No Fooling Around: Lennox Brothers Romantic Comedy Page 16

  “I’m sorry.” The words sounded flimsy, like offering flowers made from gauze.

  “That’s why Mom hadn’t come back to the apartment. She wouldn’t have left us without food for so long otherwise. I have to believe that.”

  His eyes finally came up to meet mine, and I realized their seemingly hard gray surface was just a smoke screen designed to hide the pain he carried inside.

  “How did she die?” My voice came out faint.

  “Drug overdose.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said again, hating how inadequate and tired the words were. There should be something else I could offer him, another way of telling him how much I wished he hadn’t suffered like that.

  He shrugged. “My brothers and I went back to San Dante. We finished our schooling and life went on. But I’ve always had a thing about falling.”

  “We’re not going on the trapeze.” My voice was firm. “Neither of us.”

  “We are. We’ll do it together.”

  “No way.” I shook my head. “There are plenty of other fun things we can try. I’ve always wanted to learn to juggle.”

  “Fear is just a chemical reaction that developed in our brains to make cavemen run from lions.”

  “That doesn’t mean you should ignore it.”

  A muscle twitched in his jaw. “If I hadn’t learned to control my emotions in Mexico, I wouldn’t have been able to perform the cup and ball trick perfectly every time, day after day. I wouldn’t have been able to deal with Mom’s changeable moods, or hold it together when she locked us in. This is no different. I need to control my fear, not let it control me.”

  A woman appeared from the back of the tent. It was the slightly-built trapeze artist I’d watched perform last time we were here. As she headed toward us, Asher eased his hand out of the python grip I had on it so he could stand up.

  I stood too. “Lions have fangs. Sometimes it’s smart to run away from them.”

  “Circuses have safety nets.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Here we are.” The trapeze artist had a strong Australian accent. “Sorry for the wait.”

  Her face was free of makeup, and she wore a simple leotard and tights instead of a sparkling costume. She barely came up to my shoulder, and though I was normally comfortable in my own body, she was so lithe and graceful that I couldn’t help but feel big and clumsy in comparison.

  She told us her name was Kasia, and led the way to the ladder while she assured us by the end of our lesson we’d both be able to swing upside down… and to fall safely into the big net that suddenly looked all too flimsy.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” I muttered to Asher.

  “I’m sure.” Weirdly, the tension in his voice eased my worry a little. The stronger his emotions were, the less likely he was to show them.

  Kasia strapped us both into harnesses attached to elastic lines, explaining the lines would make us fall slowly instead of quickly.

  “Is falling slowly supposed to be better?” I hissed to Asher, my stomach filling with excited butterflies. “Or will that just give us more time to be scared?”

  His eyes softened on mine, and he leaned in to steal a kiss. It was our first kiss in two days, and I grabbed him like I was starving for him, kissing him back with more urgency than was appropriate, given Kasia was watching.

  He felt and tasted so good, my world narrowed to the warmth of his mouth, his hand in my hair, the passion of his lips, his body close to mine.

  But he let me go too soon. I tried to cling for a moment, my head swimming, but he was drawing away.

  “For luck,” he murmured.

  Which is when it occurred to me that being dizzy might not be best state for climbing thirty-foot ladders.

  “Ready?” Kasia wore a wide smile, watching us with open approval. “Follow me now, and let’s climb.”

  Asher got straight onto the ladder with no hesitation, and climbed so fast I had to hurry after him, too dazed by his kiss to be as nervous as I should be.

  Asher paused about halfway up and glanced back at me. He paled as his eyes went past me to the ground, but then he focused on me and when he spoke, he sounded calm. “Are you okay, Iola?”

  “Are you?”

  “You have paint in your hair.” He looked back up and kept climbing. If I didn’t know better, I’d have no idea he was bothered by what we were doing.

  “I was splashing it around,” I admitted, keeping up with him so closely that I put my hand on each rung as his foot left it.

  “Working on the portrait I want to buy from you?”

  I suspected he was trying to take his mind off the fact we were getting further and further away from the ground.

  “No, I was doing something else. I’ll show you when we get back to my place.”

  “Doing a different painting?”

  I tsked loudly. “You’re not the only one who can plan surprises. And by the way, I want you to know this is the first time I’ve accepted an invitation to swing. I’m not usually that type of girl.”

  He chuckled, which I counted as a win even though it sounded strained.

  “I’d apply for a job as a trapeze artist,” I added. “Only I’m afraid of being let go.”

  Asher reached the platform and stepped onto it. I was right behind him, and when I joined him I noticed he wasn’t looking down. Probably a good thing. The ground was scarily far away, and the net was hard to see. It didn’t seem like it could save us if—when—we fell.

  I squeezed Asher’s forearm. “You’re doing great,” I murmured.

  He rewarded me with a tiny hint of a smile in return, an impressive feat considering what he’d been through. No wonder he’d been able to build a successful construction company. With that kind of determination, he could do anything.

  “No need to be nervous.” Kasia faced us, seemingly unaware of the fact that the edge of the ledge was just a hair’s breath from the back of her heel. “We’re perfectly safe.” She grabbed the trapeze, releasing it from where it was hooked on. “I’ll show you how to hold the bar, then you’ll swing. First we’ll just hold on with our hands. Then we’ll try hooking our legs over it. If you’re feeling confident at the end of the lesson, we’ll try a simple catch. Okay?”

  “Okay!” My excitement rose. Asher just gave a stiff nod.

  “Who’s going first?” asked Kasia.

  “I will,” I offered, guessing Asher might need a breather.

  Kasia took me through some instructions, then I got to throw myself off the ledge, whooping as I flew through the air. I gripped the trapeze bar tightly, adrenaline making my heart race. The ground was a distant blur, and a combination of fear and exhilaration made me laugh out loud even as my heart felt like it might explode.

  Reaching the apex of my swing, I flung my body up, lifting my legs for extra height, then swinging backward. Kasia grabbed me when I reached the platform and pulled me back onto the ledge.

  I let out a whoop. “That was so much fun!”

  “Now it’s your turn.” Kasia handed the trapeze to Asher.

  I wanted to tell him again that he didn’t have to, but the determination etched into his face made the words die in my throat. His eyes were gray flint, hard and resolute. The force of his iron will took my breath away. His strength had been forged by all he’d been through.

  If I’d had to jump from a high window as a teenager, there was no way I’d be up here. When Asher stepped off the ledge I could only watch in awe. I couldn’t breathe as I watched him swing away, then back again. Only when he’d landed back onto the platform with more grace than I had, did I let out a cheer.

  “You did it!”

  I threw my arms around him, hugging him so tightly I was probably crushing him. My chest felt light enough to fly without the trapeze. Maybe it was crazy to feel proud, but his achievement made me even happier than my own.

  “It wasn’t so bad,” he said against my hair, his voice amused.

  “Was it almost fu
n?”

  He chuckled. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

  “Want to try it again?”

  “Your turn first.”

  As we swung again and again, learning how to hook our knees over the bar and swing upside down, Asher visibly relaxed. When he finally smiled, I grinned back. I felt like my heart was soaring along with me, and I wished the lesson would last forever.

  Finally, Kasia had us both swing upside down from platforms at either end of the big net, our knees over the bar and our arms stretched down.

  “The next step isn’t easy,” she said to Asher when he swung back to our platform. “You’ll meet in the middle and catch hands. We’re almost out of time, so you’ll only have time for one try. And if you fall, you’ll just bounce in the net like I showed you, then make your way to the ground.”

  “Has it been two hours already?” I asked in disbelief. “It doesn’t seem that long.”

  “Are you willing to try the catch?” Kasia’s eyes darted between us.

  “Yes!” I bit my lip, trying to contain my enthusiasm as I turned to Asher. “I mean, if you’re up for it?”

  He nodded. “Let’s do this.”

  “Before we do, I just want to say this has been the best two hours I’ve ever spent. Thank you.” I lowered my voice, suddenly remembering another great time I’d had with him. “I mean, apart from when we fooled around. But this is a close second.”

  His eyes warmed, and he leaned in to murmur, “Let’s try not to finish our lesson with screams, okay?”

  I laughed. “It’s a deal.”

  “Ready?” asked Kasia. “You need to link hands very tightly.” She looked at me. “You have to trust him so you can take a deep breath and release your legs from the bar.”

  “Do you trust me?” asked Asher.

  “With my life. Only do me a favor and don’t take that literally, okay?”

  “I won’t let you go.”

  He got into position, and together we launched ourselves from our platforms like a couple of seasoned trapeze artists. We both hooked our knees over our bars, stretching our hands out, searching for each other.

  Then I spotted him hurtling toward me, and grabbed for him. I wrapped my hands around his wrists and felt his strong fingers circle mine. Extending my legs, I let the bar slip out from under my knees.

  I soared breathlessly through the air with nothing holding me up but Asher.

  His gray eyes were determined and his hands were sure, his grip reassuringly tight. I was flying, both completely free and totally safe. Asher would never drop me.

  I grinned up at him, and when an answering smile lit up his face, I felt a warmth and certainty unlike anything I’d ever experienced. If only this perfect moment could last forever.

  Which is when a thought flashed through my mind that was far scarier than the threat of falling.

  Could this be what it felt like to fall in love?

  Chapter Twenty

  Asher

  One good thing about facing my fear of falling was the rush of adrenaline and endorphins produced by my brain, which left me feeling exhilarated throughout the journey home.

  Considering the decision I’d made to divulge my secrets, my heart shouldn’t be so light. But stealing glances at Iola as I drove, I was absorbed by her smile and sparkling eyes, the way she sat with one knee pulled up, how she swayed in time with the song playing on the radio, and the grace of her fingers as she used her hands to punctuate her speech. I laughed when she joked that a trapeze date would be the most unsubtle way possible to dump an unwanted girlfriend, and agreed when she said our first lesson had gone so well, Kasia must have been tempted to offer us a part in their show.

  Her excitement and enthusiasm was so contagious, even if I hadn’t been riding an adrenaline high, she would have made me feel that way.

  We were enjoying ourselves so much that the drive felt too short, but even after we arrived at Iola’s house, the sea air seemed crisper than it had before, the ocean bluer, and the waves more impressive.

  Most of those perceptions were illusionary, but I couldn’t deny the one thing I knew was real. Iola had flung herself from a high bar with just a flimsy net below her, trusting me to catch her. I knew how scary that was and I couldn’t just brush it off. The fact she was willing to trust me that much filled me with an overwhelming need to protect her and keep her safe.

  The last thing in the world I wanted was to let her down, but I couldn’t keep lying to her. I had to confess the things I’d been keeping from her.

  I couldn’t wait any longer.

  Leaving my car in my driveway, I walked with her to her front door.

  “I need to talk to you about something.” I thought my voice sounded like a death knell, but it can’t have come out that way because Iola’s smile was unsuspecting.

  “Sure. Let me just tell Gloria we’re here. She probably wants to take off.”

  She opened her front door and called inside. A moment later, Gloria appeared, running one hand through her mass of orange curls. In her other hand she was carrying a novel.

  “There you are.” Gloria smiled, looking from Iola’s face to mine. “I don’t even need to ask if you had a good time. I can see you did.”

  “It was the best. Thanks for looking after Ruff for me. After all he’s been through, I was worried about leaving him alone, even for a couple of hours.” Iola peered around Gloria. “Where is he? When he hears the front door open, he usually comes to investigate.”

  “He was in the living room with me, keeping me company while I read. He’s probably asleep.” Gloria went back down the hallway with Iola at her heels. I followed the two women inside, coming to a halt behind them as they stopped in the entrance to the living room.

  Ruff was hunched down while Nemesis lay on her back in front of him, all four limbs stretched out and her eyes closed. Her mouth was slightly open, as though she was too blissed out to bother closing it. Ruff was licking my black cat all over, so intent on what he was doing, he didn’t even glance up.

  “Ruff!” Iola sounded so shocked, her dog’s huge head jerked up. He stared at her with guilty eyes, his monstrous jowls wobbling.

  Nemesis lifted her head too, taking us in with annoyed yellow eyes. Slowly she got to her feet, stretched, then stalked past us, heading down the hallway toward the open front door. Her tail was high and I had the impression of a swagger in her walk, but my attention was only half on her.

  I was distracted by a burst of paint on Iola’s living room walls. Last time I was here, the walls had been white. Now they were multi-colored, splattered with reds, yellows, blues, and greens in an astonishing mess of color.

  “What happened?” I walked further in. “You redecorated?”

  “After you left last night, I was too wired to sleep, and I started thinking how I promised Santino I’d look after his house, and how terrible it would be to break my promise when I’ve only just found him again. I can’t let my brother down like that. So I thought I’d try to discourage any potential buyers.”

  I stared around at the colorful walls, not finding any words because I couldn’t say what I needed to in front of Gloria. To spread that much paint, Iola must have worked most of the night.

  “I should go. Mavis will be wondering where I am.” Gloria gave Iola a hug and me a wave before heading toward the door.

  “Thank you for looking after Ruff.”

  “Anytime. He’s a sweetheart.”

  Their voices grew muffled as Iola walked Gloria outside, but I heard a peal of laughter and Iola calling goodbye. The two women sounded like they’d become close.

  Ruff had slunk off to his bed by the couch. He already seemed asleep, but I was pretty sure he was just pretending.

  The front door closed, then Iola came back into the living room. “So?” There was a smile in her voice. “Do you like my decorating? I used the water gun. Turns out it’s good at firing paint. For a while, at least, until it jammed.”

  My endorphin rush
had disappeared. Now my chest felt heavy with dread. I rubbed it with the heel of my hand, hating that what I had to tell Iola would steal the light from her eyes.

  “It’s creative.” I said, stalling. “But I’m afraid it won’t put off buyers.”

  “It had better put them off, because now Benedict’s signed the divorce papers, I’m about to get access to my English bank account. I should have enough money for a house deposit.” Her voice rose with excitement. “Asher, I’m going to buy the house myself.”

  My chest tightened so much, I could only take a shallow breath. At least she was walking toward the windows, so if my face betrayed my shock she didn’t see it.

  “I’ve already spoken to the realtor and told her I’ll buy the house. I love it here, Asher. I love San Dante, I love all the people I’ve met, and Santino’s home is so beautiful. When he gets out of jail he’ll move back in, then he and Ruff and I can all stay here together, like a real family. And I’ll get to know my brother again.”

  She spun to face me, her face shining with hope.

  I dragged in a shallow breath filled with razor blades and braced myself for the damage I had to inflict.

  “Iola, you remember I wanted to talk to you about something?” Swallowing, I wrapped my fingers around the metaphorical band-aid to rip it off. “I’m going to buy this house. I registered my interest with Emmy, and I plan to bid for it at the auction.”

  Her lips parted and her hopeful expression turned into confusion. “But you don’t need the house. Your place is right next door. Why would you buy two houses?”

  “Because it means I can join the two sites together. With a larger land area, I can build a taller building.”

  “You can build…?” She blinked rapidly. “Wait. Does that mean you want to tear the house down?”

  I nodded, feeling worse than I’d believed possible. Of all the people in the world I’d never wanted to hurt, Iola was top of the list.