Hearts Aligned (Eternal Love #1)

by Cheri Marie

  I think back to this afternoon during the luncheon trying to remember everyone I saw. Holy shit, I know who it is. It’s Landon! I have to call Ashlan.

  “Thank you so much for your help, it was greatly appreciated.”

  “Is everything okay? Can I do anything else for you Miss Taylor?”

  “No, that’ll be all. Have a good evening.”

  I hang up and immediately dial Ashlan.

  “Hey, miss me already?” she giggles.

  I laugh, “Of course, but I found out some interesting information.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I know who the anonymous donor is!”

  “What? Seriously? Who is it?”

  “It was Landon.”

  “Are you serious? How did you find out?”

  “Well, I was entering all the pledges and emailing everyone to make sure they send in their pledges. All of the sudden my email dinged and it was a notification from the bank saying someone had just made a hundred thousand dollar deposit. I immediately called the bank and questioned the teller. She told me what he looked like and it was him! It has to be.”

  “That is unreal.”

  “I know! Oh, and when I got home there was a box of roses with an apology from Liam lying at my front door.”

  “Oh good Lord, did you throw them away?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because they’re pretty and I love roses. I called him and told him I don’t accept his apology and that he is not to contact me ever again.”

  “Good for you girl. Listen, it’s Saturday night and neither of us have to work tomorrow. We should go out and have a good time. I’m single, you’re single now. Let’s go dancing, have a few drinks, and flirt with whoever we want.”

  I think about it for a minute. She’s right; I should go out and have some fun. “Okay, I’m going to shower and get dressed. We’ll take a car service tonight so neither of us have to drive. We’ll pick you up around 9pm.”

  “Okay, sounds good. See you later Ari.”

  “See you soon!” I hang up. This should be interesting.

  Ever since I left the luncheon I haven’t been able to get Arianna off my mind. I smile to myself as I can only imagine her reaction when she came across the anonymous donation I left. Daydreaming, I remember how beautiful she looked. Those piercing green eyes are permanently burned into my memory. The image of me worshiping her body, working it with my tongue and fingers enters my mind. I shake it off. What the fuck is wrong with me? I’m daydreaming over a woman I know nothing about. She could be married, have a boyfriend or be a lesbian for all I know. No, she’s not a lesbian, definitely not after her reaction to me. I need to try to get my mind off her. I call my military brother Damien to see if he wants to head out for a few drinks tonight. Like I expected he’s game for a few brews. I jump in the shower and then dress to head out for a night on the town.

  I head up to my room. Grabbing the couple of boxes I packed up of Liam’s things, and set them by the bedroom door so that I don’t forget to carry them downstairs for the courier. The warm water in the shower feels amazing. I finish showering, climbing out I wrap myself in a towel and head into my closet to decide what to wear. Walking into my closet I begin to flip through the hangers. I come across my favorite black worn skinny jeans. I quit wearing them when I started dating Liam because he said fat girls shouldn’t be wearing skinny jeans. I almost put them back on the hanger but I decide to wear them anyways. I’m not letting his negative comments affect me anymore. The shirt I pick out to wear is an aquamarine color. It has ¾ sleeves; it’s fitted at the top and then is loose at the bottom. I grab my pumps that match the shirt and head into my room to get ready. I dress quickly, do my makeup and decide to curl my hair. As I’m finishing up I let my mind wander back to this afternoon, to Landon.

  When I’ve finished, I take a quick glance in the mirror. There, looking back at me in the mirror is the girl I was before Liam. Before he tore me down with all his mind fuckery and his name calling, the worst part about it is I let him. This version of me, I’ve missed her, and I look HOT! I grab everything I need; identification, money, and lip gloss. On my way out of the bedroom I grab the boxes of Liam’s things. When I get downstairs I set the boxes outside the door to be picked up.

  The car service is waiting in the driveway when I come out. I lock the door and set my alarm. The driver gets out and opens the door for me.

  “Thank you,” I say.

  “You’re most welcome Miss,” he gives me a big smile.

  I smile back. After closing my door, he returns to the driver’s seat and we’re off to get Ashlan. We pull up at her house and the driver beeps. The front door opens and she steps out of the door looking like a million bucks. She’s wearing jeans that look like they were made specifically for her with a beautiful lace white top and her knee high boots. I can see the drivers face in the rearview mirror. His jaw has nearly hit the floor and if he isn’t careful he just might drool on himself. He jumps out of the car as she walks down the driveway and opens her door. She climbs in next to me.

  “Hey! You look amazing Ari!”

  “Thank you, you look great too, like always,” I smile at her, she smiles back.

  The driver is back in the car and we are off to the club.

  “So which club should we go to tonight Ashlan?”

  “Let’s check out what’s going on at Sashay's.”

  “Okay, sounds good.”

  The driver pulls up to the front of Sashay's. It’s packed and there is a line out the door. The driver opens our doors and we climb out. Everyone in line turns to look at us. I ignore the fact that we’ve gained a lot of attention. I tip the driver and tell him to be back at 1:30 am to retrieve us.

  We walk towards the front of the line, receiving dirty looks from the other patrons waiting in line. An advantage of being friends with the owner, I’m always on the VIP list. There are two bouncers at the door letting people in and out.

  “Hello ladies, how are you tonight?” asks one of the bouncers.

  “Great, thank you. Arianna Taylor, for VIP,” I tell him. He checks the list.

  “Sure Miss Taylor, right this way.” He leads us inside and up to VIP.

  Even VIP is packed. We find a table close to the railing of the balcony and take our seats. A waiter approaches our table to get our drink order.

  “Ladies, what are we drinking?”

  “I’ll have a cosmopolitan,” says Ashlan.

  “I think I’ll have an apple martini.”

  “Sure thing, I’ll be right back with your drinks,” he says.

  He’s back with our drinks in record time. My martini is delicious. I drink it down and order another.

  The deejay puts on an upbeat song and I can’t help but get up and dance. Ashlan joins me, dancing next to our table. We dance to three more songs before I decide to take a break.

  Damien and I decide on a happening club called Sashay’s in downtown. It’s a nice club with multiple floors and great drink specials. I park my car curbside a couple blocks down and head to the club. Damien meets up with me as I approach the doors. There’s a massive line outside, but thanks to the club catering to military personnel we show our military ID’s and get to skip the line. We head inside; the club is extra packed tonight. We make our way to the bar and grab a couple drinks. I turn and lean against the bar, sipping my drink and scanning the crowd for any potential distraction from thinking about Arianna. I mean, who knows if I will ever even see her again? I shake my head at myself; idiot. I notice a hot brunette checking me out from across the bar, I start to walk towards her but I can’t help feeling like someone is staring at me. I look up to the crowd on the balcony and there she is. Arianna is sitting up in VIP with her friend I saw at the luncheon. They’re laughing, drinking, and enjoying themselves. Her smile captivates me and I stand there staring at her like an idiot. Glancing down from the balcony she notices me; I smile and wave. I bump Damien with my elb
ow to get his attention and nod in her direction. Grabbing his drink off the bar he follows me across the dance floor.

  I sit back down and look over the balcony, watching everyone dancing on the main dance floor. As I’m scanning the crowd, I recognize a guy standing at the bar. I lean forward to get a better look; it’s him! It’s Landon. I tap Ashlan on the shoulder and nod in his direction.

  I pull her close to me so she can hear me over the music.

  “Look! It’s Landon.”

  “Oh my God, it is! You should go talk to him.”

  “No, I don’t think so. What would I even say?”

  “I don’t know. Ask him if he enjoyed the fundraiser?”

  I glance back down at him and he’s noticed me watching. Shit! He waves, and I see him start to walk towards the stairs to come up to VIP. Instantly there are butterflies in my stomach.

  “Shit, Ashlan, he’s coming up here! How do I look?”

  She giggles at me, “You look amazing as always.”

  I see him talking to the bouncer that is standing guard at the top of the stairs. They’re both looking at me when I look up. They smile at each other and shake hands, and then he makes his way to our table. I feel my cheeks blush.

  “Hi,” he says.

  “Hi.”

  “Arianna right?”

  “Yes, nice to see you again. This is my best friend Ashlan.”

  Ashlan smiles and shakes his hand.

  “Nice to meet you Landon,” she says.

  “Ladies, this is my military brother Damien; Damien this is Arianna and Ashlan.”

  Damien shakes my hand then Ashlan’s, “Nice to meet you ladies.”

  “The pleasure is all mine, I assure you,” Ashlan purrs.

  Ashlan grabs my attention and gives me that ‘Oh my god, he’s gorgeous’ look. I try not to giggle at her.

  “Arianna, would you like to dance?”

  The question catches me off guard. He wants to dance with me? For a minute I think about telling him no, being so close to him I don’t think I could handle it. I sit there looking at him, taking in all his beautiful features. Beautiful hazel eyes, sexy kissable lips; my eyes wander down his gorgeous body. He has nice muscular arms and for a second I think about them being wrapped around me. My eyes continue down his body. You can see the outline of his rock hard pecks and abs through the fitted T-shirt he’s wearing. I stop my eyes from going any lower and bring them back up to look at his beautiful face.

  Ashlan looks from me to Landon and then back at me, "Say yes," she mouths to me. I shake my wayward thoughts out of my head. Answer him you idiot, I think to myself.

  “Sure, I’d love to.”

  He takes my hand and leads me onto the dance floor. The deejay has put on a slow song, great. He takes my right hand and puts his other hand on my waist. We sway back and forth to the music; suddenly he releases my waist and spins me around. It catches me off guard and I giggle.

  “You have a beautiful smile Arianna.”

  “Thank you, and please call me Ari,” I give him a sweet, shy smile.

  “So how did the fundraiser go?” he asks.

  “It was amazing! We raised a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. A very generous person anonymously donated a hundred thousand of it.”

  He grins at me but says nothing; I play stupid.

  “Was it you?” I ask him.

  “Yes, it was me.”

  “Wow. I was really hoping I could find out who it was. I wanted to thank them personally. So thank you, I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know, and the family’s thank you as well.”

  He just smiles and shrugs it off, “You’re welcome,” he says.

  He lets go of my waist again to spin me around. As I’m spinning, I see Liam. Fuck! He’s leaning against the bar and he’s fuming. I pray he doesn’t approach us but a few moments later I feel a tap on my shoulder. I look back and there he is, Liam, beautiful and mad as hell.

  “What do you want Liam?” I ask him. It feels like my heart has dropped into my stomach. I really don’t need this shit tonight.

  “Moving on quickly I see,” he snarls.

  “It’s just a dance and we aren’t together anymore so it is none of your concern.”

  Landon is at my side, his hand still on my waist.

  “Is there a problem?” He asks, looking at Liam.

  “The problem is that you’re dancing with my girl,” he says through gritted teeth.

  “I’m not your girl anymore Liam!” I shout.

  We’ve now attracted the attention of most of the VIP section. Ashlan has joined us and is waiting to pounce on Liam.

  “Liam, you’re drunk. Go home.”

  “Why? So you can be a little whore?” He says as he takes a step closer to me. Suddenly Ashlan jumps between us.

  “You fucking bastard!” Ashlan snarls, then without warning she swings as hard as she can, punching Liam in his face connecting with the side of his mouth. He stumbles for a minute, but recovers quickly. When he turns back to us, his lip is bleeding, wiping it away he starts to laugh.

  “Is that all you got you bitch?” The look in his eyes is the same look as the night I kicked him out. Choking down the lump of fear in my throat I step forward, standing next to Ashlan. His attention turns to me.

  “What are you going to do you fat bitch?”

  Before I can react Landon steps between us and Liam.

  “That is no way to talk to the woman you are supposedly dating. She said you two are done, I think it’s best if you leave,” he growls at Liam.

  “I’ll talk to her however the fuck I want!” Liam snaps. He grabs my arm and I pull away from him quickly. Without a second thought Landon swings, busting Liam’s nose. Damien’s quickly at Landon’s side waiting for Liam to react. Liam charges at Landon but he moves out of the way and Liam hits the tables behind us, sending them flying.

  The bouncers appear out of nowhere to break up the fight.

  “Dee, can you please escort Liam here out of the bar?” Landon asks the bouncer.

  “Sure thing,” he grabs Liam’s arm, leading him to the exit. Just before he’s led down the steps, Liam turns around and smiles.

  “This isn’t over!” he growls at us then turns and heads down the stairs with Dee.

  We head back to the table where Ashlan is chatting and flirting with Damien. I take my seat and Landon sits next to me. I bite my lip not knowing what to say. Confusion takes over my thoughts this man doesn’t even know me, why would he just jump in to protect me like that? Ashlan turns her attention to me.

  “Hey Ari, are you okay?”

  “Yea Ash, I’m okay. Thank you for standing up for me.”

  “Of course,” she says with a smile. Then she turns her attention back to Damien.

  “I’m sorry about Liam,” I say to Landon without looking up. I can’t bring myself to look him in the eye.

  “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  He puts his finger under my chin to lift my face to meet his gaze.

  “It’s really okay. Don’t worry about it.” He says softly. I give him a weak smile. For a minute I think he’s going to kiss me but he drops his hand.

  “Can I get you a drink?” he asks.

  “No that’s okay, I can get it.”

  “No, I insist. What would you like?”

  “Okay, I’ll just have water please.”

  “Okay,” he says and flags down the waiter.

  He gives the waiter our drink order, The waiter disappears into the crowd of people while we sit there quietly listening to the music. I sneak a peek at him and catch him staring at me. He smiles; I smile back and then look away. A few moments later the waiter is back with our drinks, Landon hands me mine.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he says.

  Glancing at my watch I realize its 1am. I motion to Ashlan that it’s time to go. I glance at Landon out of the corner of my eye. The expression on his face changes but I can
’t read what he’s thinking.

  Okay this is your chance Holt I think to myself, don’t blow it. Damien and I head up to VIP, my buddy Dee is working security. He asks me how I’ve been and I tell him that I’m trying to find out more about this amazing woman I met earlier in the day. I point her out to him and she catches us watching her. Dee shakes my hand, wishes me luck then lets us through. We head over to the table, she’s even more beautiful then I remember. The aqua colored shirt she’s wearing brings out her piercing green eyes even more. She’s wearing skinny jeans that hug all her curves in just the right places.

  She introduces me to her friend and I introduce Damien to the two of them. After introductions there is a seemingly awkward silence. What’s wrong with you Holt? I think to myself; ask her to dance. I ask her if she would like to dance and she accepts. I grab her hand and lead her onto the dance floor. The deejay puts on a slow jam, the perfect opportunity to hold her close to me. We sway back and forth; without warning I spin her around and she giggles. The sound of her giggle nearly makes me combust and I daydream about being the one that makes her laugh the rest of her life. I want to smack the shit out of myself. What is wrong with you, you don’t even know this woman and you’re almost putty in her hands. Snap out of it! I decide to ignore my subconscious. I don’t care how ridiculous I’m being. There is something about this woman, and I need her in my life.

  I spin her again but when she spins back into my arms her demeanor has changed, she’s guarded. I watch as a man approaches and taps her on her shoulder. Her body tenses and she quickly steps out of his reach; she’s scared of him. This is not going to go well. The feeling of needing to protect her comes over me and I keep my arm around her waist as they exchange words. Suddenly he takes a threatening step toward her, before I can react Ashlan lungs forward and punches the guy in the face. She’s a firecracker. Note to self, don’t fuck with blondie. I do my best to stay out of it and let them handle it until I hear him call her a fat bitch. No woman deserves to be talked to like that, especially Arianna. The anger in me boils over and I lose my shit. Before I realize what happened Liam is laying in a mess of collapsed tables and is being picked up by the bouncers. They escort him out and we head back to the table to sit. I see her check the time. She gets Ashlan’s attention and taps her watch. She’s leaving. I can’t let her go without knowing if I will see her again. It’s now or never Holt.