Unexpected Storms (The Unexpected Series Book 4)

by Stacy Eaton

Chapter Nine

  Harvey

  Thursday afternoon was a little intense. I met them at the location, and we ran through the dance four times. I struggled the first two times, feeling uncomfortable being out in public and dancing.

  Holly had pulled me aside after the second one. “Harvey, since when have you ever cared what people think of you?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about the fact that you are distracted, and you keep looking around. It’s obvious that you aren’t comfortable doing this in front of others.”

  “You are one hundred percent right; I am not.”

  “Forget they are there. They mean nothing, Harvey. The only person who means anything is your partner. You can do this, but you need to forget about the audience and get your head on straight.”

  “You’re right, Holly.” I was stuck in the fact that people were watching us practice. Had we been doing tactical things, I wouldn’t have cared because I was comfortable with it—but this was dancing. Over the last few days, I’d had a handful of people who had been present during the practices while they recorded everything. I just had to pretend that those other people here now were just like them. They were doing a job, not judging me.

  Holy shit, I was going to dance in public with someone I didn’t even know! A panic I hadn’t ever felt before gripped my gut for a second. Get it together, Harv! You got this. You got this.

  A few minutes later, I had things back under control, and we ran through the dance two more times. Both of them were flawless, or, well, as flawless as they were going to be with me doing them.

  Now I just needed to make it through the next day and do it for real. As I left the park, I wondered if I was more nervous about messing up or having a connection with the woman and never seeing her again.

  Friday morning, I woke up feeling even more anxious than the day before. As the day progressed, I began to feel downright nervous. I tried everything to keep from thinking about it, but the closer it got to noon, the twitchier I became.

  I realized that I wasn’t as nervous about meeting her, as I was nervous about doing the dance and messing up. I didn’t want to embarrass myself or her, and I knew that if I screwed up during the dance, my guys would never let me live it down. Even five days later, I was still getting texts of funny memes and videos of guys dancing and making total fools of themselves. I knew it was in jest, but I couldn’t afford to add to the fire.

  I wasn’t sure how they pulled it off, but Alice and Maggie were going to be there to watch from behind the scenes. I hadn’t wanted anyone there, but Alice told me last night that they would be. I wondered if maybe Maggie had used her newspaper credentials to get her a place.

  At noon, I headed down to my staging area and checked in. I was brought to a small trailer and asked to wait there. I could hear people walking by outside, talking about camera angles and sound checks, and I thought I would explode out of my skin if I had to wait any longer in this closet. I was ready to start pacing, and I never paced.

  Finally, the door opened, and Holly stepped in. “Hey! Are you ready for this?” She gave me a wide grin as she approached, her arms open wide.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be.” I held her close.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Strangely anxious.” I laughed slightly.

  “That’s normal. Once you start dancing, that will go away.”

  “Yeah, but what if I screw up?”

  “Then you screw up, and you move on.”

  “What if there is no connection?”

  She frowned. “Harvey, I talked you into doing this because I needed a favor. I never expected you to have chemistry with her, and I never for the life of me thought that you might want to have a connection with her.”

  I shrugged. “Well, you know that I never do anything halfway.”

  “Yes, I know, but don’t be too disappointed if she doesn’t pick you. I’m serious about you not being her type. You’re like a wolf, and she’s a church mouse.”

  I snickered at her analogy. “Don’t worry, I won’t be upset, but I guess I was thinking that it might be kind of cool to hit it off with someone while doing this. It’s not all that different than being in a bar and seeing someone from across the room.”

  “No, it’s not. The only difference is you don’t talk.” She studied me. “You know if she doesn’t pick you, and you’re still interested in this whole process, I might be able to get you on again with us picking three women for you. Might be better odds for you.”

  I laughed loudly. “Hey, let’s not go overboard. Let me get through today before you start trying your matchmaking skills on me, alright?”

  “Alright, fine. I came in here to check on you, but also to tell you that you are going to be first today.”

  “Will I be able to watch the other two men dance with her?”

  “Nope.”

  “Seriously? I won’t even be able to see how she connects with them?”

  She shook her head. “Nope. You won’t see anything until it airs.”

  “When is that?”

  “In about two months, after this whole decision is made and then it goes through editing.”

  “You know, it’s amazing that you film everything for two weeks, and it breaks down to less than sixty minutes of tape.”

  “I know. We work hard to pull out the perfect snippets for the show. It takes hours to do.”

  “I do not doubt that it does. So what time is my dance?”

  She glanced at her watch. “At two. So we need to get you to makeup and wardrobe.”

  “Lead the way,” I told her and followed her from the trailer. There was a lot of activity around, and I saw the man from the other day being led to another nearby trailer. He nodded to me after he’d looked me over from head to toe. What did he think of his competition?

  Holly brought me to another trailer, larger than the first, and inside I was introduced to a different makeup and hair lady, Gina, and the wardrobe guy, Stu.

  It didn’t take me long to get made up, and there wasn’t much she could do with my hair, not with the way I had it cut. I was wearing jeans, sneakers, and a light-purple button-down shirt. I’d never worn purple before in my life, but I liked it as I stared at the reflection in front of me. It brought out my eyes, but then again, that could be the makeup that was bringing out my eyes.

  One of the production staff walked me back to the trailer and told me to hang tight for about fifteen minutes. After that, someone would come to get me, and I could stretch out and get ready. The minute the door closed, my stomach rolled. Holy crap, I’d never been this nervous in my life. Not even going into military operations. I’d gone into some pretty scary places, but this seemed ten times worse.

  It didn’t make sense. It totally did not make sense. I should be laughing this off, making fun of myself, but I couldn’t. All I could do was wonder who she was, what she would look like, and if there would be any chemistry between us.

  I know that Holly said there was no chance in hell, but crazier things had happened in life. I think the wildest part of the whole thing was that I wanted crazy to happen. Maybe I’d lost my mind.

  To take my mind off the questions, I stood and began to walk through certain parts of the dance in the small space that I had. My cellphone beeped, and I checked it to see Alice sending me a message saying they were there and so excited. She wished me well and told me not to break my leg.

  I told her thank you for coming and then turned off my phone. I didn’t want any more distractions.

  A few minutes later, a young guy came to get me. He brought me in front of a camera crew, and Tarin joined me. “Are you nervous, Harvey?”

  “I’d be lying if I said no.”

  “How do you feel?”

  To be honest, my fingers were tingling, and my stomach was a mess, but I wasn’t going to say that. “I’m excited and ready to meet her—and okay, more nervous than I have ever been.”

  �
��Are you still hoping for a connection with her when you do?”

  “Yes, even more so now than before.”

  Tarin cocked her head. “Why is that?”

  I shrugged slightly and laughed. “I don’t know. I guess when I started this, I wasn’t one hundred percent invested in it or the idea, but now I am. Now I’m really excited to dance with her, and while we aren’t going to be talking, I hope that our bodies say all they need to.”

  “Cut!” the director said, and Tarin leaned toward me. “I have a feeling your bodies are going to be doing a lot of talking.”

  “Let’s hope so.”

  Holly approached me. “Alright, it’s almost time. Go with Cal; he’s going to get you over there, and Ryan is going to let you know when you can take your place. As soon as you are both in place, we will start the music, and the stage will be yours.”

  I noticed a camera over her shoulder on me, and I nodded and tried to smile. The butterfly in my stomach had turned into a full-sized bird. Now it was banging around in my stomach so hard I was expecting it to burst out at any moment.

  “You ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be.” She hugged me, and I whispered into her ear. “How did I let you talk me into this?”

  She laughed as she leaned back. “You love me, that’s how! Now, go show her your stuff.”

  I headed with Cal and Ryan across the street and down the side street slightly. The main road was now closed, but there was an area for spectators, plus a lot of production crew and cameras.

  Holy shit! What the hell was I doing? I bent over at the waist, putting my hands on my knees, and tried to calm myself. I seriously had never been so nervous in my life. Why? I was only going to dance with a woman. I’d danced with women before, dozens of them, so why was this such a big deal?

  It has to be because of the cameras; that was the only thing I could think of or the fact that I wouldn’t say a word to this woman for the four minutes we were together.

  “You ready?” Ryan asked.

  “Yeah, let’s go.” I stood and inhaled a few times deeply as I tried to center myself. Pretend you are going into a battle zone; people depend on you; it’s a dangerous place, and you need to keep your head on a swivel and focus. I could do this.

  “Get ready, when I drop my hand, you start walking toward the corner and get yourself ready. She is already going to be there.”

  I nodded, and a few seconds later, he dropped his hand, and it was showtime. As I approached my spot, I tried to remember the dance, but it was hiding under my anxiety. As I reached my place, I saw her knee on the other side of the corner, and I smiled. Holy shit, I was actually going to do this.

  I leaned back against the wall, inhaled slowly, and felt the calm descend. We would either have a connection or we wouldn’t. Either way, we were going to have fun.

  The music began, and just like that, the dance came back to me as I leaned sideways and peered around the corner. Her dark hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and she wore matching sneakers to mine, jean shorts, and a darker purple shirt. I saw all of this in one single peek before I pulled back and turned my head away.

  I waited for the beat and put my hand out; a moment later, her small hand landed in mine. It was almost electrifying, and I stepped out and pulled her into me. My hand skimmed down her side to where I took her hand, and I grinned as I twirled her away from me and then pulled her back.

  This time as she returned, her face snapped to mine, and her hand came to rest on my cheek. The cameras did not exist. The spectators weren’t there. Hell, in that single moment, the entire world vanished as I stared down into her energetic green eyes.

  It wasn’t until she pulled away from me with a sassy grin on her face that I realized I’d seen this woman before, but I didn’t have time to think on it as we danced and moved over the street, onto the gazebo, and then down the stairs to the fountain.

  The entire way, I grinned like a freaking fool. I couldn’t have stopped if I had wanted to. Every time she looked at me, I felt it shoot straight down my spine. I picked her up, spun her around, heard her giggle, and then put her down on the fountain wall. She did a little dance, wagged her finger at me with the sexiest smile I’d ever seen, and then I was there, lifting her into the air.

  She was light as a feather, and the only thing I wanted to do was bring her down to my body and hold her close. I wanted to stare into her eyes, suck in her breath, and learn everything about who she was.

  The dance went too fast, and before I knew it, she was wrapped in my arms for the final note of the song. Both of us were breathing hard, and neither of us moved away from the other. It was like time stopped again, and nothing else existed. I ran two fingers down the side of her face, and we slowly parted. The two of us stepped apart, and it was almost painful to turn. I held eye contact with her until the very last moment, and then we were walking away from one another. I glanced back; I couldn’t help it, and she did too, her bottom lip tucked under her teeth before she made the turn out of sight.

  The smile was still on my face as I came around a bunch of trees, and the camera crew was standing there; a whiteboard faced me off-camera with the question, “How do you feel?”

  “Holy crap,” I said as I stood there trying to slow my breathing. “My heart is going a million miles an hour. That was crazy. I’m just—I’m just—um—I’m kind of speechless. That was fantastic; she is fantastic.”

  Chapter Ten

  Ali

  “What just happened?” I said as I stopped in front of the camera. My heart was beating so fast and hard in my chest that I couldn’t hear. “Seriously, what just happened?”

  I glanced over my shoulder, but of course, there was nothing to see. The man that I had just danced with was gone.

  Tarin came to my side, her smile slightly nervous. “Well, was it good?”

  “Oh, my god! It was incredible. He was so handsome, and the moment I looked into his eyes, I was immediately comfortable. It was like I knew that we were going to have fun, and he was going to lead me through it, and he wouldn’t drop me.”

  “So, you weren’t worried anymore about him dropping you?”

  “No, not at all.”

  “Would you say you felt a connection?”

  I nodded like a bobblehead doll. “Oh, yes, I felt a connection. It was crazy, but I felt it.”

  Tarin laughed. “It was obvious as we watched that you two had a bond from the very first moment. The look on his face when he stared down at you was like he was surprised to see it was you. Like he had expected someone else.”

  “I felt the same way; I felt like I knew the man the moment we locked eyes.”

  “Well, let’s hope that your next two dances are just as good, or not.” She laughed, and my eyes went huge. “Now, you need to clear your head, forget about that dance, and do it again.”

  “I can’t believe I have to do that two more times.”

  The director cut after that, and I was moved swiftly away from the area to change clothes and touch up my makeup. I was given a bottle of water and asked if I wanted a snack, but there was no way I could eat anything.

  The entire time I got ready for the next dance, my mind was on the first one. When I had peeked around the corner and seen how tall he was, his dark hair, the way he was dressed, my heart sighed. Then I had taken his hand, and it was warm and slightly rough, and it thrilled me, but not as much as him twirling me into his arms and running his nose up the side of my head as his fingers ran down the side of my body—my god that was so damn sexy.

  Then I was looking in his eyes, and I wanted to fall. I wanted just to jump in and get lost in his deep green gaze. As I started to turn away from him, I realized that I had seen him before. On the street corner during the downpour, almost exactly like this, and he had picked up my bags and handed them to me before he had rushed off. That night, he had looked stressed, worried, but not tonight. Tonight, he was confident, playful, and so damn sexy!

  The dance had been so
much fun, and even though I didn’t know the man, I couldn’t imagine doing this dance with anyone else. What was it going to be like to do it again with two more men? Holy crap, what if I had connections with all three men?

  It was thirty minutes later, and I was retaking my place. This time I wasn’t as nervous, but my heart was still racing. When the music started, and I peered around the corner, the guy was taller, and his hair was a lighter shade of brown. When I came face-to-face with him, I smiled brightly. He was super cute, and he even had a dimple in his cheek.

  The dance was fun, and I had a good time, but I didn’t feel the same connection with him that I had with the first man. When he lifted me into the air, I felt him shift slightly, and for a second, I thought he might drop me. The first man would never have dropped me. If I were going to fall, he probably would have thrown his body under mine to soften the blow—how I knew that I wasn’t sure—I just did.

  As the dance ended, we shared another energetic smile, and I turned from his arms and strolled away at a fast pace. He had a sweet smile, kind eyes, and he seemed very fun, but nothing urged me to look back as I had the last time.

  “That was so much fun!” I said as I reached the camera crew. I knew they wanted my first reaction, and that was the truth. It was fun.

  Tarin stepped up and hugged me. “It looks like you two were having a blast.”

  “We were! I really felt like we connected on a different level. I wanted to throw my head back and laugh; he had a playful vibe to him.”

  “Did you feel a connection with him?”

  “Yes, I did, very different than the first one.”

  “It makes you think, doesn’t it?”

  I nodded. “It does. I’m going to have to figure out if I want serious or playful because that’s kind of what I felt between the two of them. One was more intense, the other very playful.”

  “Yes, I got that too, but before you decide, you have another dance to get ready for.”

  “Oh, my gosh! One more time! This is going to make it so hard. If the third guy is half as good as these two were, I’m not sure what I will do.”