Hearts on Fire (The Hunter Family) (3 page)

“We’ll both have sparkling water, thanks.”  Claire suspiciously looked him up and down.  He quickly told a bouncer and then turned back to us.

We both stood there totally confused, trying to digest what he had just said. Claire was first to fire off her comment.

“So why did you do that?”

He looked at me and held my gaze. "Because I saw a beautiful girl and I didn't want to do the typical, hey-what's-up-thing, I wanted to approach you in a much more easy going way.”

Claire and I were both speechless.

His gaze didn’t waver.  “Did it work, Abby?”

My gaze did not waver either.  “I’m here, aren’t I?”

His eyes perused my body and his words were slow. “Yes, you are.”

The bouncer guy handed us our waters and I quickly took a sip.  You could have cut the tension in the room with a knife and Claire was the one to do so.

“Is this how you pick up all of your girls?” Skepticism dripped from her words.

His eyes were sincere as he looked at her.

“Not at all, I didn’t want to get turned down before having a chance to get started.  I could tell that you just wanted to veg out and chill.  It was harmless fun, Claire.”

She looked surprised that he remembered her name and his words seemed to satisfy her.  Zane looked at me, his eyes still sincere.

“I hope I didn’t overstep any boundaries, I just wanted to talk to you.”

I looked at him and gave him a little smile, completely flattered. "No you didn't over step any boundaries, but we only talked for a couple of minutes. You didn’t even know if you would see me again.”

His eyes smoldered as they held mine. “Oh, I knew I would see you again.”

A little cocky, I like that, but this won’t go anywhere.

“So how long have you been in this band? I’ve never heard of you guys.”

“About two years, it’s been pretty cool. You haven’t heard of us, huh? We have a pretty big underground following in New York.  Have you been there?”

Claire chimed in. “Been there? We live there.”

Zane’s eyes totally lit up when he heard that information.

“Really?  Not into the underground scene I take it.”

“We don’t have a ton of time to do the bar and club scene.”  I didn’t want to look like I wasn’t cool, so I hoped that explained why we hadn’t heard of them.  Sounds shallow, I know but I prided myself on being in the know about stuff.

“Oh yeah, why not?”

Claire chimed in.  “We’re professional ballerinas.” 

I could tell that he didn’t expect that answer. “Wow, real ballerinas, that’s pretty cool.  Do you guys perform all over the country?”

“We do.  We just finished our first cross-country tour with our ballet company.”

“So, do you and Claire dance together, or how does that work?”

As I began to answer him, for the first time ever, I felt inadequate.  “Claire is the lead and I am her understudy.” I was surprised at how disappointed I was with myself as I told him what we did.  That had never happened to me before.  Maybe it bothered me more than I realized.

Claire reached out and grabbed my hand. "She's my understudy for now. Her day will come where she will be the lead. Abby is an extremely talented dancer.”

I didn’t want it to turn into a pity party for me so I changed the subject.

“You guys are big in New York?”

“Yeah, I’d say we have a pretty big following.  The fans are pretty loyal.”

“That’s really cool.  So, where do you live?”

“I’m in the Village.  Been there for about five years. What about you guys, where do you live?”

I didn’t even want to say it because I knew how people reacted when they found out, but I couldn’t lie.  “We’re on the upper Eastside.”

I saw the look that I had seen far too often when I told people where I lived and I didn't want Zane to think any differently of me.

“Wow, being a ballerina has been really good to you, huh?”

Claire and I glanced at each other. “Something like that.”

Thankfully the drummer came over and we were able to change the subject. I didn't really feel like getting into explaining my background to Zane, and I was sure that he had questions.

“Zane, introduce me to your two beautiful friends.”

Claire’s eyes were fixated on him and I almost laughed because I had never seen her like that. 

“This is Abby and Claire.  Ladies, this is Logan.”

“You girls must be trouble for the men, you’re drop dead gorgeous!”  Claire giggled like a schoolgirl and he was totally focused on her when he said that.  She seemed to be in heaven.

“You were incredible tonight!”  Claire was totally gushing and I could tell that she meant it.

He winked at her.  “Thanks, darlin’.”

Zane lightly touched my arm.  “Hey Abby, do you want to step outside with me and get some fresh air for a minute?” 

My tummy flipped at the thought of being alone with him.

“Sure.”  I told Claire we were going outside for a minute and that I would be right back. She seemed totally fine with me going off with Zane because she was all about Logan and she barely looked at me.

We went outside and he pulled me around to the side of the building where no one could see us and pressed me up against the side of the building.  His body was inches from mine and he reached out and gently stroked my cheek.  I couldn’t breathe.

“I have not been able to stop thinking about you since yesterday. Something about you, Abby, drives me absolutely crazy.”  His eyes traveled all over my body and then settled back in my eyes.  “Where did you come from?”

Every fiber of my being was screaming out for his touch and I tried so hard to fight that feeling but it was useless. I wanted to feel his hands everywhere, and I was speechless. I couldn’t answer him because the words literally would not come out of my mouth.

I shifted my body away from him and tried to step away but he shifted with me and blocked me, gently pinning me between his thigh and the side of the building.

“Trying to get away from me already? It’s not going to be easy now that I’ve found you.”

I finally found the words and was able to speak.  “I don’t think we should be out here like this Zane, we should probably go back inside.”

“I don’t want to go back inside, at least not yet. I want to know more about you. Talk to me, tell me more about you.”  He turned and leaned his right shoulder against the wall, arms crossed, facing me.

I really did enjoy being out there with him so I decided to give in and play along for a bit.  I figured there was no harm in talking to him for a couple of minutes, especially since I knew that things with us would never go anywhere.

"Well, I was born and raised in New York, and dancing is my life. I've been doing it since I was six and it is all that I want to do. It’s actually all that I know how to do so it’s a good thing that I enjoy it.  I have a younger brother who is still in high school and my mom and dad are still married and are very happy. It’s been a really good life so far.”

He looked at me for a minute, not saying a word and then gave me a small smile.

“You just told me about your family and what you do, I want to know more. I want to know about you, what you like, what you don't like, favorite places, things like that. I want to know you.  I want to know everything.”

"Why?" The word came out before I could stop it, but I didn't understand why this superhot lead singer of a really cool band was so into me in such a short amount of time. I mean, I know I was a pretty girl but I’d never had attention like that from a guy.

“Because I’m drawn to you, Abby. I can't explain it but I meant it when I said that I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since I met you yesterday. This is new for me so I want to explore it and find out what it means. It has to mean something.”

I gave him a cynical smirk. “I think all it means is that you saw a girl that you think is pretty, that’s it.  I highly doubt this is new for you, Zane. We should go back inside.”

I didn’t have time for games or him trying to sweet talk me. I was brought back to reality by his words. He was in a band, he was the lead singer and he was hot. I was sure that he had his pick of girls and now that he met me and I wasn't falling all over him, it probably just made him want me more. I knew this game and I didn’t want to play.

I started to walk away and he quickly grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks.

“Abby, it’s more than that. I know you probably have to get back to your sister, so have dinner with me tomorrow night.”