Page 5 of Believing in You

Her heart lodged in her throat. “Oh, crap!”

“What the hell are you doing?” Harrison barked.

Nyla shrieked in surprise at his outburst and tried to grip the top of the ladder just as it started tilting. She lost her grip, and the floor rushed up to meet her, but her momentum suddenly stopped. Strong hands slid around her waist and beneath her knees. Next thing she knew, she was holding on tightly around Harrison’s neck as he cradled her against his hard, powerful body. And dammit if she didn’t like this position.

Chest heaving and breaths coming in short spurts, Nyla stared wide-eyed into his handsome face that was only inches from hers. He was so damn close.Toodamn close. Her mouth was only inches from his, and it was taking all her self-control not to lean forward and cover his juicy lips with hers.

But she couldn’t move. It was as if they were both frozen in place, neither speaking a word as their eyes searched each other’s.

The man was even more beautiful up close, and if that weren’t enough, he smelled magnificent. His clean, fresh, alluring scent reached her nostrils, and Nyla breathed in deeply and tried not to moan.

Goodness.

Would it be too weird to bury her nose against his neck and sniff him? Probably. Or maybe she could just lay her head on his shoulder and bask in his scent and his strength. Yeah, she could stay in this position forever.

While her thoughts went wild, she realized Harrison still hadn’t spoken, not that she was surprised. He was a man of few words, but what did surprise her was that he was still holding her against his incredible body. He acted as if she weighed nothing.

No way was she going to break the spell that he was clearly under. Not when she was given the opportunity to feel his hard, muscular chest against hers. Nah, they could stay like this until the…

“Oh, there you are. I…” someone’s voice sounded from the open door, then trailed off. “Um…never mind. This can wait. Carry on,” the person said in a rush, and Nyla heard their footsteps take them away.

And just like that, the spell was broken. Harrison quickly set her on her feet, then took a giant step away from her. Nyla immediately felt the loss, but what had she expected? That he was going to stand there for the rest of the day with her in his arms?

“Thanks for the assist,” she said, unsure of what else to say to make this moment less awkward.

Harrison only grunted and headed for the door while rubbing his hand over his low haircut. “Stay off the damn ladder,” were his parting words as he practically ran from the room.

Nyla released a long breath. Someone really needed to snap that man out of his grumpy funk. Too bad it wouldn’t be her since she’d only be there a few more days.

Then again, it would probably take an act of God to straighten the guy out.

What the actual hell?Harrison thought when he entered his office and slammed the door behind him. He rubbed the back of his neck as he stormed to his desk.

Nyla was getting to him.

The eccentric woman had done in two months what most women hadn’t been able to do in years. She’d gotten around his defenses. Harrison couldn’t remember the last time he’d wanted to kiss a woman as bad as he’d wanted to kiss Nyla. Which was saying a lot. His ex-fiancée had done such a number on him, he’dbarely looked at another woman, and he’d wanted to keep it that way.

Then Nyla, with her quick wit, perky everything, and a soft curvy body that felt perfect in his arms. Every nerve within him had come alive, and he hadn’t wanted to put her down. Had they not been interrupted, Harrison was sure he would’ve kissed her, and that would’ve been a huge mistake.

Damn the woman for making him want her.

Two more days. In two days, his administrative assistant would be back, and everything could go back to normal.

Just two more days.

Chapter Four

Later that night, Nyla leaned against the bar and glanced around Moody Days Jazz Club, feeling proud of herself. As the manager, she’d been trying to come up with ways of generating more income into the business. Not only that, but she also wanted to double the number of customers they averaged every night, and she was making progress.

Now all she had to do was double her savings in the next few months, and then the club would be hers. Well, maybe not double, but she needed a little more money.

No pressure.

Not only was she concerned about the money, doubts of whether she could actually run a business on her own had been creeping in lately. Sure, she was a great manager, but when she became the owner, all the responsibilities, including the financials, would be on her.

Which was why she was trying to prove to herself that she could make her dream come true. She could be a successful business owner even if she only had a high school education.

I can do this. I can make the club a success.

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