The Love Potion Groom Read online

  Actually he couldn’t. He turned and stared at the people on the dance floor and wondered if he could take the risk and went out and danced. Did he want to dance? He started thinking about being confined in that new ritzy rehab place.

  The song instantly changed to an old eighties rock song.

  Before he knew what was happening, the crazy chick was standing in front of him giving him an angry look. “Want to dance?”

  Dumbfounded and totally unprepared he held back. “Uh, I don’t want to draw attention to myself.”

  Her face went into a wide grin, her green eyes taunting him as she leaned in. “Sissy.” She rushed off, grabbing another guy from the side and pulling him out onto the dance floor.

  B. C. wanted to point out she was the one acting totally manic.

  The guy she was with wasn’t bad looking. He had a cowboy thing going complete with the hat, belt buckle and stupid smile.

  It was annoying. B.C. found himself thinking of ways he could easily take the guy out MMA-style, making his blood start pumping faster. The blonde’s tight black dress held in all the right places and the heels didn’t hinder her moves in the slightest. She was wild at the moment, trying to make the cowboy do some moves to the music with her. Clearly, the guy was an idiot and didn’t know the moves. She was far better than him and trying way too hard to make it work.

  B.C. turned back to the bartender who met his eyes and shook his head. “I gather you guys have been through a hard time, but is she ok?”

  The bartender's lip curled into a frown, but then he relaxed and wiped the edge of the counter where he was. “Funeral today. It’s been hard on her. She came home from school last week, hoping to spend the summer with Nana.” He shrugged “Our Nana raised us, but out of nowhere she had a heart attack and that’s that.” The bartender’s eyes stayed on the girl.

  B.C. who hadn’t felt interested in honestly anyone’s lives in a long, long time asked him, "What’s your full name?”

  The blond, grunge guy’s lip twisted into a half smile and he put his hand out. “Kevin Moonwater. Nice to meet you.”

  B.C. shook his hand. "B.C. …”

  “We’ve established who you are.” Kevin acknowledged him. “I also love your super hero ones. I don’t know how you play Blackhawk so well, but you do it. I’ve gone to all three of those in the theater and to all of your war movies.” His eyes flashed back to him. “I read an article on how you saw a lot of crap on your tours over there, was it…did it help you act in those movies?”

  Under different circumstances, B.C. wouldn’t have even held or carried on this conversation, the one that perennially turned into an interview. Not the one about being in war. He hated that question. His eyes scanned back to the girl out on the dance floor looking wild and vulnerable and crazy and free. He was suddenly more interested in this whole situation than he'd been in anything for months. “It was hell,” he said dryly. “I don’t know if I’d say it was worth it for a movie roll, but, I like being in movies.”

  Yes, the pills were taking effect. He felt all the edginess gather inside him and dissipate into the bass of the music. He could breathe easier and he felt something loosen inside of his chest. Like the grip that had been there squeezing was letting loose. He picked up his water and took another sip. At this moment, all drugged up, he actually felt more like himself than he had in long, long time.

  For a couple of minutes he heard Kevin helping other customers. Yep, he liked the fact the place was packed. It did give him a bit more anonymity.

  The song changed and he watched Kira run her fingers through her blonde hair and go to another guy, tugging him out. Obviously, it looked like they all knew each other, because this guy took her into a slow dance, and had a sad look on his face.

  B.C. nursed his drink, still keeping it low, waiting and watching her. She was gorgeous. Graceful. She looked loose and free, but he could see her start doing what seemed like ballet moves or turning around the man in ways he wasn’t really prepared for. Not a tango, but she could dance. Holding onto the guy she put her leg up and did a fast twirl.

  B.C. was mesmerized by her. He turned back to Kevin. “Is she a dancer?”

  Seeming a bit taken off guard, Kevin hesitated, looking at her. Right at that moment she lifted a leg, kicked and did a turn around the guy. He sighed. “She was…don’t know if she’ll be going back to Julliard or not. Nana passed the ranch to both of us.”

  B.C. turned to face Kevin. “You own a ranch?”

  Kevin shrugged. “I guess I do now. Death comes when you’re not expecting it, right?”

  B.C. thought of all the death that he’d been around. Kevin didn’t know the half of it. The worst was carrying his buddy out of that war zone and watching his life seep out of his body. It was…ugly. It could wreck a man mentally if he didn’t have a place to store it. So B.C. stashed it back into the box where it belonged and made a command decision. He took off his hoodie.

  Another song had started.

  A country song. He was tired of watching a woman who clearly owned the dance floor, not have the right partner. In five steps he was out to her, the guy she’d been dancing with had been leaving, but stopped.

  “Can I have this dance?” B.C. was already taking her hand.

  She stopped, looking lost for a moment. A look that B.C. recognized and identified on some level he hadn’t allowed himself to go to for a very long time.

  “Kira, want to dance?” He asked, again.

  She blinked and a wicked glint came into her eye. She squeezed his hand and asked, “Think you can keep up?”

  The song was full of hee haw, country energy. B.C. didn’t want to spoil her fun and remind her that he’d been trained only two years ago for a whole cowboy role. He was a country western music star, complete with line dancing and country two-step. Easily he turned her into some complicated moves.

  She kept pace. He’d known she would keep pace and now she grinned up at him like he’d just won her a stuffed bear at a carnival. “That’s right, you played ‘Man of Thunder’ didn’t you?” She laughed and although it sounded inflated, he could definitely tell this was part of her manic mood talking. He spun her some more and liked feeling…free. If only for a second, with this woman he began feeling something that had eluded him for a long time.

  She laughed and not only mastered the moves he was throwing at her, but took him into variations.

  “Are you sure you’re not lit up?” He asked when she hoisted herself into his arms and commanded him to twirl her.

  She laughed even harder and he found himself thinking she looked magical at the moment, above his head, her chin up, her hands back. Perfect.

  He brought her down and they continued into more steps.

  She slowed their steps into a two-step. “I have to admit, I hated the first Raced and Wrecked, haven’t seen the rest. In fact, the worst scene was the scene in Brooklyn when you pretended to be in the mob and you were doing that horrible accent.”

  Holy…what? Abruptly, he stopped dancing. “You really hated my movie?” Now she was criticizing his accents?

  She laughed again and pulled him into another round of moves. It seemed like it made her happy to see him so upset. “Chill out, Movie Star.”

  He found himself having to concentrate on the moves again, he lifted her into the air and she swept each side of his body. He then held her straight up in the air. The whole place was clapping and laughing and when he put her down, he felt the flashes of cameras start.

  Another wicked glint was in her eye. “I thought the great B.C. didn’t want to be recognized this evening.”

  The way she said it. The way she taunted him with it made him smile. The way his heart raced, this woman was intense.

  Another song came on, an eighties hair-band song and he found himself throwing himself into the moves with her. It felt amazing. She was in it to win. Her body jerked and her hair spun and hit him in the face, making him laugh.

  The thing B.C. liked abou
t this woman was maybe she was a bit crazy tonight, but she wasn’t treating him like B.C. Knight: Movie Star. She was just having fun.

  The song ended and there were people beginning to moving in on him. Luckily, his security guys were there, keeping people at bay.

  It wasn’t bad, not like the clubs in LA or various places he’d been.

  They went back to the bar and Kevin had waters for them. He had a smile on his face and spoke to her. “Got yourself a partner who might be able to keep up with you.”

  She laughed and drank the water. “Maybe.”

  Kevin gave her a sincere look. “You have to go back to school, Cuz, that’s nonnegotiable.”

  This made the smile on her face disappear. She held Kevin’s eyes then shook her head.

  B.C. didn’t know what had just happened, but even in his numb state, he could clearly see something had.

  She plunked down her water and glared at Kevin. “I’m going home.”

  Chapter 2

  B.C. watched this blonde, tall, mythical woman in the black dress who could dance like a Greek muse, stride away from the bar and he was sad to let her go.

  “No!" Kevin ran after her.

  B.C. once again couldn’t stop himself from watching them.

  He saw her rip her hand away from Kevin as he reached for her arm.

  Then, just like a movie playing before his eyes, he watched her fall apart and burst into sobs.

  He thought of their grandmother they’d just buried and he thought of the passion in this woman. He even thought he shouldn’t be doing this as he tapped the security guy close to him and said, “Follow me, we’re going to make sure someone gets home okay.”

  His security guys’ jobs were to stay sober. To take care of him. No wonder they looked a little puzzled. “You sure?”

  “Yes.” He got to Kevin and the girl. “Hey, can I give her a ride?”

  She was clutching at Kevin’s chest, her face buried into it.

  Kevin hesitated.

  “Let me help you.” B.C. said softly.

  Kevin frowned, patting her back. “That’s a good idea.” Kevin looked at the security guy. “He’s driving, right?”

  B.C. nodded.

  Kevin nodded, too and turned to Kira. “Why don’t you go back to the ranch and settle in for the night. I’ll be done in about two hours."

  Angrily, she pulled back from him, and B.C. was reminded the woman was clearly unstable at the moment. She was suddenly triumphant and a piece of clear physical beauty began to appear, rising up with her as she held her head high with fire in her eyes. "You’re sending me home with the Movie Star?” She glared at him. “No.” Then she turned to stalk off, but Kevin was on her heels.

  It was funny she was mad about this. Did she not get the memo—he was a famous movie star?

  Now the crowd was noticing him more and his other security guy closed in to provide protection. B.C. found himself following Kevin and this woman out the front door of the club.

  Kevin was next to her, only a few steps from the street. "Please, Kira, please. Just get a ride home."

  She stuck her chin in the air. “I’ll get an Uber.” She was typing on her phone.

  B.C. felt a bit disappointed. For a second he thought of how his own grandmother always used to say when you swap another problem for your own it helps you feel better. Dang, he hadn’t thought about that for a long, long, time.

  The dance club door opened and a guy yelled, “Kevin!”

  Kevin held her wrist and she glared at him. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

  Yanking her hand free, she rushed away from him. “Oh, get lost, Kevin.”

  B.C. could see the struggle on the guy’s face. He didn’t want to let his cousin go, but he had commitments.

  So B.C. did the only thing he could think to do. “I’ll take care of it.”

  Kevin turned to him, hesitating for a moment. “I don’t understand why you care so much.”

  B.C. was put on the spot, so he told the truth. “Death sucks.” He threw his hands up. “I have a mother who needs help sometimes, I know how to deal with this. Believe me, this will be nothing.” Plus, it gave him purpose. He always liked the movies where he played a hero.

  For a second B.C. didn’t know if Kevin would take the olive branch, but then he gave a firm nod. He looked at his hands. "Can I get your number?”

  They exchanged information as a car with an Uber plaque drove up. B.C. saw her about to get into it. He took off. “I’ll text you.”

  His security was on him, but he brushed them aside, even though he was pretty loaded, he was used to being loaded. Sticking out his foot just as she pulled the door shut. He felt a bit of pain go through him. “Guys, I’ll be back at the hotel by midnight."

  There were protests from his guys, but he slipped in the car and waved them off.

  The car took off and he heard her breathing hard. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

  It was funny to him that here was this girl, in a clearly bad state of mind, putting out all the vibes to stay away. Yet, he was chasing her. How long had it been since he had chased a woman down?

  He was used to being the one getting chased.

  “Get out,” she said quietly.

  His heart raced and he didn’t know what to do with the intensity of this woman.

  “Look, it’s fine.”

  “No, you look," she turned to him.

  Their eyes met and he saw tears on her face.

  She poked his chest hard. “I have no idea why you are in this car, but I really know I must be losing it if my cousin sent you here to take me home!” She blinked and more tears ran down her defiant face.

  Grief.

  He remembered being four and his mother taking him to the zoo and giving him an ice cream cone to explain to him that his father wasn’t coming back. Ever. It was funny that he would remember that at this moment. The way the strawberry ice cream ran down his hand, getting sticky, the way his mother’s tears ran down her face and she pulled him to her side, getting the ice cream in her hair and telling him they would be okay, somehow, they would make it.

  He snapped back to the present. He looked around the town and saw the word Dixie illuminated up on the mountain.

  He leaned forward, close to the driver and pointed toward the Dixie on the mountain . “Go there, please.”

  “No, wait.” She turned to him looking confused.

  The driver pulled over. “What are we doing?”

  B.C. turned to her. The point was that she wasn’t in her own head at the moment, right? She still needed a distraction. Maybe he did, too. “I’ve never taken the tour of St. George. Is the Dixie sign like the Hollywood sign?”

  A sardonic laugh came out of her. “Yeah, just like LA, I’m sure.”

  “Can we go up there? Will you go with me?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

  He shrugged. “Why not? Do you really want to go back already?”

  She sighed, then waved a hand through the air. “Fine, driver, please take us up there.”

  It took a few minutes for the driver to wind through the streets and B.C. found himself smelling her. He’d smelled traces during the dancing but now he thought she smelled like lavender or….

  “Lilac.” She offered, still not looking at him.

  “What?” Had she taken that thought out of his head?

  They got to the top of the street, to a path. She turned to him. “Are we doing this?”

  The intense way she asked him, like he would back out, made him even surer that they would do this. “We’re doing this.”

  He got out and so did she. She thanked the Uber driver and he took off.

  They both stood by a very unimpressive path that led to some switchback turns up to the illuminated rocks. For a second he looked at the heels she wore and wondered if she would bag it, but she started hiking up the rocks. “You coming, Movie Star?”

  It was funny to him that this woman treated him nothing like an
y other woman ever had. “Yep.” He went after her. It wasn’t easy going. She picked her way across the boulder-like rocks and he found himself having to use his skills to keep pace.

  They hiked up for a few moments. He thought of how bright the stars were here. In L.A. they always felt so far away. Tonight, he felt like he could reach up and touch them. He asked, “How did you know I was thinking about what you smelled like?”

  She let out a light laugh and he looked up at her, standing on top of one of the rocks. The way the moonlight fell on her made her seem fragile and beautiful. Once again he marveled at her blonde hair, light and curled, her perfect makeup even though she’d been crying, the way she held herself like a royal queen. Her lean dancer body was graceful. She smirked at him. “Because you were mouth breathing and leaning close with your eyes closed so it’s that or you’re even weirder than I thought.”

  He laughed, this time laughing like he really meant it. Actually, since he’d seen her face and the smile in that dance club, he’d felt freer than he’d felt in a long, long time. Was this the pill talking or was it real?

  Their eyes held for a brief moment and she bent down and took her heels off, leaving them. She turned and pointed to the DIXIE rocks. “Let’s get up there.”

  She went to one of the boulder rocks and picked her way to the top of the first “I” in Dixie.

  He waited at the bottom for her to get to the top.

  “You comin' or not?” She turned back, flashing that wicked smile at him.

  He bounded to the top and both of them sat.

  For a second, he could imagine they were in some kind of movie.

  The town was brilliantly lit and he could see all the people on main street, like they were little toy people.

  She pointed. “There’s the freeway that you take south to Moab.” She moved her hand. “There’s the Mormon Temple.”

  It was all lit up and breath taking.

  He hadn’t really noticed it before.

  She pointed to the north. “There’s Snow Canyon. It’s a good hike during the day.”

  He agreed with a quick flick of his head and wondered at this woman beside him. At the moment she was calm, almost tour guide-ish. He wondered what she would be like if he’d met her before her Nana had passed.