Trust in Me (4 page)

Colin cleared his throat, causing Rich to
turn back to his friend, who winked at him and said, “You’ve got it
bad this time, brother.”

He couldn’t deny what his friend was saying.
He could admit to himself that he liked Roni. A lot. Not just the
way she looked, which was spectacular, but he loved her saucy
attitude. The way she loved her brother and her friends. She was
loyal, and that was a trait he admired in a woman. From his
experience, it was hard to come by.

He looked back over at Roni, then brought his
eyes back to Colin and nodded at his friends’ words, “Yeah, I think
I’m in trouble.”

Chapter Six

Roni was a little unsettled by her recent
reaction to Rich.

First, there had been the physical reaction
to seeing him working out in his room, then, when she’d seen him
standing at her podium yesterday, her heart had jumped and she’d
nearly stumbled. She kept finding her eyes drawn to him while he
and Colin had eaten breakfast, and when their eyes met, she felt a
warmth flow through her.

She’d never had a reaction like this to a man
before, and she hated that her body was betraying her this way.
Rich was a total playboy. Why couldn’t some sweet, boring,
accountant set her blood on fire? Why did it have to be the ladies’
man with the killer body?

She tried to clear her head of all thoughts
Rich
as she stretched, but she couldn’t help but feel
excited at the thought of her upcoming audition. Excited and
nervous. The more she thought about having her own studio, the more
she loved the idea.

Her body moved naturally to the music as she
envisioned what having a studio would mean for her. She wondered if
there would be enough space to have a small boutique as well. She
could sell shoes, leotards, and tutus. Her face bloomed at the
thought and smiled as visions of pink tights and sparkly hair ties
bounced through her head.

She was beginning her cool down when she
heard what sounded like a herd of elephants bounding up the stairs
to her front door.

She turned as the door busted open and Nicole
came bounding inside. Roni braced herself as Nicole ran full
throttle and launched herself into Roni’s arms.

Roni started to laugh until she realized her
friend was sobbing in her arms. “Hey, are you okay?”

Nicole pulled back and smiled threw her
tears. “I’ve never been better. I’m getting married!”

Nicole laughed loudly and pulled her hand
free to show Roni the sparkling ring that sat happily on her
finger. “Isn’t it perfect?”

“Yes, it is,” Roni agreed. “I’m so happy for
you.”

Nicole hugged Roni tightly, then pulled back
and kissed her squarely on the lips. “We’re gonna be sisters.”

Roni felt her eyes fill at that and nodded at
Nicole, “Yes, we are.”

“I’m so happy, Roni,” Nicole put her hands on
either side of Roni’s face and looked into her eyes. “Will you be
my Maid of Honor?”

Roni felt a tear slide down her cheek. She
nodded as she pulled Nicole back into a hug. “I’d love to.”

Roni looked up as her brother came walking
into the apartment.

Well, it was actually more like a strut. The
look on his face was pure bliss, which turned to tenderness when
Nicole turned to him. “How are my favorite women in the world?”

Nicole turned from Roni and walked over to
hug her fiancé. “I love you,” she said as she reached up to kiss
him.

“I love you too.”

Roni felt like her heart was going to burst,
she was so happy for her brother and Nicole.

“I know Kent already told you he was going to
ask, but I had to come tell you first, and ask you to be my Maid of
Honor.” Nicole said with a smile. “We’re going to go and tell
Briana and Kara next.”

“He did tell me he was going to propose, but
not how he was going to do it,” Roni said. “Tell me
everything.”

Nicole seemed to bounce up and down and smile
more broadly, if that was possible, then started to speak, “He told
me to pack an overnight bag, that he’d talked to Pam and gotten me
a couple days off so we could go on a trip. I was really excited
about going away together; I had no idea that he was going to
propose.” Nicole stopped long enough to turn and give Kent a big
kiss on the lips, causing Roni to laugh at her friends’
exuberance.

“Anyway, we drove for a couple hours, then
pulled up to the sweetest B & B I’ve ever seen. It was a pretty
blue with white shutters, a wraparound porch, and a white picket
fence. The total dream. When we checked in the owners told us about
the amenities: hot tub in each room, gardens in the back, and wine
tasting in the evening. I loved it immediately, but the best part
came when we got to the room,” Nicole paused again and grabbed
Kent’s hand tightly in hers, smiling up at him.

“Kent opened the door and let me walk in
first. The room was decorated beautifully, all white and lace and
antique furniture. Pink rose petals covered the bed in the shape of
a heart. More rose petals led a trail to the balcony, where the hot
tub was bubbling and the champagne was on ice. There were even
chocolate covered strawberries. He thought of everything,” Roni got
a little misty at the look of pure delight on Nicole’s face. Who
knew her brother was such a catch?

“While I was admiring the view from the
balcony, Kent came up behind me. When I turned to tell him how
beautiful it was, he was on bended knee. I couldn’t breathe,”
Nicole laughed out loud at the memory. “He looked so handsome,
smiling up at me with the small box in his hand. When he opened the
box and showed me the perfect ring inside, I couldn’t help but
squeal. I was saying yes before he even had a chance to ask.”

Nicole hugged Kent again, then Roni, before
looking at her watch and saying, “Sorry we can’t stay, but I really
want to tell the others before work. I’ll see you tonight.”

“See you tonight, and congratulations,” Roni
said as they all walked to the door. She hugged her brother, then
Nicole and watched them walk hand in hand down the stair.

She closed the door and leaned against it
allowing the tears to fall freely.

She really was happy for them. Thrilled, in
fact, that her brother would finally have everything he
deserved.

Deep down she knew she also cried for her
failed attempt at marriage. In a few weeks the marriage she’d
naively thought would be a fairytale for her, would officially be
over. She didn’t miss Hank, their house, or the life that they’d
shared, but she did miss the dream.

She sank down to the floor and allowed the
tears to purge the regret from her soul.

Chapter Seven

Rich couldn’t believe how far things had
progressed in the last week. His boxing ring had been delivered and
was set up in the back corner of the warehouse. It was in a large
enclosed room, which housed the ring, speed bags, heavy bags, and
had an entrance into the men’s locker room. It was his favorite
part of the Center so far.

That was about to change, since he’d just
gotten a call from the guy driving the truck which carried his
workout equipment, and he’d said he’d be arriving in about thirty
minutes.

Rich walked through his door, past the
kitchen, taking care to avoid the parts of the warehouse that the
crew was currently working on. He made his way towards the workout
area. One section would hold the weights and there would be an
adjoining room for the cardio equipment.

He wasn’t starting with a lot, just a
complete set of weights, machines for a full circuit, and four of
each cardio machine. He had room to grow if he needed to, but
figured it was smart to wait and see how much use the fitness
portion of his Rec Center got, before he invested too much in
it.

His focus was going to be on the kids, but he
also wanted to offer classes and activities that the entire
community could enjoy, and he thought a fitness center would bring
in a profit. When he allowed himself to dream really big, he
admitted that he’d love to eventually put a lap pool in behind the
building, but knew that would be much further down the road. For
now, he was really pleased with how smoothly everything was coming
together.

He’d used the boxing equipment last night,
and couldn’t wait to try out his weights when they arrived.

When he was satisfied that the rooms were
prepped and ready for the delivery, he turned to go back towards
the front of the warehouse. His first interview was scheduled to
start in five minutes.

Before he made it, a small brunette popped
her head around the corner.

“Hi,” the pretty woman said with a smile and
an outstretched hand. “Are you Rich?”

“I am,” Rich responded, trying to conceal his
surprise. “Are you Alex?”

When his dad had asked him to set up an
interview with a Karate instructor from his parents church named
Alex, the last person he’d envisioned was the petite woman before
him.

“Yes. I was thrilled when your parents told
me what you were doing here. I loved taking Karate lessons when I
was growing up, and I’d always hoped to get a chance to lead my own
class someday.”

“Great,” Rich said with a smile. “If you want
to follow me, we’ll go ahead and get started. I’ll ask you some
questions, then see your demonstration. Afterwards, I’d be happy to
answer any questions you may have.”

“Okay. Your dad mentioned an audition and an
interview, so I thought it was best to wear this first and then
change into my karategi. Is that alright?”

“Of course,” Rich replied. “Once we’re done,
you can get changed in the women’s locker room. It isn’t completed
yet, but the restrooms are fully functional.”

Rich led her to one of the rooms that would
be used for Karate lessons. He had a couple chairs set up for the
interview portion. The room was complete with hard wood floors and
a floor to ceiling mirror covering the back wall.

Rich asked her the questions he’d prepared
and was impressed with her answers and her demeanor. Alex worked
for the Mayor and was very intelligent.

The position he was hiring for was part time.
Week nights and weekends, so the fact that she had a full time day
job wasn’t a problem. He found out that she was single without any
children, and she wanted to dedicate her spare time to teaching and
keeping her skills current.

While she was getting changed, Rich moved the
chairs to the corner of the room and waited for her to return. Alex
seemed like a perfect fit for the job. As long as she didn’t fumble
through the audition, Rich was prepared to offer it to her.

She nailed it.

She was strong, confident, precise, and loud.
Boy, was she loud.

Alex took off the outer jacket portion of her
uniform and draped it over her arm as they walked out of the room.
She wore a white tank top underneath, which showcased her firmly
toned arms.

“The job is yours if you want it,” Rich was
saying to Alex when Roni rounded the corner. He looked up at her
and smiled, holding a finger up to let her know he’d be with her in
a minute, then went back to his conversation with Alex.

Rich’s heart thumped in his chest at the
sight of Roni in a black button up with a red pencil skirt. Damn,
she looked good.

He said goodbye to Alex, then turned to where
Roni was waiting. “I just have to go sign for a deliver, then I’ll
be right with you. You can wait in here if you’d like,” he said,
gesturing to the room he’d just exited.

“Okay,” Roni said with a nervous smile.

Rich hurried to the loading dock. He found
the driver and his crew had already started unloaded the equipment.
He picked up the paperwork and asked the driver, “You need me to
sign here?”

“Yup.”

“Okay. Hey, Jason, can you check the items
off as you unload them to make sure that everything is here. Let me
know if you have any issues. I have another interview to conduct,
then I’m done for the day. I’ll come back to help get everything
set up.”

He waited for Jason’s answer, then went back
to where he’d left Roni. She was sitting on a chair, ankles
crossed, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. She looked up and met
his hazel eyes.

“Sorry about that, you ready?” Rich asked as
he took the seat across from hers.

“Yes.”

“We’ll start with the interview portion, then
I’ll show you where you can change for the audition. Afterwards,
I’d be happy to walk you around and answer any questions you may
have,” he explained.

Roni nodded and clasped her hands together,
placing them in her lap.

“Relax. It’s just me, and it’s just you,”
Rich said with a warm smile.

“I know,” Roni said, “but this is really
important to me, and it’s been a while since I’ve danced in front
of anyone.”

“You’ll be great,” Rich assured her. “So, I
want to start by saying that, as long as everything goes well
today, I’m open to renting the space to you for the studio.”

Rich was rewarded with a dazzling smile. It
took his breath away. He cleared his throat and went on, “I’d like
to hear your ideas for the space.”

“I want to run the studio full time, and for
all ages. I’ll start off with ballet and tap for the youngest
dancers, and offer contemporary to the more serious dancers. Ballet
and tap teach the fundamentals, so it’s a great place to start. If
I get enough interest, I’d offer more classes in different styles,
but I think these will be a good place to start. I have some money
saved, and would like to focus on the studio full time. I’ll still
work part time at the Bar & Grill, at least for now, but
eventually, I’d like this to be my only priority. I’ll train each
class for an end of year performance that we could hold at the town
theater. I’ll look into all that, but, basically, I want to offer a
full-fledged dance studio to the community.” Roni’s eyes had lit up
with each sentence, her excitement over this opportunity
apparent.