Page 36 of Savannah Sweethearts

The days flew by quicker than I would have liked and before I knew it, it was Monday night. The next day would bring Piper Campbell back into my life, and I was not ready for that. I thought about running away, but then I remembered I was approaching thirty, not twelve. I would have to face the music like an adult. A groan escaped my lips as I walked past the desk with her name on it on my way out of the building.

I looked her up again on social media when I got home. Sure enough, there she was in front of the Action News building in a selfie that was captioned, “Ready to go back home tomorrow and start as a reporter for Action News. I grew up watching Karry and Sam. and now I get to work with them every day.” It included some overly sugary hashtags that made me roll my eyes. But Piper herself looked killer.

And if looks could kill, tomorrow would be my death sentence.

The next morning I went to the gym early because I couldn’t sleep. My trainer and pal Kenny laughed at me. “You have a crush on a girl you haven’t seen in years. And a girl who hates you, no less!”

“Oh, hardly. She’s a high-maintenance mess of a girl who is likely to claw me to death the minute she sees me.” I grunted as he added weight to the shoulder press. “Besides, I have no desire for romantic relationships, remember?”

He hung his arms on an empty machine next to me and laughed. “I get not wanting a relationship, AO, but surely you want someone to warm your bed every so often.”

Of course I did, I was a red-blooded male after all. I was glad I was already red from exertion so Kenny didn’t see the heat creep up my neck. But I wouldn’t admit that to him. One-night stands were not my thing, just as long-term relationships weren’t either. And Piper Campbell wouldn’t be warming anything of mine. Ever. Even if she was incredibly attractive.

A few more reps had my muscles screaming. I wasn’t a big guy, I always tended toward being skinny, so the little bit of muscle my body managed to hang on to made me happy. The workouts also helped me keep my focus at work. Exerting physical energy gave me more mental clarity. I planned to work a little extra so I didn’t cause a huge blunder in front of Piper.

We moved on to the treadmill and Kenny excused himself for a minute. The pace he had set for me was not getting my blood pumping like the thought of seeing Piper was. I upped the speed and incline, making my body work harder.

The thought of Piper lighting up upon seeing me was what made my heart race though. I shook the thought from my head. She would be more likely to bite my ear off Mike Tyson style than welcome me with open arms.

Besides, she was completely off-limits. She was a new co-worker, so I would see her every day. We had a history of bad blood. And I had sworn off looking for a relationship. Three perfectly good reasons that the thought of her should make my blood run cold. But it didn’t.

Piper

I took a deep breath as I pushed my shoulders back and elongated my spine. I was wearing my favorite plum-colored suit with the cream mock turtleneck under it. Action News wouldn’t know what hit it when I walked in the door. I swiped my card at the door and it audibly unlocked for me to push through. The grin that crossed my lips could not be helped as I inhaled the scent of a mid-afternoon newsroom.

The room was bustling with activity as I walked in, my plum pumps soundless on the worn carpet. I had thought maybe someone would greet me at the door, but nobody raised an eyebrow. I tightened my grip on my briefcase—more professional than a backpack—and strode to the desk that I would now occupy.

Already a nameplate was on the corner with my name displayed. I moved behind the desk and put my case in the chair. I pulled out a potted succulent and a picture of my cat Taco and placed them behind the nameplate. That made the desk more inviting. A small cut-glass tray for hard candies would complete the space.

“Piper, good to see you. I was just going to get your laptop. Want to walk with me?” Tyrell picked up the picture of Taco and chuckled. “Love the cat.”

“That’s Taco. It’s a palindrome. Taco Cat.” It was a strange name for a cat, but I couldn’t help it when I adopted him from the shelter.

“Right.” Tyrell put the photo back and looked at me expectantly.

“Oh. Sure, I’ll walk with you. I’d love to meet a few more people. Is Mr. AO here?” I tucked my case under the desk and joined Tyrell.

“He’ll be here by the time we get that laptop.” Then Tyrell winked at me. I glanced around, trying to figure out if I had missed an inside joke.

Laptop in hand, Tyrell helped me set it up on my desk. I was turned around when he announced that my producer was approaching us. I turned, expecting to find...well, anything other than what I saw.

My throat went dry and my stomach dropped. Surely Tyrell was wrong. This was not the man I would be working with. It couldn’t be. “Alonso.” I finally croaked out his name. My mouth was drier than the Sahara.

He was older, of course. His hair curled wildly around his face and he wore a few days’ stubble on his cheeks and chin, just as he had last week at the gym. Alonso’s expression was hard to read, a forced smile and squinted eyes. His hands were jammed into the pockets of his khakis, the muscles of his forearm flexing on his tanned arms. He was even more handsome than he was in college, but that was beside the point.

“Piper Campbell. Welcome back to Action News.” His voice was soft and quiet. He didn’t try to shake my hand, which was probably a good thing. I might have tried to bite it off.

Tyrell tried to act oblivious to the tension that erupted between us. “I hear you both used to intern here.”

Turning to him, I held my hand up. “I’m sorry. Are you telling me that AO is Alonso Ortiz and this is my producer?”

His dark eyes got wide. “Yes, I am.”

Before I could respond, Alonso interjected. “Yes, isn’t that something? I’ve already talked with the higher-ups about it and we’re very fortunate to get to work together. Again.”

Sensing the need to vacate the area, Tyrell excused himself and left me staring warily at Alonso.

“What? How?” I sat in my chair and put my head in my hands. The calming breathing exercises I did for yoga were not helping. He was going to ruin me and this job had to work out. I couldn’t go back to Virginia.

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