Stars, Love And Pirouettes (Dance 'n' Luv Series) (7 page)

The crazy thing was that some part of him believed that. Jenna had a beauty and lightness that could draw him in so completely he might actually fall in love again.

But his rational side saw a girl who was dating a movie star and who was suddenly interested in him now that she knew he was a famous author. And he had no intention of tearing down the walls he’d built after Wendy’s death just to be another notch in the belt of a woman who got her kicks conquering accomplished men.

An irresistible aroma of scrumptious cooking wafted toward them from a quaint dockside restaurant with a yellow-striped awning and bright yellow door. Its rusty-colored siding just weather beaten enough to lend an added touch of nautical grittiness into this bait-and-tackle world of fishing boats and raw wood pilings that lined the bay’s harbor.

Aiden was pleasantly surprised by the white-clothed tables and romantic atmosphere. A Chablis from a local vineyard helped them both relax as they ate Scrimshaw seafood chowder, goat cheese-stuffed peppers and scallops.

“You didn’t eat your mashed potatoes.”

Jenna shrugged. “The moment I decided I wanted to be a pro dancer I knew I’d eaten my last potato.”

“Hmm. I might’ve had to switch fields. Some foods I can do without, but potatoes? Never.”

“I’m thinking of switching fields, not going back to the ballet company.”

His eyebrows lifted. “You’d leave dance completely?”

“You sound shocked.”

“I guess I tend think of dancers as a rare species of butterfly that will perish without a life based on movement.”

“You may be right. Maybe my great experiment of leaving the ballet company for three months will backfire. Dance is so all encompassing. It’s been the focus of my life since I was thirteen. I’ve never even considered doing anything else. Uh-oh. I think I feel a panic attack coming on.” She laughed and reached for his hand.

That throaty giggle of Jenna’s had a way of stirring his blood. He curled his fingers around hers. “Want some coffee?”

“Definitely.” Her mobile rang, and she glanced at the Caller ID. “Excuse me. I’ve got to take this.” With a one-eighty mood change, she stepped away from the table and walked out the door, leaving Aiden to wonder what that meant.

Was it Sean? Was he so important to her that she never missed his calls?

Coffee arrived and Jenna still hadn’t returned. Aiden wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed or worried. When she finally came striding in, she was visibly shaken.

“Aiden, I’m sorry, but I need to go right away.”

“Did something happen to your mother?”

She shook her head. “You remember Rachel? You met her at the Coffee Cove. Nick, her husband, beat her up again. I begged her not to marry this guy. But she always had this thing for bad boys. Well he’s bad all right. Anyway, she ran out of the house, scared and with nowhere to go. He was so drunk, she’s hoping he’ll pass out, otherwise he’ll go looking for her.”

It struck a chord. Deep, old and painful. “So where’s she now?”

“At the Sunoco station around the corner from where they live. If you’d just take me home, I can use my mom’s car to go meet her.”

“And give Mr. Wife Beater more time to find Rachel? We’ll go straight there. Now.” He signaled the waiter for the check.

“Except if we do run into Nick, things could get out of control, and I’d never forgive myself if you got all caught up in this mess.”

“And I’d never forgive myself if he made you his next punching bag. Let’s just get there before he does.” The waiter handed him the check holder.

“How much for my share?” Jenna asked.

“Nothing.” Aiden took a fast glance, stuffed a row of twenties inside and placed it on the table. “We’re off.”

As they rolled out of the parking lot, Jenna touched his arm lightly. “I really appreciate your support around Rachel, Aiden. However, I should warn you, Nick works in Riverhead as a bouncer and used to be part of some biker gang. He’s got a record.”

“Is that a fact?” Aiden said, unruffled and unimpressed.

Jenna navigated the course while Aiden followed her instructions. About ten minutes later they pulled into the gas station just in time to witness a thickly built man in a dark sweatshirt wrestling a woman outside the door of the mini mart. Off to the side stood a little girl crying hysterically.

Aiden stopped the car and sprang out with Jenna following.

The gas station attendant yelled, “I’ve called 9-1-1.”

Jenna scooped the child up into her arms. Nick, who was dragging Rachel by her hair toward the open door of his pickup, didn’t see Aiden as he moved in from behind.

With two quick successive punches to the side of the head Aiden landed Nick on his butt, freeing Rachel.

He paused and turned to her. “Go to the car with Jenna.” And that’s when Aiden made his first mistake.

The grim survival rules of the street had taught him years ago never to let up on your man once you’ve staggered him or sent him down. Hesitate, take a moment to pause for any reason, and you give him that precious second chance to recover and possibly end your life. Such was the case now.

The shiny wide blade of a flip knife glistened beneath the glow of the station’s bluish white lights. Eyes flooded with rage, Nick wasn’t bluffing. His intentions were of the worst kind.

That familiar sickening feeling passed through Aiden’s gut. His knees went to rubber. He wanted to flee. But that wouldn’t happen. He’d been here before. Knew the only way to fight fear is to go on the offensive. Aiden’s steely discipline clicked into place the same as it had when he was a teen.

Now it was Nick’s turn to commit a tactical error, making Aiden’s job a little easier. The local bad boy stood with his feet spread wide and squared off in front of Aiden. A gift to any opponent.

The Boston native didn’t miss the opportunity and delivered a solid kick straight up the middle between Nick’s legs with enough juice to light up a Christmas tree. As Nick reeled from the jolt, Aiden dropped him with a leg sweep then pounced on him. He grabbed hold and began slamming the back of Nick’s hand hard against the cement forcing him to release the knife. With his knee planted on Nick’s chest, Aiden had him pinned. A combination of short crisp punches to the chin sent the would-be killer to dreamland. Kicking the loose knife aside, Aiden stood there waiting to make sure there’d be no more trouble.

He could tell Jenna was about to rush toward him. He didn’t want that. Not now. Not when his mind was filled with upsetting images of his past. An out-of-control father with the temper and strength of an angry beast. His mom with a face as bloodied as Rachel’s. His eight-year-old self huddled in a corner trying to quiet a little sister screaming and crying like Rachel’s little girl.

Luckily, three cruisers cut Jenna off. Lights flashing and sirens blaring, they whirled around the corner and came sailing into the parking lot.

Between Jenna, Rachel and the video the gas station attendant captured on his cell cam, there would be no problem booking Nick, who was led to a police car in cuffs.

Aiden avoided Jenna and was relieved when she got into the other patrol car that took her friend to the E.R. She waved. With a quick nod to her, Aiden turned away.

He didn’t want to spoil the beauty of who she was to him with the violence of his past. He wanted her to be that etheric creature he’d seen on the balcony. Someone who made him believe in a world that was gentle and fine.

Chapter Ten

The next afternoon Jenna soared through the air, her legs splitting into a clean horizontal line a good four feet above the shiny hardwood studio floor. Flushed and smiling, she pushed herself to the max, eking out that extra bit of lift and polish. She love, love, loved grand jetes, and whenever she took the Ballet IV class at Casey’s studio she could be sure her sister would wrap things up with a challenging grand allegro variation.

Today’s class was a demo for one of Casey’s Family Days at the North Cove Performing Arts Academy. Jenna had only agreed to take part today as a favor to her sister, knowing her appearance would bring in a larger than usual group of observers to the school. (Especially since a couple more photos of her with Sean had circulated through celebrity gossip news.)

In the month since she’d left the ballet company, Jenna hadn’t taken dance class at all, hadn’t wanted to go back to the daily grind she’d run away from. But being here in the studio working her body until sweat soaked through her leotards felt like coming home.

She thought about what he had said last night. Maybe he was right when he wondered if she would wither and wilt without dancing. She had no real love—or talent—for acting. Heck, for all she knew
Sunrise Lane’s
producers would cancel her contract after the first episode aired and they realized how bad she was.

And a ballet class was exactly what she needed after last night. She’d seen Rachel with bruises before, but Jenna had never witnessed the horrifying sight of Nick abusing her. And when Nick pulled a knife on Aiden, she feared she was about to witness a murder. Aiden eliminated that concern in a hurry.
Was it his upbringing in a rough neighborhood that made him so adept at disarming and subduing Nick
?
Or was it his self-defense training as a secret agent
?

Thoughts of Aiden made her already flushed skin even warmer. The kiss they shared was the first thing to break through the numb haze of confusion that had overtaken her lately.

The kiss he broke off and obviously regretted. Had he made some kind of vow to his dead wife?

Last night when she and Rachel waited in North cove Hospital’s E.R., her friend said, “Your brownie-eating stargazer sure knows how to kick butt.”

“Yeah, he’s kind of amazing, isn’t he?”

“Are you dating him? What if Sean finds out?”

“Sean and I never agreed to be exclusive.”

“Except men can be so territorial. Piss Sean off and who knows? He could derail your acting career.”

Jenna doubted Sean would be that petty. She also considered the source of the dark forecast. Rachel being married to a piece of work like Nick Stiebler, it was no wonder she predicted the worst. Jenna just hoped she would finally divorce him. Her friend had insisted on going back to her own house rather than staying at the B&B. Jenna agreed to it only because the police assured her Nick would be locked up.

Casey called the dancers back to the center of the studio for the final port de bras. Jenna luxuriated in the slow moves, curving her arms just so, bending forward at the waist in a deep stretch, head to her knees, then using the strength of her back to bring her upright again so her legs and feet stayed locked in a tightly crossed fifth position.

After class she hurried out the back door. Not something that would make her community-oriented sister happy, but Jenna wanted to reach the gift shop in town before it closed.

Living in Manhattan, she’d never considered buying her own car. Luckily her mom hardly used hers, which Jenna now drove to Cove Street Gifts and Cards. Betty Surinty, who owned the gift shop, had good taste. Unfortunately she was also a terrible gossip, plying Jenna with questions, mostly about guess who?

But then, it wasn’t every day a local girl dated a star in television and movies.

Jenna made every effort to be patient and polite, but she knew she had to get out of the shop when Betty eyed the miniature telescope paperweight she’d come to buy and said, “Isn’t that a cute item?”

“It’s for this guy I know,” replied, Jenna. “He’s into telescopes.”

“So Sean Risk is what we’d call a stargazing star.”

A vacuous smile was all Jenna had to offer in response to Betty’s inane play on words. She wasn’t about to muster up an explanation for the town nosey-body. Instead she selected a card with stars and planets on it, and scooted out of the shop.

She sat in the car and penned her thanks to Aiden for saving Rachel last night. Who knew what Nick might’ve done before the cops arrived if Aiden hadn’t been there? Tapping her pen against her lip, she went back and forth on whether to also mention the realization she’d just had thanks to Aiden, how right he was when he’d talked about her need to dance. But she decided she’d rather talk face-to-face with him about that.

Arriving home, Jenna had a quick lunch with her mother. A hummus and avocado salad sandwich. Jenna didn’t want her mom to feel ignored, so she hung with her for a little while, chatting about Casey’s Family Day and Lauren Richardson’s plans for doing some spring advertising with the vineyard association.

Finally it burst from her mouth. “Is Mr. Flynn still here?”

“Should be. He’s paid for the coming week.” Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me that odd bird is the one who beat up Nick Stiebler?”

“How did you know? I thought—”

“I saw Parker’s truck in the yard when he brought you home last night and you know what an inept fibber he is. He said my tenant Mr. Flynn came along when you and Rachel were in trouble at the Sunoco mini-mart.”

Jenna just nodded, thinking, Good thing I’m
not
an inept fibber and muddied the truth for Parker. But why was she being so secretive about her date with Aiden?

Maybe because everybody thought she and Sean were a couple.

Right. Everybody except her and Sean.

After giving her mother a rundown on Rachel’s condition, she said, “It was so horrible. I’m convinced Mr. Flynn saved Rachel’s life last night. I bought him a small thank you gift. Guess I’ll go see if he’s in.”

When Jenna headed upstairs to her room, she listened briefly at Aiden’s door and heard someone inside tapping on a keyboard. Good.

She stopped in her own room, tidily hung up her jacket and sorted out her dirty and clean dancewear. She kept the room spotless, with everything in its place. Aside from the fact that this was one of the deluxe ensuite rooms in Richardson’s B&B and her mother might need it at any time for a guest, neatness was Jenna’s middle name.

She freshened up with a shower, and donned clean jeans and a silver blue jersey top. Gift bag in hand, she knocked on Aiden’s door. Why was her heart racing?