Dancing Away With My Heart

Chapter 1-2

Zach stood just inside the entryway to The Daily Grind. All thoughts of the clients he’d just finished with, and the large Zombie Killer with caramel he needed to fuel the late night of editing ahead, spilled out of his brain. The next few seconds unfolded like a series of still shots, each moment captured clear in his mind as she turned. In each one, she transformed a little bit more from the girl he remembered to the woman before him. The woman he’d barely seen in a decade. Every blink was another shutter click, storing away mental images, cataloging the differences between then and now. She was still petite, but the compact body in his memory had added more than a few curves. The rich, brown waves of her hair were longer now, pulled back in a low tail at her nape.

But it was her. It was Lexi.

Joy burst like a barrage of flash bulbs in his brain. But there was something else there, too. A tightness in his chest he didn’t expect. Like he couldn’t quite catch his breath. An inability to look away from those melted chocolate eyes. Had they always been this deep and piercing? Her lips curved as she smiled that familiar, Lexi smile, and the thing in his chest loosened.

Before he could check himself, he’d closed the distance between them, scooping her into his arms, and lifting her off her feet in a fierce hug. “Damn, it’s so good to see you!”

It took a second to register that she wasn’t hugging him back. Realizing he’d overstepped some boundary they’d never had before, he set her down, finding himself strangely reluctant to release her, as if she’d disappear in a puff of smoke the moment he stopped touching her. Lexi Morales hadn’t been a day-to-day part of his life since they’d graduated high school, but he’d never stopped thinking about her. Never stopped wondering how the hell they’d gone from easy, everyday friends, to the keep-up-on-social-media distance they had now.

As soon as her feet hit the floor, she took a step back, and he noticed that smile he’d missed so much was a little strained around the edges. “Hi, Zach.”

Shit, should he apologize for invading her personal space? Not knowing what else to do, he shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from touching her again. “I didn’t know you were in town.”

Glancing at the line, she edged closer to the counter. “Only just. My mom broke her ankle.”

Zach frowned. How had he not heard about that? He tried to keep up with Mama Morales since Lexi was more than a few hours away in Texas. “That’s awful. Is she okay?”

“Yeah. But she can’t manage on her own right now, so I’m here for a few weeks to help out.” There was a flash of…something in her eyes before they shuttered.

Zach realized he’d seen that before, when she’d started to retreat at the end of high school. He hadn’t known what to do with that back then. She’d never hidden what she was thinking or feeling before. It had always been one of the things he’d loved about her. He knew exactly where he stood with her. When she’d started pulling away, he’d thought it was a phase. She’d always been an intensely private person, so when she’d put up boundaries, he’d respected them instead of demanding she tell him what was going on. He’d thought she’d snap out of it. She hadn’t. High school had ended, they’d gone to different schools, and somehow…they’d never found their way back to the friends they used to be. He’d been able to keep up with her on social media. Maybe that had made him feel like they were still closer than they actually were because he was painfully aware that he couldn’t read her right now.

He didn’t know where this standoffishness was coming from. Okay, maybe she hadn’t responded the way he wanted when he’d reached out online. They’d both been busy with their respective lives. It happened. But maybe it was more than that. Did she have something going on that he ought to be concerned about? As far as he was concerned, they were still friends. If she needed support for something, he wanted to be there for her.

The line moved, and they took another step toward the register. “Is everything all right with you being here that long?”

The question seemed to take her aback. “What?”

“It’s just, you seem less than thrilled about it.”

Two spots of color bloomed in her cheeks. “It’s not that. I love my mom. It’s just a long time to be away from my life in Austin.”

“And does that life include a significant other?” He hadn’t seen her post anything about a guy on social media, but she didn’t post about a lot of things.

Lexi snorted and sounded more like herself. “Like I have time for a boyfriend while I’m getting my business off the ground.”

Zach felt an absurd sense of relief at the news. Why should it matter if she had a boyfriend or not? It wasn’t like a guy would take her away from him. Life had done that already. And things had never been anything more than platonic between them.

“So it’s work you’re missing?” This was probably safer territory. They’d always been able to connect over photography.

“Well, it’s hard to book jobs not knowing exactly when she’ll be healed enough for me to get back.”

He’d been lucky in his business. Byron Bridges had retired the year Zach graduated from college. Coming home to take over his studio had been a no-brainer. There’d been a built-in client-base, and as the only professional photographer in town, he tended to stay busy year-round. So busy, he didn’t have time to pursue his other interests. But maybe, since Fate had sent Lexi back his way, he’d get a little reprieve. And maybe he could help her out along the way.

“Work with me while you’re here.” The words were out before he could think them through, but he wouldn’t have taken them back. He missed working shoulder-to-shoulder with her in a dark room or on digital proofs. No one understood the lure of being behind the camera the way she did.

Those melted chocolate eyes blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“Since Byron retired, I’m the only gig in town, so I’ve got more business than I can handle. There’s a waiting list, and there have been some jobs I’ve had to turn down because of time constraints. I know it’s not growing your client list for Austin, but it’d surely keep some income flowing while you’re here.”

Why did she look so stunned at the offer? They were friends. Or damn it, they used to be. He wanted that back. Spending actual time together would give him the chance to reestablish their friendship in a way he couldn’t online. He’d known he’d missed her, but he hadn’t realized how much until he’d seen her again. He needed her to say yes to this.

“Your clients want to book you. Your skills. Your style.”

“They want good pictures,” he corrected. “Most aren’t that fussy about who takes them, and you’re every bit as good as I am. It’d be great to have someone to refer them to that isn’t an hour or more away. You brought your gear, didn’t you?”

The look of vague insult almost made him smile. “Of course I did.”

“Then it’s a win-win for us both.” Please, say yes.

She fidgeted, and he was sure she was trying to come up with some excuse. “Well, if you truly don’t mind and don’t think they’d mind, I’d certainly appreciate some referrals.”

Zach held in his whoop of relief. “Of course I don’t mind. What are friends for? I’d love to get to really catch up while you’re here. It’s been ages.”

Again that…something flashed across her face, but she stepped up to the counter to place her order. By the time she’d finished chatting easily with the barista and paid, he’d already mentally rearranged things in his studio to accommodate another photographer and started a list of ways to remind her of all the reasons they’d been friends in the first place.

Grabbing the paper bag and tray of coffees, she turned toward him, smiling again. “I’d love to catch up while I’m here. But later. I promised Mom brownies and a mocha, and I already ran into Mrs. Landon on the green, so I’ve taken longer than I meant to.”

Squashing the disappointment that they couldn’t start that catching up now, he pasted on his own smile. “Of course. Give your mom my best. And come on by the studio tomorrow. I’ll give you the grand tour. It’ll be nice to share it.”

“Looking forward to it.” She lifted the bag in a sort of wave and headed out the door.

As he watched her go, Zach couldn’t quite shake the feeling that she was running. With luck, he’d eventually suss out why.