increased the pitch of Alana’s voice.

  “Oh, now you want to call me back, huh?” Drew teased as he made his way through the hotel suite into the living room in search of a soda. He favored his left leg as he walked. It was still tender from his fall earlier. Her groan made him laugh.

  “I’ll assume you’re fine. Why did you have to go to the hospital? Did you fall off one of those bikes?”

  “Wow! That news went viral. I just called Hunter and Blake when I got back to the room.” Drew limped to the sofa, carefully sat and then popped the top on the soda can. “Nothing major. I took a little spill and dislocated my shoulder.”

  “That sounds major enough to me. How’s that going to affect your season?”

  “It won’t.”

  “What do you mean, it won’t?”

  “It has happened before. I have a few weeks before the season starts. I’ll be fine by then.”

  “Are you in any pain?”

  “It’s just a little sore,” he lied. Truthfully, his shoulder ached, thumping like it had its own pulse. He dealt with it, refusing to take any more of the huge pain pills the emergency-room doctor had given him. He needed to be coherent because he still had a race to focus on.

  “I’m sure it’s not your first fall, but I assume this will keep you off your feet for a while.”

  “I’ve dealt with much worse in the past. Broken legs, arms and enough road rashes to cover my body five times over.”

  “And you still get back on the bike?”

  “That’s my life, ma belle!”

  Silence settled across the line for a moment until Alana dismissed herself. “I have to go. I’m glad you’re okay though. Be safe.”

  “Thanks for calling.” Drew didn’t want her to go. He continued to hold the phone to his ear as she ended the call. A series of beeps indicated that the call was over. Still, he held the phone.

  Drew appreciated Alana’s concern. Hearing her voice made him want to be near her.

  A few days later, Drew booked an early flight that allowed him to make it to midtown by lunchtime. The flimsy sling they gave him at the hospital didn’t do much to keep his muscular arm from weighing his sore shoulder down. Adding pain to his injury, the erratic North American climate made his cross-country flight one of the rockiest he could remember. Turbulence shook the plane so violently at one point that Drew had to hold his shoulder to keep it from banging against the chair. By the time he reached Manhattan, he felt like he’d gone a few rounds in the boxing ring.

  Drew showed up at Alana and Cadence’s building on the west side of Thirty-fourth Street, searched the board for their suite and headed to the fourth floor. As he stepped off the elevator, he nodded approvingly at the modern office space designed for the business world’s new class of entrepreneurs. The communal lounge reminded him of a cozy coffeehouse with fully stocked counters where professionals could fill up on caffeine all day. A few people lounged on the sofas tapping away on laptops. Beyond the lounge, there was a large conference room behind glass walls. He walked down the hall toward Alana and Cadence’s suite. His limp wasn’t as pronounced as it had been the day before. Drew thought it gave his walk a little swagger. He laughed at himself for the thought.

  Drew stopped before the large wooden door that bore the name of their law firm, knocked once and twisted the knob.

  “Good afternoon, can—”

  Drew spread his lips in a sated smile at Alana’s apparent surprise. “What happened to my greeting?”

  “What are you doing here?” Cadence walked up and hugged him. He winced, hugging her back with one arm.

  “When did you get here?” Alana asked.

  “What’s wrong?” Drew licked his lips. He almost couldn’t help it. Alana looked sexy in that simple gray suit. “You’re not happy to see me?” Drew opened his arms as much as he could for a hug.

  “You and your surprise visits.” She allowed him a quick embrace and then stepped out of his reach, but it was enough for her scent to tickle his nostrils and awaken an inkling of desire.

  “This is a business. I didn’t have to call first,” Drew teased. Alana shook her head. “I came to take you two to lunch.”

  “How’s the shoulder?” Cadence asked, clearing the small reception area of random papers.

  Dre
w waved away her concern. “I’m fine.” He curled his other arm. Muscles bulged under his short-sleeved button-down shirt. “See that? I’m all man. A little dislocated shoulder can’t stop me.”

  “You’re too much.” Cadence chuckled. Alana rolled her eyes and shook her head.

  “Hey!” Drew pointed his finger at Alana. “If you keep doing that, they’re going to get stuck.”

  Alana gave him a pointed look. Her feistiness was always a turn-on. “You need to take better care of yourself. Is lunch on you?” she teased.

  “What kind of man would I be if it wasn’t, ma belle? Pick the place.”

  Alana left a note for their receptionist, Jennifer, who was on lunch and they all headed to one of her favorite Asian-fusion restaurants in the heart of the theater district. As expected, the place was filled with demanding professionals and fast-moving waiters trained in getting people seated, fed and checked out in record time.

  For a few moments, he watched how skillfully the restaurant staff handled the crowd as he, Alana and Cadence stood by the bar enduring the twenty-minute wait.

  “I’ll be right back.” Drew saw the question in Alana’s and Cadence’s expressions as he walked away. He left them to wonder.

  Drew approached the waif-thin hostess and smiled, cranking his charm up a few notches. She sheepishly smiled back.

  “How can I help you, sir?”

  He detected her light French accent.

  “Vous parlez français.” It was more of a statement than a question.

  “Oui!” She smiled again and hung her head slightly.

  “Une telle langue magnifique pour une belle fille.”

  “Merci!”

  “No need to thank me for you being beautiful.”

  She smiled into her shoulders, turning slightly with crush-like glee.

  “I’m in a bit of a rush. Would you mind—”

  “I’ll take care of you. How many in your party?”

  Drew smiled again, holding her in his appreciative gaze until she squirmed a little. “Three. My team of lawyers and me.” He kept his smile and smoldering eyes directly on her.

  She grabbed three menus. “Follow me.”

  Drew curled his fingers to summon Alana and Cadence, who had been watching his every move.

  The hostess placed the menus down and nodded. Drew pulled out chairs for Alana and Cadence before tapping the hostess to get her attention before she walked away. He touched her forearm gently and leaned to her ear. “I’ll be sure to share with the management how pleased I am with your service.”

  She actually giggled. “Merci!”

  “Vous êtes les bienvenus, Madame.”

  She nearly floated away from the table. When Drew sat, Alana’s and Cadence’s eyes were trained on him. Each pair carried a look of suspicion.

  Alana untwisted her lips. “I guess flirting gets you everywhere.”

  “What?” Drew held his hands up innocently. “I didn’t want you to have to wait too long to eat.”

  “I didn’t know you spoke French. I’m impressed,” Cadence said over the open menu.

  “Thanks,” Drew answered modestly.

  “What else don’t we know about you, Drew?”

  Drew caught on to Alana’s sarcasm, but Cadence put down her menu and looked at him with genuine interest.

  “Do you speak other languages too?” Cadence asked.

  “Spanish, a little Italian and I can understand German better than I can speak it.”

  “Wow!” Cadence’s eyes grew wide.

  “Nice,” Alana added.

  Drew had work to do with Alana. Wearing down the protective armor around her heart was his mission. He entertained them with his wit as usual. Alana’s smile sent signals to his brain, among other places. Drew kept them laughing just to see her pretty lips spread in happiness. He fancied the curves of her breast against her silk shirt.

  Drew wasn’t quite sure he was ready to settle down, but he did know that when he was, it should be with Alana. After watching her ex eyeing her at the premiere, he knew a woman of her caliber wouldn’t stay single for long. Somehow, he had to gain her trust and convince her that something between them could work. Then he’d have to deal with the issue of distance, which wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

  They ate sushi until they got their fill. Drew hadn’t had enough of their company so he convinced them to join him for a drink at a nearby bar before heading back to the office.

  “Drew, this behavior is not acceptable on a workday. You’ve got us out here slacking!” Alana laughed.

  “I know. We’re supposed to be working on strategies for attracting clients and researching PR teams who specialize in the legal field,” Cadence added.

  “Yeah.”

  “Hey! I didn’t force either of you into doing anything.”

  “The magic words were your treat.” Alana laughed. “That’s hard to walk away from.”

  “Well, it was also my pleasure. What are you doing for dinner?” Drew eyed Alana, watching her demeanor shift from carefree back to guarded. “And I won’t take no for an answer.”

  Alana groaned. “Sure. Why not?” She’d given in.

  Drew smiled. To him that was a signal to move forward.

  Chapter 11

  Alana had been looking forward to Friday from the moment she walked into her office on Monday morning. As much as she loved having her own business, it was exhausting at times. When she had worked for other law firms, the only thing she had to worry about was winning cases. Now, she and Cadence put in extensive hours to win the cases, pay the bills and keep the doors of the practice open.

  Alana planned to stay in her pajamas, snack, read and watch movies for the entire weekend. She’d get back to exercising and hanging out another time. The fact that five o’clock was almost here gave Alana a bit of vigor.

  Alana heard a tap on her office door. Before lifting her head, she began waving goodbye, assuming it was their intern, leaving for the day. But then she looked up into Drew’s face.

  Alana closed her eyes and sighed even though a smile spread across her lips. He was part of the reason she was so exhausted. Drew had picked her up for dinner after their surprise lunch outing the week before and they’d spent much of their free time together ever since. The past weekend had been a whirlwind of activity from exclusive red-carpet affairs to early-morning runs to pancake breakfasts. It literally took all week for Alana to catch up on her sleep.

  Drew never showed up without an adventure.

  “I can’t!” Alana slowly shook her head.

  Drew strolled in and sat on the edge of her desk. “You can’t what, ma belle?”

  Alana both loved and hated when he called her ma belle in the perfectly accented way that he did. It sounded beautiful and she loved the special way it made her feel, yet hated that she was so affected by the deep timbre of his voice. Regardless, she had to admit she enjoyed being his friend again. She’d never deny the obvious tension that hovered in the air when they were close to one another, but she felt that she had the strength to fight that. She still wasn’t ready to date.

  “I’m tired, Drew. I’m going home and staying there all weekend!” Alana shut down her laptop and closed it.

  “That’s fine with me.”

  Alana stretched her eyes. “Really?” She didn’t believe him.

  “Of course. I guess I’ll have to give these tickets to Delphine Armah’s new Broadway show to someone else.”

  Alana’s eyes popped open wide and her neck stretched forward. “What!” She stood, rounding her desk in an instant. “Are you serious, Drew?”

  “Sure am, but if you’re tired...” Drew folded his arms across his chest and hummed.

  “Don’t play with me, dude!”

 
; “I don’t play around, ma belle.” Drew put his hand on his chin. “Hmm. So that also means I’ll have to cancel the plans for dinner with the cast after the show.”

  Alana balked. “Dinner with the... Drew, are you for real?”

  His smile taunted her in several ways. “But you’re tired. I surely don’t want to be a bother.”

  Alana pursed her lips and squinted at him. “I’ll sleep tomorrow. What time is the show?”

  “Eight.”

  “Darn it! I’ll be cutting it close if I go all the way home to Long Island and come back.” Alana looked down at her suit. “I’d hate to go in this.”

  “Then let’s go get you something to wear.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “Come on.” Drew slid off her desk and grabbed her by the hand.

  Alana grabbed her purse and jacket to shield herself from the slight breeze of the unusually warm March day.

  “How do you manage to gain access to these things?” Alana wondered aloud.

  “What things?”

  “Movie premieres, private celebrity parties, shows and dinner with entertainers.”

  “Oh. I know a guy.”

  Alana twisted her lips. “Really, Drew.”

  Drew held out his hand, leading Alana out of the elevator. “Don’t worry about it. Just enjoy it all. Let’s go get you something to wear.”

  Drew hailed a taxi and directed the driver to Fifty-seventh and Fifth Avenue. Alana loved those stores but rarely shopped in them. Those price tags didn’t lend themselves to weekly shopping on Alana’s budget as a fairly new entrepreneur. She saved those shops for very special occasions.

  Drew led the way inside one of those upscale shops. A polished clerk wearing a smart red suit, striking red lips, and a neat bun beamed at Drew. The smile on the sales clerk’s face indicated how well she knew him.

  “Drew! Darling!” She air-kissed him on both cheeks.

  “Karen, it’s great to see you.” Drew embraced her and then placed his hand on the small of Alana’s back.

  “And who’s the lovely lady?” Karen assessed Alana the way a mother would if she approved of a nice girl that her son has brought home for the first time.