Harmony

Preston and I walked along Comm Avenue, then turned and made our way down Dartmouth Street. The cool, crisp fall air actually felt amazing and seemed to ease my dull headache. Quickly checking my pocket, I rubbed my fingers against the charm Jake had given me. Preston had seen it in my hand and asked what it was. When I told him, he gave me the sweetest smile I’d ever seen.

Clearing my thoughts, I asked Preston, “So are you going to tell me where we are going?” His strong jawline was set as he stared straight ahead. Something was weighing on his mind and I wanted to ask what it was, but decided it best not to.

“Preston?”

Snapping his head over to me, he let out a chuckle. “Sorry, Harmony. I was lost in thought. What did you ask?”

Grinning, I asked again, “Are you going to tell me where we are going?”

Winking, he shook his head. “Nope.”

Throwing my head back, I laughed and gave him a push. It felt good to laugh. The guilt slowly crept in, but I quickly pushed it aside. I’d give myself one day. That’s all I needed.

Peeking over at Preston, I took his features in. He was tall, probably about six feet. He was for sure taller than Trey. Preston’s brown hair was messy, like he washed it and just ran his hands through it and let it dry that way. It was sexy as hell and worked very well for him. His eyes were a light green and they held so many emotions. I’d found myself lying in bed this morning thinking about those eyes.

Preston reached down and took my hand. A small part of me wanted to let the butterflies in my stomach take off in flight, but I pushed the feeling away. As we walked, Preston turned down Huntington Avenue and walked into the Westin Hotel.

Coming to a dead stop in the lobby, I dropped Preston’s hand. “What are we doing in a hotel, Preston?” My heart was beating at a crazy pace and I was shocked by the confusing emotions running through my head. For one brief moment, I was hoping Preston had brought me here to make love to me.

Where in the hell did that thought come from? Jesus, Harmony. Stow away the hormones.

Preston looked at me with his head slightly tilted. Taking a step closer, he leaned in close to me as my chest heaved up and down. “Why, Harmony, you don’t think I brought you to a hotel to have sex with you, do you?”

Letting out a nervous chuckle, I shook my head. “Of course not.” My betraying voice cracked.

Then it happened. Preston smiled the most gorgeous smile ever and I knew I was going to have to fight like hell to keep my betraying feelings down.

“ ’Cause if I wanted to make love to you, I sure as hell would give you more than a mid-morning roll in the sack at a local hotel.”

Swallowing hard, I gave him a smile and forced my eyes to roll, even though my mind was racing with what Preston would do if he wanted to make love to me.

“Okay, so what are we doing here?” I asked, trying to sound normal. Like the way he just spoke to me didn’t have my insides completely melting.

Reaching for my hand again, Preston led me to the elevator. “I want to show you something.” Hitting the button marked for meeting rooms, the elevator took us up the short distance.

When the door opened, I couldn’t help but notice Preston’s smile. He was giddy about something, and that made me smile. The feeling was foreign but nice. As we approached the America Ballroom, I saw the display sign but couldn’t read it. Preston walked too quickly and kept the sign blocked.

Walking through the door, I let out a gasp. The room was filled with paintings. Not just any paintings, but Geoffrey Chatten paintings. “Preston,” I whispered as I walked farther into the room. The first thing that popped into my head was that I was walking around an art exhibit dressed in New York Yankees stuff. Then I noticed we were the only people in the room.

Spinning around, I let out a giggle. “Chatten is one of my favorite painters.” Glancing over at Preston, my smile faded. “How did you know?”

His face beamed with pride as he looked around. “Jake mentioned it to me a while back. One of my best friends is a manager here and he happened to mention the art show and I called in a favor. Asked him if we could preview it before it opened to the public.”

I didn’t know what to say. No one had ever done anything like that for me before. My lower lip trembled and Preston’s smile faded. “Harmony? If you want to leave we can, I just thought—”

Lifting up my hand to stop him from talking, I shook my head. “No! This is just so…amazing. I didn’t even know that Jake knew Chatten was a favorite of mine.”

Smiling, Preston took my hand and I had to fight double time now to keep the feelings away. “Do you have any of his paintings?”

I whispered, “I have one. My mother brought it back from the UK on one of their trips abroad. I fell in love with his Impressionist painting right away.”

“Impressionist painting, what does that mean?” Preston asked.

“It’s a style where the artist captures the object like someone is catching a glimpse of it. They are usually landscapes and the artist will use bright, vibrant colors.”

Nodding, Preston walked up to a painting. “I like the seascape paintings.”

My stomach fluttered deeply in my belly. “Me too. They are my favorites. I think it’s because the ocean is my favorite place to be. Being near the sea allows me to think better. Clears my mind.” My voice drifted off as I gazed at one of the paintings.

Preston walked off and looked at the paintings. “I like this one, too. I love the color blue.”

Turning, I made my way over to the painting. Iris in Blue Vase was the title. The colors were amazing as I stood and looked at all the details. “It’s beautiful,” I whispered.

“Yeah, it really is,” Preston said as he stood next to me. Sneaking a look at him, I smiled when I saw how the painting had him captivated.

We spent the next hour walking from piece to piece, and then Preston’s friend came in to see how we were enjoying the artwork. While Preston chatted with his friend, I made arrangements to buy two paintings. They were expensive, but I could afford it. My mother and father’s way of reaching out to me after Trey and TJ died was to send me a large sum of money. Little did they know I knew it had come from my grandparents. Jake had inherited his when he turned twenty-one, and I was to inherit mine at twenty-one as well. Of course, my parents made it look like it was from them and they had made special arrangements for me to get it early.

Preston walked up to me and placed his hand on the small of my back as he spoke.

Ignore the pull in your stomach, Harmony. It means nothing. You’re just lonely.

“Ready for lunch?”

Right on cue, my stomach growled as Preston chuckled. “I will take that as a yes.”

I giggled. “At least my hangover is slowly fading.”

Preston kept his hand on my lower back and I wasn’t surprised by how much I enjoyed him leading me like he was. “Have you ever eaten at Temptations Café?”

Shaking my head, I said, “Nope. Is it casual?” Pointing to my clothing, I smiled.

Throwing his head back, Preston laughed. “Yes, ma’am, it is. Soups, sandwiches, wraps, and my favorite dessert ever.”

Pursing my lips together, I nodded. “Hmm, I’m intrigued now by this dessert.”

“It’s pretty awesome.”

Less than five minutes later we were walking into Temptations Café. “How did you find this place?” I asked.

Walking up to order, Preston turned to me. “It’s right down the road from my station.”

My interest was immediately piqued. “The fire station?”

Nodding, he looked at me with a puzzled look on his face. “Yeah.”

“Can we stop by?”

I wasn’t sure how to read him. His eyes turned from happiness to something else I wasn’t able to read.

Preston’s eyes searched my face. “You want to stop by the station? That won’t…be hard for you?”

Shrugging my shoulders, I made a face. “I don’t think so. I’m really curious to see where you work. See what you do.”

A slight smile moved across Preston’s face. “Really?”

Letting out a small laugh, I nodded. “Really. Really.”

The girl behind the counter called out, “Next,” and Preston stepped up.

The young girl looked to be about my age. “Hey, Preston. Are you off today?”

Giving her a polite smile, he took a quick look at me before turning back and talking. “Hey, Lori. Yeah, I have today off. I’ll have the usual, garden wrap with a bottled water.”

Glancing up at the menu, I read what Preston had ordered. “That sounds good, I’ll have the same,” I said as I smiled at the girl behind the counter. Her eyes snapped between Preston and me before she looked at me with a death stare.

Whoa. Someone had a crush on the handsome firefighter. Biting my lower lip, I attempted to hold back my chuckle.

“We’ll also take two Nutella and Bananas.” Preston snuck a peek at me and wiggled his eyebrows up and down. I couldn’t hold back my laughter this time.

“That’s your amazing dessert?” I asked as Preston handed Lori money.

He looked horrified. “Yes! Nutella and a banana on a brioche. It’s heaven, Harmony. Pure heaven.”

Rolling my eyes, I looked around the restaurant. The place was cute and everything smelled good. The baked items looked to die for and I was shocked Preston liked something so simple as Nutella and banana. I’ll admit, I’d never tasted Nutella, so for all I knew I was missing out on something good.

Preston pulled my chair out for me as we sat down. We talked the entire time we ate. He told me about growing up in Boston before his father retired to the country. He had two brothers and a sister. His favorite place to be was at his parents’ country house or on the ocean sailing.

I decided to keep the conversation on Preston and he didn’t seem to mind.

Lori walked over and placed the Nutella and Bananas down in front of us.

“Dig in,” Preston said with a smile.

Chewing on my bottom lip, I asked, “Um…is Nutella good?”

Preston’s mouth dropped open as he stared at me.

“You’ve never had Nutella? Like, ever?”

Pressing my lips together so I didn’t giggle, I shook my head.

Preston leaned back in his chair and put his hand over his heart. “I’ve so much to teach you. So much.”

Swallowing hard, I felt my face flush.

Oh, the things I wanted Preston to teach me.