Page 10 of Dangerously Yours

I followed behind the man, and sure enough, there was water coming in from the ceiling. Chicago was notorious for rain this time of year, so I wasn’t surprised that it was raining. What I was, however, was unsure of what to do. It was a Saturday evening, and most businesses were already closed for the night. I did what I had to and pulled out my phone. It didn’t take long to connect with a few different repairmen who had after-hours listed on their website. I then called all four of them, and the soonest anyone could get there would be in a few hours. By that time, the party would be in full swing.

I looked to the caterer who had no ideas on how to fix this either. This wasn’t his problem, but rather mine. Panic did more than creep up on me. It came racing in and I wobbled slightly on my feet. I needed some fresh air, and a spot where I could think about what to do. More experienced planners would have some sort of plan B in place, but not me. The very first attempt I made to support myself was about to come crashing down around me. I fled to the doors and was surprised to see that the rain had stopped. Unfortunately, the leak inside had not let up when the weather did. The damage had already been done.

“What am I going to do?” I asked out loud once out on the street. Thankfully, there was no one around to hear me talking about myself.

I leaned back against the brick wall, and I had no sooner closed my eyes when I heard a door open. I raised my lashes and realized it was only a couple leaving the gym next door. They didn’t even look in my direction, not that I expected them to. Focusing back on myself, I started to try to control my breathing. My nerves were completely shattered at this point, and nothing I could think of would help.

I heard a chime right after, then a familiar voice. “Lulu?”

I opened my eyes and turned to see Noah Capshaw standing there. He had just left the gym, and the sight of his sweat-soaked shirt and bulging muscles only made my heart rate accelerate.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m hosting an event tonight, and I needed some fresh air.”

“Is it that bad?—”

“Why would you say that?” I asked, then forced myself to smile.

“Because you look stressed. Also, you’re usually at these things barking orders to others instead of standing outside wishing for the ground to open up underneath you.”

He was far too intuitive, but he was also right. “I’m sorry. I’m having a bit of a freak out at the moment.”

He shifted his gym bag onto his other shoulder, then grinned. “Is there something I can help you with?”

I let out a soft, but sarcastic laugh. “There’s a leak I can’t find anyone to fix before the event, and I can’t host this party with it.”

“Mind if I take a look?”

I threw up my hands. “Be my guest.” I followed him inside, then pointed him in the direction of the still leaky roof.

“Hmmm.” It was all he said at first, before he looked around at everything else I had already set up. He then turned to me. “I think you can salvage this after all.”

NOAH

I hadn’t expected to see Lucy Davis standing outside of my gym, but lately, I seemed to run into her a lot. It seemed to be par for the course during the offseason, though. I not only played for a Chicago team, but I was born and raised in the city, so I lived here year round, unlike a lot of others on the team. I was also a Titan, so if there was a chance to mingle with high society, I was usually there. Sometimes it was more out of obligation than desire, but I rarely turned down events, even the retirement party for Armand Saint the other night. I remembered it well because I had actually run into Lulu’s husband, Cade, and he seemed to be pretty close to the redhead on his arm.

In my circle, we saw things all the time, and none of us ever questioned it. I supposed it was how my father had gotten away with everything he had done for so long. It wasn’t hard to turn a blind eye when something didn’t concern us. I could’ve done the same thing for Lulu tonight, but she looked flustered, and it wasn’t something I was used to seeing from her. If anyone was always put together, it was her. Once I found out what was troubling her, I was determined to help her, and I was now glad that I did.

When I told her that I thought I could salvage this for her, Lulu’s voice was incredulous. “You can?”

“Yeah,” I told her, then dropped my bag. “Is there a reason the fountain is over there, and the food here?”

“No,” she said as she shook her head. “Do you think we could move the fountain? The delivery men had trouble themselves just getting it inside.”

I eyed it, then walked over to the fountain with the large ice sculpture. I attempted to move it to just test out its weight, then stepped back. “It will be light work. You just need a little muscle.”

“Well, I’m lacking that at the moment, and the chef over there?—”

“I’ll be glad to help you. Let me call a friend and we’ll get this done.”

“Where is your friend?” She asked, and I noticed the way she kept looking down at her watch.

“He’s next door, but I’ll get him over here.”

I saw the relief on her face, then stepped to the side to send a text message to Gabriel. He responded seconds later that he had just finished with the speed bag and would be right over. Gabe and I had been best friends since we were born days apart in the same hospital. If there was ever anyone I could count on for anything, he was it. I was about to tell her that when we heard the door open. I glanced at it, and sure enough it was him. He walked over to us and smiled at Lulu.

“Good evening, Mr. Blake. I app?—”

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