“And what about your classes at the gym? You’d have to quit, wouldn’t you?”
“Yeah,” Harmony nodded. “With the AWG contract, there really isn’t any room or time for me to keep teaching.”
“And how will you handle that?” Cameron asked, raising an eyebrow. “I know you love those kids.”
Harmony shrugged. “I do love them, and I’m gonna miss the kids. It’s just another way that I’m letting go of the gymnastics and that part of my life. And I really liked working with the kids, but it’s time for me to try to move on and do something else.”
“That’s a good thing, honey,” Eva answered, nodding approvingly to her daughter before turning back to watch the men in the yard.
“Time out, Dad! Wait, I need a drink!” Logan called to his father, who had risen from the grass and retrieved the lost Frisbee. Waiting for Mac’s nod, Logan turned and ran onto the patio, his narrow chest heaving as he pulled himself to a halt in front of Cameron. The women smiled to each other, watching the boy as he gulped loudly from the glass of iced tea Cameron gave him. Finally, he settled the glass on the table and tripped back down the stairs to the yard.
“So tell me about your part. I’d love to hear what kind of character you’ll be playing with AWG,” Cass said, standing to move her chair into the sunshine at the edge of the patio.
“Well right now, I’m supposed to be a support character for Xander, so there’s no telling where it’ll go.
“But for now?” Cass asked.
“Hmm. Okay, you guys know his AWG character is The Dragon, right?” Waiting for the other women to nod agreeably, Harmony lifted her own sweating glass of iced tea and drank deeply, her throat working as she swallowed. “Okay, well, when I was there for the audition, I met this girl who works there. I don’t know her real name yet, but she’s Minx. She’s totally scary, with black hair that’s red on the ends and she’s covered in this leopard tattoo that wraps around her waist. It goes up her back and then come down her arm, all the way to her wrist.”
“Okay,” Cameron said, laughing. “She sounds, um, interesting.”
“She is, if you like having someone terrifying looking hatefully over your shoulders all the time,” Harmony said dryly. “She’s nice in person, but the story is that I kind of stole her man. And I doubt she’ll be happy about it.”
“What?” Cass asked, squinting one brown eye open under the shade of her hand, held slightly above her sun-kissed face. “Her man?”
“Yeah, she was Xander’s last ring escort. She would come out with him, cheer for him, whatever. And they had a storyline where they were in love. But then, when it was time for her to break away and have a story of her own, they had this huge fight because he lost a match and she was there, so he blamed her. She got made, told him off, and stopped walking with him. So the next part of the story is me.”
“Oh, I see,” Eva said slowly. “So you’re a bit of a man-eater, then? There to make the other girl jealous? This Minx woman?”
“I don’t know about the man-eater part. Right now, I’m just an innocent young girl who’s fallen in love with a handsome and rising star. That’s all there is to the story at this point,” Harmony said, reaching to pull a stool closer to her chair. Propping her feet on the stool, she leaned back into the bright yellow pillows of the patio furniture, sweeping her fingers through her hair. “Apparently, after a few weeks of me walking with him and looking star struck and in love, he’s going to start looking like he’s in love too, and that’ll be when Minx can’t take it anymore.”
“And then what?” Cameron asked, crossing one denim-clad leg over the other as she pulled a tray of carrot sticks closer to her side of the table.
Harmony shrugged, her lips pursed. “Well, then she’ll probably kick my ass for a couple of weeks until she gets over it, I guess.”
Cameron laughed. “Well, I hope you get a few good hits in, at least, before your shoulders hit the mat.”
“Aren’t you worried you’ll get hurt?” Eva asked her, concern etching deep lines across her forehead. “Do the people who work there get hurt a lot?”
“Not any more than any other sport,” Harmony answered. “I mean, people have died doing gymnastics, too. Football, hockey, horse racing, baseball. One fall or one bad hit and that’s all it takes, and you’ve done irreparable damage. Broken bones, sprains, concussion ... injury is a concern with any sport, and this one isn’t any different.”
“Well, thank you for clearing that up,” Eva said, exasperated. “I’m glad I now have clear mental images of all the horrible things that can happen.”
“Mom, those same things could have happened with gymnastics, and we all knew it. I’ll be careful, and I’ll be well trained. Just like with gymnastics, only this time I’ll be acting, too.”
“Do you think it’s really what you want to do?” Cameron asked, sweeping a carrot stick through a dish of ranch dressing before popping it into her mouth. “It’s a lot of glamour, isn’t it? People watching you all the time?”
“Only wrestling fans, really. On average, most people probably won’t really know who I am. But even that’s the same as before … I had gymnastics people watching me when I was younger, when I was competing. Some people knew who I was, and others didn’t. And that’s what I want, anyway; you remember how I always wanted to be somebody people know about.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Cameron answered quietly. “I can’t imagine why you’d want the whole world watching for you to do something crazy all the time though. Like the movie stars.”
“Well, I’m just not sure I can imagine my little girl on TV, dressed like those women on TV are dressed,” Adam said, smiling gently as he climbed the stairs onto the patio. Dropping a kiss casually on his wife’s forehead, he lifted her drink and drained the glass before filling it again from the sweating pitcher in the center of the table. “Can you imagine that, Eva? Our little Harmony in that kind of crazy costume?”
“I can,” she answered, smiling up at him. “I had to dress her in those skimpy leotards all these years, so it’s not so different for me.”
“Hmph,” Adam grunted, hiding a smile. “I suppose. But it wasn’t her job to be looked at back then either.”
“Daddy, I promise I’ll bring some class to the job,” Harmony laughed, winking at her sister as she crossed her fingers behind her back.
“I am very proud of you, you know,” he answered, easing onto the bench next to Eva and sliding an arm around her waist as she rested one hand on his knee. “I do have to gripe and complain a little because I’m the dad, but Harmony, I hope you know how proud I am of everything you’ve already done with your life, as young as you are. And I want you to know that your mother and I are very proud of who you’ve become.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Harmony said quietly.
“Congratulations on getting the job, too. It’s a really good opportunity for you and we could see how bad you wanted it,” Adam finished, reaching to take a cherry tomato from the tray on the table.
“Oh, hey, you got the job?” Drew asked, as he and Michael climbed the patio together, leaning in lazily against the railing. Mac followed behind them, helping Logan haul a box of lawn toys over to the edge of the patio.
“Sure did,” Harmony said, grinning at her youngest brother Evan as he appeared in the doorway behind their parents. “I got it. But I seriously thought I’d die of shock when they told me I had it.”
“No way, you can’t be surprised,” Evan said, turning to close the back door of the house before stepping down to join everyone else on the patio.
“I can’t be surprised?” Harmony laughed. “You didn’t see the other girls that were there, Ev.”
“Well, next time you’ll be hanging out with dozens of hot women, let me know and I’ll tag along,” Evan laughed.
Harmony rolled her eyes as laughter erupted around her. “Seriously, guys, I really didn’t expect to get the job. I just went because I felt guilty about Whitney buying that dress wit
h her dad’s credit card for me to audition in. But she was so confident that I’d make it, I had to go.”
“Yeah, but you had to know you at least had a shot, too,” Evan argued, dropping into a seat next to his sister. “You’ve always been good at everything you put your heart in, Harmony. Stop worrying.” Harmony looked up, surprised, but Evan had lowered his eyes. They were a close family and had always been, but Harmony and Evan had had their troubles. They pulled together when they needed to, but his surprisingly supportive comments had surprised everyone.
“I don’t know, Evan. I know I can do the job, but I don’t know if I can be sure I’m the best, and that’s the attitude I’ll need to have.”
“Harmony, listen to me,” Evan said, slipping a heavy arm around Harmony’s shoulders. “You’ve got something special in you – you’ve got star quality. And maybe you don’t have to think you’re the best, but someone obviously did. So you’ve got it, and since you’ve got it, we know you’ll do it well. That’s just the kind of person you are.”
“Okay, you guys,” Harmony said, looking around as the other members of her family began to sound off in agreement. “We have to move on from this and talk about something else or I’m gonna cry.”
“Alright, alright,” Michael laughed. “Who wants to help me barbeque all those steaks in Mom and Dad’s fridge?”
Chapter Fifteen
“It’s only the local show, but it’s still for real. You sure you’re ready for this?” Xander asked, taking Harmony’s hand and pressing it into the curve of his elbow.
“Oh, about seventy-eight percent,” Harmony breathed, listening to the roar of the audience on the other side of the curtain. The Dragon’s opponent was already down the ramp and in the ring, and their cue was looming closer and closer.
“You can do this, just remember your character, Harmony.” Turning to face her, Xander lifted Harmony’s chin, bringing her eyes up to meet his face. “Being nervous is okay, because you’re new and it’s expected. Hell, with your character, it’s basically written in. You’re star struck, you’ve never done anything like this before, and that will cover any nerves. It’ll be emphasized and used to your benefit, so it’s okay. Just don’t forget to be madly in love and wildly excited.”
“That should be simple enough,” Harmony murmured.
“You can do it,” Xander answered, her face cradled gently in his hands. Taking in a deep breath, Harmony looked into Xander’s eyes, noticing for the first time the way the pale blue of the iris stayed solid all the way to edge. His eyes were unusual, unsettling.
Wetting her lips with the tip of her tongue, Harmony stepped slightly away, trying not to notice the way her hand trembled against the hot muscle of his arm. “Okay. Okay, I can do this. I’m ready,” she said.
The crowd was cheering on the other side of the curtain, wild as Xander’s opponent spoke with confidence, his rumbling voice low through the sound systems. “—and I can take The Dragon again!” he shouted. The crowd roared at the end of the speech, and that was their cue.
“Here we go,” Xander said, stepping forward. Harmony lifted her chin, keeping her focus on Xander as they walked down the ramp together. He’d shortened his strides to allow for her smaller size, and it took them a little while to reach the bottom of the ramp. By the time they got there, the crowd was going wild, and the announcers were pretending to be shocked by Xander’s new escort.
She gasped when the reached the bottom of the ramp, suddenly jerked to a halt by the weight of Xander’s hand on hers. Meeting his eyes, she watched as he winked flirtatiously, completely taken aback by the change in his demeanor. Lifting her hand above her head, he urged her to spin around, holding out his free hand as if to show her off.
The audience went wild and Harmony couldn’t help flushing with embarrassment. Using the pretty blush to her benefit, she gazed up at Xander adoringly, batting the long, false eyelashes the costume designer had insisted that she wear. He laughed, his eyes heating as he watched her pout her lips at him.
“Harmony, ladies and gentlemen!” he shouted, turning her around again for the crowd before leading her to her place beside the ring.
During the match, Harmony cheered for Xander when he was winning, ignoring the natural high that took over her as she fueled the crowd to cheer him on. She beat the edges of the mat when he was losing, shouting encouragement and rallying the audience. And when he took a particularly violent fall that left him wheezing in the corner of the ring, Harmony restrained herself from scrambling into the ring to check on him, telling herself that it was only part of the show.
As the match drew to a close, Xander moved again to the corner of the ring, this time in preparation for his aerial finishing move, ‘The Flamethrower,’ his variation on the classic DDT. As part of the move, Xander climbed to the top rope before leaping down at his opponent, catching him by the neck and ripping him from his feet. When Xander used his weight to flip his opponent, they both came crashing to the mat, with Xander safely on his back The other man, however, came crashing down headfirst before crumpling to the mat. No opponent ever recovered from ‘The Flamethrower’ in time to prevent a loss, and this match was no different.
Soon enough, Xander and Harmony walked victoriously up the ramp and through the curtain. The Dragon had won his match, but it had been a long one, and Harmony didn’t need to pretend concern as she escorted Xander back up the ramp and through the dark curtain that would block them from view. He walked cautiously, with one arm wrapped gingerly around his side and the other heavy on Harmony’s shoulders.
“Xander?” she asked, once they’d passed through the curtain and into the little holding room on the other side. “Do you need me to find someone? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” he laughed, straightening and dropping the arm that was wrapped around his waist. “It’s for show. Hey, you did really great out there tonight.”
“Apparently, so did you,” Harmony retorted, crossing her arms as she pretended to be angry. Forcing herself not to smile at him, she scolded sternly, “I thought you were really hurt!”
“Better be careful, there, I might start thinking you actually care,” he answered. Taking her by the shoulders, Xander let his hands slide down Harmony’s arms, tugging her elbows to uncross her arms. “You’re not gonna go off on me like the bookstore are you?” he asked, smiling down at her.
Harmony glared up at him, struggling not to smile. “No,” she said.
“Come on, Harm, don’t be mad,” he answered casually. “It’s just all part of the game; I needed you to look concerned, and those people needed to believe something was wrong. And because I took you by surprise, they saw your reaction and they bought it.” Taking her hand, he tucked it into the curve of his elbow again, but this time he turned her away from the curtain.
Rolling her eyes, Harmony allowed Xander to lead her away from the curtain. “Where are we going?” she asked.
“To get food. If I don’t find a sandwich soon, I’m gonna have to give in to my urges and just eat you,” he laughed, nudging her slim waist with his elbow.
“Well I doubt I’d be very filling,” Harmony said quietly, her face flaming at the barely-masked flirtation. And of course, the low, sexy laugh that shook his shoulders as they walked only made her face more heated.
Chapter Sixteen
A week later, Harmony jerked awake, the sudden shrill of her cell phone ripping her from her dreams.
“Huh?” Harmony grumbled, nearly falling out of her bed as she reached over her pillow to grasp her shrieking cell phone. Sliding her finger over the screen and pressing the device to her ear, she sat up in the bed, her thick blankets falling into a loose pile around her body as she mumbled, “Yeah? Hello?”
“Harmony?”
Harmony’s blue eyes grew wide, her fingers running frantically through the dark tangles of her honeyed-chocolate hair. “Xander? How do you have my cell number?” she asked.
“If I tell you that, then I’d
have to kill you,” he laughed.
“Whitney?”
“Nope,” he said, laughing again, the rumble of his laughter bringing a smile to her face. “Actually I got it from work. I just wanted to call and tell you again that I thought you did really well in your training this week. Diane wants to move your schedule up soon, get you some action of your own.”
“Right,” Harmony scoffed. “She wants to watch me have my ass beat. She hates me. And who did you have to beat up to get my cell number?”
“I can’t tell you, I have to protect my sources,” he laughed.
Wrestling Harmony (The Kingsley Series) Page 11