Crown's Chance at Love (4 page)

She looks up at me. I can tell she is tired, and weary. But with a deep breath, she says, “Okay.”

Sabrina

“Yes, everything is set up for the Stuart-Peterson Wedding… No don’t worry it will all be great. Okay Lane, talk to you later.” I push
end
on my IPhone, and take a deep breath.

I am sitting in my car, the AC is on max.
It’s too hot to only be April
, I think to myself as I pull my hair up into a messy ponytail at the top of my head. I reach over to the floor of the passenger side of my semi new red Nissan Rogue, and grab my oversized messenger bag. Even though June was a little less than two months away, being an event/wedding coordinator I was swamped with weddings and various other events and had decided to work out of the office for the day. My trusty overflowing, oversized messenger bag and I had come to Starbucks to get coffee and work out of the office for the day, especially since there was yet again new construction going on at Ritz Events.

Laney Ritz, my boss and owner of Ritz Events, had bought an old Victorian home in central downtown Pasadena, right off of Colorado Blvd for our office, and was bringing it back to life in full force. So as we are trying to organize huge events from some of the most coveted award shows in Hollywood, to charity events to weddings of the filthy rich of California, mixing in the sound of hammers and power tools didn’t work, at least not for me.Thankfully Laney, knowing my clientele and workload, didn’t mind me escaping to the Starbucks down the street from our office.

Walking towards the door of the coffee shop, my phone starts to ring once more, and since I had thrown it into my huge bag, I start to search for it as I am walking and wonder why everything you need always ends up at the bottom of your purse?

As I finally grab the phone and look at the screen, I hit what feels a wall of heat and muscle head on so hard that I feel like my air supply has been knocked right out of me. I feel large warm arms wrap around me, as I take a deep breath in, my head is filled with an expensive scent; it’s spicy, clean and completely unforgettable. Now I know that everything most likely happened in what was seconds, but it had all felt like it was in slow motion. Opening my eyes, soaking in the view of the most alluring male specimen in front of me.

From bottom to top everything about him was exquisite. From the black Italian loafers, strong toned legs, a lean waist covered in beautifully tailor cut dark grey slacks. His broad and extremely strong looking chest that looked to be covered in utterly soft black cashmere, in a v-neck sweater. His neck was thick but not in a way it looked like he did bodybuilding, just strong and completely lick-able. Strong stone cut jaw that only made your fingers itch to touch it even more because it was covered in one of the most beautifully trimmed goatees I had ever laid my eyes on. But even beneath all this masculine beauty his eyes are breath taking.The wall of muscle and heat had the most beautiful, serious, pale blue eyes that seemed to stand out even more because of his creamy fair skin and dark hair that was slightly greying at the sides of his short clean cut hair. Then it hits me, I must look like a complete idiot standing in front of him like a drooling pre-teen girl at a boy band concert. I shake my head as I take a step back but his hold tightens slightly.

“I’m so sorry,” I finally stutter out, “My phone started to ring and of course the stupid thing falls to the bottom, and I wasn’t paying attention.” I ramble on, my eyes never leaving his. He’s looking at me with a serious expression, that kind of makes him look a little scary, maybe even angry, but I’m not necessarily frightened of him. I try once more to take a step away, and this time he lets me go, and a little part of me feels a little sad at the coldness I feel suddenly not having his hands on me.
Wait! Wasn’t I just sweating a second ago in my car
, I think to myself. I quickly chalk it up to the lack of male company.

It’s been over three and a half years since Sean had passed away. I had been completely focused on my career, because the kids were mini-geniuses. I knew I had to financially figure out how to save for three college tuitions all while raising three kids. I had been very lucky that Laney stepped into my life when she did. I loved my job as an event coordinator. Not only was I good at it, but it gave me the flexibility to be home for the kids, most of the time. Six months after Sean’s death, I had moved us back to my hometown of Pasadena, California, leaving Berkeley to it’s ghosts and memories. Now the kids and I had the support of my family and friends all being fairly nearby.

Still staring at him, I figured he was probably just pissed that I had bumped into him, “Okay. Well sorry again” I say as I try to go around him to be able to walk into the coffee shop, but he stands in front of me, lifting one hand slightly placing it on my shoulder.

The heat from his touch shocks me as I gaze up at him. Having to squint because the California sun is bright, and I had no idea where i had left my sunglasses. They were probably at the bottom of my purse, along with my cell phone that had stopped ringing. Even knowing all this, with his hand on my shoulder feeling as warm and wonderful as it did, everything else seemed to fade into the background of my mind.
There is something about his eyes
, I think to myself, as I try not to look like a complete dork in front of him.

“No I’m …” his gruff deep voice gives me chills, his handsome face just as serious, “I’m sorry, I forgot my cell in my car and was looking for my keys. Are you okay?” He asks with genuine concern in his beautiful deep voice.

“I umm, I’m fine.” I mumble out. He is so incredibly handsome, and I probably look like a hot mess. Since it was mid-week and I wasn’t meeting with clients, I was in a long maxi dress with this red and white tribal print, a denim jacket and tan leather booties. My hair was thrown in a messy ponytail at the top of my head.

“You sure, I slammed into you pretty hard.” He asks lowering his head as his gaze quickly grazes over my body, my skin feeling warm as his eyes drink me in. I clear my throat.

“Yeah, I’m totally okay…”

“Michael Crown, call me Mike.” He says as he extends his hand, without thinking I extend mine and we shake. He places his other hand over mine. And I look down, noticing he isn’t wearing a wedding ring.
Why had I looked at his ring finger?!
Because the guy is hot and it’s time you get some,
the bad girl voice in my head shrieks as she jumps up and down throwing her arms up and down in the air like a total dweeb.

He keeps my hand in both of his huge warm hands which makes me feel calm, even though he is a complete stranger. They were strong and big and
I wonder what they would feel like in other places
my bad girl is shouting, “I…umm… I’m Sabrina Miller.”  I finally spit out. His blue eyes are warm and he smiles. He has a genuinely beautiful smile, making him even more impossibly handsome.

“Nice to meet you Sabrina, can I buy you a coffee?” He asks as he tilts his head towards the Starbucks.

“Oh you really don’t have to. I’m really okay. But thanks.” I say, instantly kicking myself for sending him away.

“I want to. Please?” He asks.

“Oh.” Usually when men had asked me out before and I turned them down, they never really tried again. “Okay” I hear myself saying, he puts my arm in the crook of his elbow and we walk over to the door, which he gracefully opens for me.

***

Mike

My heart is beating like thunder during a summer storm. She is so incredibly beautiful, wearing a long dress, with a denim jacket over it, you can tell she has a beautiful body. Her hair is a maple brown up in a ponytail, a wavy piece in front of her face has come undone and my hands itch to touch it, maybe tuck it behind her ear. Shit. I wasn’t supposed to be having this type of reaction to her. I had seen her pictures, and in pictures she had been beautiful, but they hadn’t done her justice. Seeing her face to face she was absolutely breathtaking, easiest one of the most beautiful women I had ever laid eyes on, and that was saying something with the circles I roamed with, the rich and famous of California.

I hadn’t planned on bumping into her that hard. The plan had been to slightly bump into her and ask her to get coffee. But I hadn’t calculated on her not looking where she was going and when I had put my arms around her to keep her from falling back, I’d felt something, an energy and comfort, that made me hold on to her tighter. When her eyes had finally met mine, I had been rendered speechless, completely and utterly speechless. She looked younger than thirty-six. If I hadn’t known her age, I would have easily thought she was still in her mid-twenties. Her face fresh without makeup, smooth creamy skin, only lip gloss enhancing her beautiful full mouth. Her brown eyes, so light they were almost hazel in the sunlight with flecks of gold in them, didn’t show the sadness I had seen in pictures from three years ago. Sean Miller’s wife had been a tough woman to find. Leaving Berkeley, California six months after my fucking idiot of a brother had destroyed her and her kid’s lives, she had moved back to her hometown, which fate would have it, was also mine.

My private investigator had brought me back a file on her a month ago, her eyes had always seemed to haunt me. They were void and dark, nothing like they were right now as I looked at her. I knew I hadn’t been the one behind the wheel of the car who had slammed into her husband’s ambulance, but I had felt just as guilty. Maybe because at the end of the day, my actions had lead to the accident.

Patrick had sounded off that morning when I had called him. But he always sounded off. I had laid into him about how important that business meeting had been and how he needed to get his ass to our father’s office. Part of it had been I was sick of everything, his delinquencies, the way he was just wasting his life with his partying, drinking, skanks and the drugs. Then add in the fight with Holly I had had that morning about changing the wedding date for the fourth time, before I had left to work.  If I would have just not called him that morning, or if I had asked him if he had been drinking… but it had been eight in the morning when I had spoken to him, I would have never imagined the asshole had been drinking the whole time from the night before, probably popping pills as well.

If only I hadn’t called him.

Sabrina Miller and her family, none of them had been to the trial. She had requested not to be asked to be there, and she didn’t want to know anything about it. Her husband’s partner’s family had been there every day. It had always intrigued me that she hadn’t wanted to be there, she didn’t even want to know my brother’s name. It had pissed Patrick off. I remember thinking that something was off about that, but after he was sentenced he had dropped it.

Patrick had all but dropped it, until about six months ago when he had started in about wanting to contact Miller’s wife, saying that she needed to hear his side of things. I had told him to leave her alone, but he wouldn’t. So I told him I would try to contact her, just to try to calm him down. I know I could have probably left it alone, I probably should have, but curiosity got the best of me. I had hired my PI once more for recent information. She had done well for herself in the last three years since moving back home, quickly becoming one of the most sought after event coordinators of Southern California, especially for the rich and famous. Unknowingly I had even been at a couple of the weddings she had planned.

Now here I am in a Starbucks, one of the places my PI recorded she frequented religiously, and we are standing together in line, her arm feels tiny and delicate in the crook of my elbow. I look down at her just as she looks up to me, her big brown eyes looking at me, when something in me panics.

“What would you like?” I blurt out dropping her arm almost too harshly. I like how she fit in my arms. I like how it felt to be standing next to her. Fuck, I liked it too much.

“Just an iced coffee.” She says, her voice soft and sweet. I nod.

“Want to go sit and I’ll bring our drinks over, that sound good?”

“Oh,” she sounds surprised. Maybe she thought I’d buy her a drink and let her go? Maybe if I wasn’t such a bastard, I would have. “Sure.” She says as she smiles up at me and walks over to a table towards the back of the crowded coffee shop.

Once our drinks are ready, I walk over to her and see her smile. Shit, she has a beautiful smile. It lit up her whole face, and I can’t help but smile back. Her eyes are bright and full of life. They draw me in like a lighthouse draws in the boats lost at shore.