She had seen that smile, but on another face, and she realized she had indeed seen this man before, too. Fox had pointed him out at the bar that fateful night. This was his brother, Loch. She couldn’t quite remember if he was older or younger than Fox, but now that she got closer to him, she saw the similarities in their features. Fox had darker hair and was slightly more slender in build. Plus, Fox never really had that brooding expression on his face, at least not from what she had seen in their too-short time together.
“Hello? Can I help you?” She pretended as if she didn’t actually know who he was because she wasn’t honestly sure how she and Fox would play this whole thing between them. She wasn’t very good at subterfuge, so she would probably make a mistake and end up telling his brother everything, but at least for an introduction, she might not work herself into circles.
“Melody, right? The new studio owner? I’m Loch. I own the security firm and the gym next door.”
“Security and the gym? How do you sleep if you do both?” He just stared at her, and she blinked. “I mean, hi, Loch. Yes, I’m Melody. And you’re standing in front of what eventually will be my dance studio.”
He gave her a nod, studying her face as if he were memorizing every detail. Fox had done the same, but she knew for a fact that it had been done with very different intent. If Loch were in the so-called security business, he was probably making sure he could pick her out of a lineup. And at that demeaning thought, she let out a breath.
“Nice to meet you. The gym is my full-time job, I do some training in self-defense and other classes that I thought the town might need over time. And since we are such a small community, I’m the only one qualified right now to add in security systems and other things like that. So, if you want something for your studio, let me know. I know you have the Henderson boys working on your place for contracting. They’re the best of the best, so you chose well there. But if you find yourself in need of a handyman and can’t get into the Hendersons’ schedule, give me a call. I’m right next door.”
Melody’s eyes widened. “You do all of that? You really are a Jack of all trades.”
Lock smiled and, this time, it went all the way to his eyes. It made him look a lot hotter, though still not as sexy as Fox. And she needed to stop thinking like that.
“I started in security years ago before I moved back to town. I opened the gym because I needed a job. The handyman thing came because my brothers and sister and I constantly broke shit when we were kids. Someone needed to figure out how to fix it all so my mother wouldn’t wring our necks. I actually didn’t come over here to sell you my business like I just did, though. I just can’t help myself, apparently.”
“So why did you come over?” It seemed to her that Loch had a lot of layers, and if she were in a place to deal with that—and hadn’t already slept with his brother and was trying to ignore that connection—she might’ve wanted to figure out how to peel those layers back. But as it was, he was so not for her.
“Mostly to welcome you to Whiskey. And to say that I don’t know how you’re planning to get clients to your studio—though I figure since you’re opening the business you probably already have a detailed plan—but if you want more business, I have people constantly coming in and out of my gym. I figured we’re both in the same sphere, so we might as well figure out how to work together. I don’t offer dance as a form of exercise or even an art at the gym since I’m not qualified and have two left feet, but if you want, we can work together to try and help out the citizens of Whiskey and each other.”
She hadn’t been expecting that and couldn’t help the warm feeling that spread through her at the thought of such a welcome. Not a single person had stood in her way so far, and now they were literally opening their arms and trying to help her. She swallowed back a knot of emotion in her throat and tried to smile as if a hundred different things weren’t going through her head at that very moment.
“Thank you so much. I just opened my sign-up forms today, actually. I haven’t checked if anyone has signed up because I’ve been a little too nervous to look and possibly see it completely empty. But I put up flyers with the mayor and with the community center, too. If you let me, I’ll give you a stack as well for the gym. I don’t know how I could possibly repay you, but I’ll figure out a way.”
“We’ll make it work. The place that will now be your studio has been reincarnated into a few different things over the years. For once, I would really like it to actually stay and be something the town needs.”
They talked for a few more minutes, and then she finally walked into her studio after saying goodbye, her nerves even more on edge than usual. It seemed that people were talking about her new dance studio, and she had no idea what that meant. If Loch wanted her to succeed, could that mean that others wanted her to, as well? Or were they just waiting to watch her fail like she had failed at so many other things?
On that thought, her nerves finally got the best of her, and she ran to her newly finished bathroom, ignoring the looks of the guys working on one of the sections of her studio, and threw up in her pristine toilet.
Well, at least she had christened it herself thanks to her nerves and whatever had been going on with her stomach for the past month or so. She had moved to town, trying to change her life, and if her body let her, she might just make it work. At least, she hoped.