by Kaci Hart
Love Takes Time
By Kaci Hart
Copyright © 2016 by Kaci Hart
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author or publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names and character are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Love Takes Time
A successful investment banker and a go-with-the-flow dance student meet unexpectedly. The attraction between them is undeniable, but their different lifestyles put a damper on their chance at happiness.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 1
Yes, mother nature, I’m a fan of cold weather but this is getting a bit on the ridiculous side.
The truth was that it was only February but Chelsea was over the constant freeze-off-your-fingers temperatures. At least she didn’t have to spend her time making her way through the city’s notorious slush puddles while trying to not ruin her shoes. She picked up her pace, passing building after building that looked down on her from all angles.
She wondered if anyone up there even took note of the people moving about on the city street beneath them. Probably not. This was New York City after all. She could walk through the city’s always crowded streets for five minutes without making eye contact with a single person. The people in the concrete castles above certainly didn’t take note of people like her regardless of how much was going on, and today seemed even busier than normal. The traffic was thick and slow, and the countless horns and shouts played off the walls around her to create the melody of the city that welcomed her every morning at this time.
She darted across the road, weaving her way through cars. She knew she shouldn’t jay walk but figured that the geniuses who came up with that rule probably weren’t in a rush to get somewhere when they came up with it. But she did have to be somewhere and as tempted as she was to stop as she passed her favorite curb side barista and grab a hot cocoa, all she could do today was settle for the thought of it until later.
I swear if I miss this appointment because of Sasha, I am going to find another roommate.
Chelsea loved living in New York for certain but the small place that they lived in had always had its way of feeling cramped as the city itself. Normally that was fine except for the days like today. Sasha would stay in the bathroom taking what seemed like an extra-long time when she knew today was important for Chelsea.
She didn’t need another roommate though. Sasha had her ways but she was better than a lot of the other options out there, and Chelsea was well aware of that. What she really needed was a bigger place. A bathroom of her own was a pipe dream though, and she reminded herself of that each time she’d ever considered moving in the past. Between the two of them, they could barely even afford to stay in the place that they were now. And even that was a constant struggle. To move where she’d really like to live would mean she was making serious money, which she certainly wasn’t.
As she made her way through the nerve numbing cold, Chelsea repositioned her scarf across the bridge of her nose to protect herself as much as possible. She was warm enough already from the neck down with the outfit she had on today that was highlighted by a stylish light pink leather jacket that contrasted her burgundy hair. Her best friend, Ava, had given her the expensive jacket from Bergdorf Goodman and it was easily the priciest item of clothing in her wardrobe.
It was more of an expensive fashion statement than a practical jacket to keep a person warm in these conditions but Ava had known that when she bought it. She had said she wanted her best friend to have at least one luxury item in her wardrobe. Still, when coupled with the white sweater she wore underneath, she was pretty warm. The only reason she was even wearing this outfit--or any of her cute outfits for that matter-- on a day as cold as this one, was to impress one very attractive guy at her dance academy.
Not that it even mattered anymore today. At the current rate, by the time she got to school, everyone would be gone. Luckily for her when she looked back a city cab came into view down the street. Normally she didn’t like to spend the money on a cab when the bus was so much cheaper but today she’d have to make an exception to the rule. No matter how she calculated, she did not have the time needed to wait on the next bus to arrive since she was already so close to being late.
She moved as quickly as she could to the curb, waving her arms in a frantic attempt to flag it down and breathed a sigh of relief when it came to a slow halt in front of her. She turned around to shorten the handle on her pull bag to put it into the vehicle and before she knew it a pompous looking man was slamming the door of the cab she’d just flagged down. She looked up and shouted as if it would really change things.
“Hello! That was my cab you jerk.’”
Could have at least shared the stupid ride with me.
Moments later all she could see was the back of the taxi driving down the road. She figured if this current moment was any indicator of how the rest of her day was going to go, she might as well turn right on around, walk back home and cuddle on the couch while watching the morning news. Stopping for her hot cocoa on the way home first of course. Regardless, she was starting to feel like anything would be better than having to deal with the weather and people on a day like today.
She didn’t see another taxi immediately in sight, but she knew one would be along soon enough. Still, rather than wait there freezing her tail off, she started walking in the direction of her college. That way she would make her ride that much shorter and keep her natural body heat working in her favor. One thing that was certain in her mind was that she needed to be where she was going as quickly as possible.
She hadn’t actually known what time it was since she didn’t wear a watch but the vibration of her phone in her tote told her more than enough. Denard was most likely the one calling her. She stopped walking and reached into her bag, rummaging around for her phone. Her phone buzzed again. She didn’t know why but her mind told her that the buzz felt more powerful, like the phone itself was angry that it wasn’t being answered. She felt her fingers run across every possible thing but the phone. Yes, the time to organize her bag had zipped past her long ago but it was just a reflection of everything else in her life. She knew certain things needed to be done. She just never actually got around to doing them.
Finally.
With her phone in hand, she looked at the corner of the screen and realized that it wasn’t a call but a text. She tapped on the messenger icon to see Denard’s smiling picture on the screen. She was sure that if she could see his face right now, the expression would be about as far from a smile as it could get. He was her dance partner and if his message was any indication, he was probably pretty upset with her. He had sent her a red faced, frowning, teeth bared, eye brows scrunched emoji which she didn’t even know existed. It was coupled with one very simple, all capped message.
‘STUPID ME EXPECTED YOU TO BE HERE BUT YOU ARE LATE . . . AGAIN. GET HERE NOW PLEASE!!!’
Of course the please was just a nicety. He had made it very clear that he was getting tired of being partnered with someone who didn’t seem to take her career as a dancer as serious as he took his. He’d even gone so far as to say that simp
ly being her partner was giving him cluster headaches. She knew it wasn’t a moment to laugh right now but she couldn’t help it. In her mind, she knew he was probably already having another one right then. She started walking down the sidewalk again while looking at her phone to type him a response. Almost simultaneously with her hitting the send button, she started to look up and felt her face run up against something hard.
When she realized that she was falling she tried to catch herself but knew it was too late since she was already looking towards the sky. Her feet had been moving forward too fast and her fall onto her bottom was just as quick as her legs swung from under her and into the air. As her bottom hit the ground, she was sure that her fall looked like something from a wrestling match but it was definitely real.
As she looked around to see what she had bumped into, she was probably happy for the first time in her life that, like her mother, most of her extra weight was concentrated in her posterior. Not that the concrete wasn’t hard because it definitely was, but as she took stock of her parts she was glad that her body didn’t feel like she’d broken anything.
She sat up and the first thing she saw was the polished back shoes. Her eyes followed the pathway up to see the face of a concerned looking man in a three-piece suit bending down over her.
“Oh my goodness miss. I’m so sorry. Are you ok?”
She was surprised at his concern for her. She had just fallen. Nothing life altering.
“I’m fine.”
She tried to move when he put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her.
“Are you sure? That looked like a pretty hard fall. Don’t move if you’re hurt and I can get help.”
She didn’t want to turn this into an ordeal. She hated to admit it but she didn’t have time for the most attractive man she’d ever met to make sure she was ok. Go figure. That was just the type of day she was having.
“No. Y-you don’t need to go to all the trouble. Look…”
Chelsea twisted from side to side and moved her arms up and down to show that she was alright.
“See. I’m fine.”
She saw his chest rise and fall as he let out a deep sigh. The look of extreme worry that he had been wearing moments before gave way to a look of relief on his face. A face that Chelsea was quite certain was one of the most picture perfect ones that she had ever laid eyes on. She jumped a bit when he placed his large hand on the small of her back and spoke, his voice soft and smooth. He was obviously still concerned for her as he extended his other hand to her.
“Let me help you up at least. Hold my hand.”
She reached up and took the support he was offering her while placing her hand on the ground to push off. Once she was on her feet, her eyes fell on his blue pools for an unexpected meeting that caused her heart rate to increase pretty quickly. This is what good looking is really all about. She was more glad than ever that she’d worn her cute outfit today. Forget the cute guy from school though. This was the kind of guy a woman only wanted to meet when she looked her absolute best. In addition to holding her gaze for that two second meeting, he held her hand and she felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
“Thanks for helping me up and please don’t worry. Like I said, I’m okay so it’s fine. Really.”
“That’s not true. I took the phrase of sweeping a pretty woman off her feet a little too literally just now and that wasn’t very gentlemanly of me at all.”
She watched him give her a once over with his eyes, with a look that said he was genuinely concerned that he’d harmed her.
“Well I’d say you made up for it with your kindness just now.”
“At least it looks like nothing is broken but I usually always pay attention to what I’m doing. I ran out the door so quickly that I didn’t even see you coming.”
“I appreciate you taking the blame but it really isn’t all your fault. There’s a reason they say that you shouldn’t text and . . . well take any other action I guess. I’m as much to blame as you, if not more so don’t beat yourself up too much.” She backed up and started to look around for her things. She’d lost time here that she didn’t have. “Anyway, I would love to stay and keep talking to you but I am so late for an appointment that I had today.”
“Great! I was just about to head to my office but it would be my pleasure to drop you wherever you need to go. It’s the least I can do after what happened plus it gives me a few minutes to get to know who you are.”
After meeting him and the way he’d acted so far, she wasn’t surprised that he would offer to give her a lift. She bit her lip and looked around as she thought about it. It wasn’t like there was another taxi right there. At least if she rode with him, she would save time. She also knew that she was going to have to face Denard’s wrath, and she’d rather experience the calm before the storm with this guy than freezing on the street side.
Besides all that, she knew she wasn’t going to say no even if she wanted to. She was compelled to say yes. The guy that could have passed for a GQ model had more than a nice smile and good attitude. He had the kind of face that could make a woman want to stare at it every day. His perfect, angular jawline and well defined chin was the perfect complement to his slightly dimpled cheeks that completed a smile that was beyond cute.
And then there were his eyes. Those baby blues completed the expertly drawn image that was him. It turned out to be an image that she felt like she could look at for hours. On any other day, she would have taken a trip with him to . . . well just about anywhere. Still, a person can’t be too careful in New York City. It’s not like this was Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood. At least it didn’t look like it.
“Thanks for the offer, and you seem pretty nice but how do I know that you’re not some serial killer who gets his victims by knocking unknowing girls off their feet and then offering them a ride. Sounds like a horror novel in the works, don’t you think?”
The laugh that followed was deep and fun. More importantly, it was honest. Chelsea always believed you could tell a lot about a person by the way they laughed. His full laugh told her that she could trust him.
“Well Miss, I guess you’re going to just have to trust me, won’t you? I’m as gentle as a lamb so let me give you a ride. Besides, you already said you’re running late and my driver is already waiting for us.”
Driver? He’s attractive and rich. Who did I bump into, billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne, by day Batman by night?
The luxurious vehicle that was parked on the side of the road looked like something that a king or queen would step out of. Even as someone who knew little about cars, she could tell that this was a unique piece of machinery. Jet black with silver trim. The light of the sun glistened off of it like something from a movie. Even with multitude of cars passing it in both directions, this car garnered attention – just like the guy that she now knew to be its owner.
As he walked her to the car, she noticed that his opulent silver watch and matching cufflinks were a perfect parallel to the car with its shiny silver rims and fresh out of the dealership look. She didn’t know if it was done on purpose or not but he was so coordinated that it was almost like the car was just another accessory. As if he needed any more help looking beautiful. She’d never really considered a man beautiful before but her mystery man was very close.
When they got closer to the car, an older man in a simple black suit walked around to the curb side rear door and held it ajar for them.
“Sir, madam.”
Her new friend turned in her direction.
“After you, miss.”
He waved his hand towards the door, motioning for her to get in so she did. As she slid over to the other side so that he could get in, she let her single thought at that moment slip from her mouth.
“Wow.”
She heard him chuckle as he sat beside her.
“First time in one of these?”
“Yeah. So this is how the other half lives, huh?”
“I never really thought ab
out it. It’s just transportation to me.”
Transportation. Riiiight.
From the outside, she’d just thought it was a big car. It wasn’t until she saw the interior that she realized it was so much more. It was full service; all you could probably need on a trip anywhere. Most people only experienced a limo maybe when they went to prom or got married. Chelsea didn’t even have that since she had skipped her high school prom and as of yet had not fielded any requests for her hand in marriage that she would take seriously. She had always wondered why people cared when they saw these oversized cars.
Now she completely understood.
The interior of the car --she almost felt like she was wrong to think of this immaculate piece of work as just a car -- was mostly taken up by the beige leather seating. Her bottom, which had reverted from full pain to a light tingle, told her that the curved and cushioned seats were leaps and bounds more comfortable than the couch and recliner that decorated her own living room.
