Sweet Harmonies (4 page)

God. That glossy black hair. That smooth
caramel skin. Those sparking dark eyes. He didn't think he'd ever
laid eyes on a woman as breathtaking as she was. Not in real life,
not even in the movies.

Man, he thought, it just goes to show how
natural beauty will win out over anything. In movies, on television
– those girls were made up within an inch of looking like clowns.
The unnatural, caked on makeup was usually a complement to their
unnatural, highly-teased and sprayed hairstyles, and clothes made
of fabrics not found in nature.

Ryan shook his head. No thanks! The rest of
the world could keep their fake beautiful women with make-up caked
on their faces. They seem to be happy with that, and as far as he
was concerned, they were welcome to it!

He was only glad that those mythical
inhabitants of the “rest of the world” hadn't seen Karina
Blackstone in Sue Ann's cafe yesterday. One look at the shining,
natural waves of hair curling down over her shoulders, of the lush
eyelashes and full lips and blushing cheeks which made up her face,
in all of their unadorned glory – well, they would have immediately
realized what fools they'd been, and what they'd been missing out
on.

He'd take the image of one Karina Blackstone,
sitting in the sunshine in simple jeans and tanktop, no make up,
with her hair simple and loose around her shoulders, and stack that
up against twenty glamour shots of movie stars all dolled up on the
red carpet. There was no contest. He knew he'd come out ahead every
time.

She was, simply, gorgeous.

As he rubbed shampoo into his hair and
vigorously scrubbed his body, he began to realize that a plan was
going to need to be formed. He couldn't simply let his relationship
with Karina meander along and try to move things forward on a
spontaneous basis.

No. A woman of her caliber deserved a true
courtship, and seduction.

Maybe he was being old-fashioned. He'd
certainly been accused of that in the past, so there was every
chance that it was true. But he didn't care.

In Ryan's view, a woman worth having was a
precious treasure, and deserved to be pursued as such, and when
that pursuit was successful, to be cherished as such. Lord knows
that a woman as spectacular as Karina was a rarity. She should be
treated like the rare and special gift that she was.

This meant, to his way of thinking, that she
was worth planning a proper courtship for, and being patient while
that plan played out. Karina was worth waiting for.

And, anyway, truth be told, that was more in
line with how Ryan liked to operate, anyway. At home, with girls
he'd dated in the past, he had always been respectful – of them, of
their families. He had most often asked their fathers for
permission to see their daughters before asking the young lady out.
That thinking may be outdated but it just felt right to him, like
the proper order of things.

There were some stark differences, though,
when it came to his past experiences with dating girls and what he
was facing with Karina.

First and foremost was that Karina was above
and beyond any woman he'd ever seen, let alone dated, when it came
to beauty, charm, grace...just all-around “Wow” factor. So, there
was that. Ryan was far more taken with her than he had ever been
with any woman in the past. So, right off the bat, the stakes were
much higher for him.

Second, this felt different because it was
the first time he was pursuing a girl that he hadn't known for his
entire life. At home, in Montana, he had lived in an insular
community. It wasn't hard to tell which girls had their eyes on
him, and targeted his affections accordingly. There was very little
risk.

Even going and talking to their fathers, a
task which would seem monumentally challenging to most teenagers
and young men in their twenties, had been tempered by the fact that
their fathers, also, had known him since he was born. They knew he
was a good boy, and was not out to take advantage of their precious
daughter.

But Karina? Pursuing her was going to be a
total roll of the dice. He didn't know her family situation, he
didn't know what she liked to talk about – damn it, he didn't even
know if she was attracted to him. A total crapshoot.

But, he reasoned, if anyone was worth taking
a chance on, it was this raven-haired beauty. She was a
one-in-a-million girl, a once-in-a-lifetime girl. And Ryan didn't
care what the risk might be, he was going after her.

Besides, he told himself with a mischievous
smile, this was exactly the kind of situation that courtship
rituals were created for. Sure, she may not be interested in him
now. She might be, she might not. Who knows? But, if she wasn't, it
was very possibly because she didn't know what a good guy he was –
and that's what he planned to show her, step by patient step.

Yes, he had all the time in the world.
Combine that with an unshakable will to win the heart of Karina
Blackstone. He was certain he would be victorious. He just needed
to come up with a solid plan, and stick to it.

As he toweled off and pulled on his clothes,
he considered where he should start. He didn't want to rush things.
This was an important day in the scope of their relationship, the
first day they were spending together. Her impressions of him today
would form the foundation of what she thought of him well into the
future.

So, today's mission? Twofold. One – to make
sure, through his words and behavior, that there was no doubt in
her mind about his intention to pursue her. Second – to show her,
through his tireless and uncomplaining physical effort when moving
boxes and furniture, that he was strong in both body and
character.

If he accomplished those two feats today,
regardless of whether or not she showed any interest or inclination
toward him yet, he would consider his plan on track.

He shook his head. That was what he
considered to be wrong with romance nowadays. And, yes, he did
realize that he sounded more like someone Sue Ann's age than his
own when he said that, and he smiled ruefully when thinking about
it. But the truth was, there were a lot of things that other guys
his age did that he thought were ludicrous.

He thought they put WAY too much stock in
pursuing women that wouldn't put up too much of a roadblock. They
wanted to be 100% sure she'd say yes when they asked her out, they
wanted a high degree of certainty that they'd get her in bed by the
third date (at the latest), and they wanted her to not nag them too
much about moving the commitment beyond that point. Their entire
romantic lives were based around the idea of chasing down the path
of least resistance.

Ryan was not like that. Sure, the path of
least resistance offered some benefits. It was easy. It was simple.
But there were also drawbacks. Anyone who has ever done a grueling
hike up a steep mountainside will tell you that it's certainly no
stroll through a garden path, but damn – when you stand on top of
that mountain peak and drink in the breathtaking view you've
earned, you're a certifiable fool if you're wishing for the garden
path at that moment.

Ryan wanted that mountain-top moment. He
wouldn't settle for any less. He didn't care how hard he had to
work. Anything spectacular in life was going to have to be earned.
Karina was spectacular, there was no doubt in his mind about that,
and Ryan was prepared to work hard to earn her affections.

She was his ‘mountain-top moment’ woman.

Ryan locked his apartment door and went down
the stairs into the cafe, where he found his grandmother Sue Ann
bustling around the kitchen, pouring coffee into cups and
assembling breakfast boxes. He saw one for him, as well as one for
each of the gang that was going to be helping Karina move into her
new home today.

“
Granny, let me help with that,” he
said with concern lacing his voice.

“
Oh, nonsense,” she brushed him off,
“you need to save your energy for all the heavy lifting you're
going to be doing today.”

“
Granny, seriously, it's not going to
be that hard,” Ryan scoffed, “Definitely not so hard that I can't
spare a small bit of strength to help put some egg sandwiches in
cartons.”

With that, he inserted himself beside her at
the counter and they formed a natural assembly line process,
falling into a rhythm quickly.

“
Speaking of heavy lifting,” he said,
“Are you really sure about me leaving you here by yourself today? I
mean, come on, Granny. I came out here to Hope Falls to help you
with running the restaurant, because you were having a tough time.
And now I'm going to run off and leave you all by yourself for an
entire day? Say the word, I'm here.”

“
Don't be silly,” Sue Ann assured him,
“You've been so much help already, just in the time you've been
here so far. Besides, handling things on my own for one day is a
far cry from doing it every day! Sure, today might be a little
tiring, but just knowing that you'll be back with me tomorrow will
be enough to get me through it!”

“
If you're sure...” he said hesitantly,
sounding anything but sure himself. He was definitely eager to
spend the day with Karina, but seeing his grandmother here in the
kitchen reminded him that he had responsibilities in this world,
ties that were bigger than himself.

“
Absolutely,” Sue Ann replied with
conviction, “You need to meet some people your own age. You go off
and have some fun today.”

He laughed, “Well, moving is work, I don't
know how much fun it's going to be.”

Sue Ann eyed him slyly, “Oh, I think there
are some people who would consider a day of working alongside the
very fetching Karina Blackstone to be more fun than whatever it is
they actually do for fun.”

“
Granny!” he said, shocked, but with a
small smile, “I don't know what you’re talking about.”

“
Oh, get real, Ryan. We may not have
seen each other much since you were a kid, but that doesn't mean I
think you're still a kid. And I'm not blind! I saw how you were
strutting around yesterday, proud as a peacock, every time her eyes
were on you! I mean, that little spring in your step certainly
wasn't for my benefit, or her grandmother's!” she finished with a
chuckle.

Ryan blushed, “I have absolutely no idea what
you mean,” he reiterated, but this time in a teasing tone, and
accompanied by a smile and a wink.

“
You could definitely do worse,” she
reasoned pragmatically, “She's a beautiful girl, and you do have
the music thing in common.”

“
That's true,” Ryan agreed uncertainly,
“Although I don't know if she would feel that way. She ran out of
her so quick after I played yesterday, I couldn't tell if she
thought my songs were good or crap.”

“
Oh, honey, come on now,” Sue Ann
reasoned, “Your songs are so beautiful, there's no way she could
think badly of them!”

Ryan laughed, “You're my grandmother, you
have to say that!”

Sue Ann shrugged, “No, I don't. Trust me, if
they were crap, I'd tell you the truth.”

“
Ha!” Ryan exclaimed, “I guess that's
true.”

“
And I have a feeling she would, too,”
Sue Ann continued confidently, “She's a straight-shooting kind of a
girl. So I wouldn't read too much into the fact that she left right
after your songs. If she didn't like them, she wouldn't just duck
out. She's not the kind of person who would be afraid to tell you
the truth.”

Ryan smiled, “That's good, I like that in a
girl. I like to know where I stand.”

Sue Ann laughed, “Oh, you'll know where you
stand with Karina, don't worry!”

Unfortunately, her admonition not to worry
actually had the opposite effect, and his brow furrowed with
consternation, “So what are you saying, Granny? Is she...I don't
know...mean?”

Sue Ann shook her head back and forth
vehemently, causing her springy grey curls to bounce, “Oh, no - no,
definitely not! She's not mean at all, she'll just tell you exactly
what she thinks.”

Ryan smiled widely, “Well, good, I can handle
that. In fact, I think that right about now, there's nothing in the
world I'd like better than to know exactly what she thinks.”

Chapter 3

Karina and Sam pulled up in front of Amanda's
house and piled out of Karina's sports car, walking toward the
front door.

“
This is so exciting!” Sam sing-songed,
“I can't believe that we're going to get you all moved into your
new house today, you're going to be all settled, I live right
across the street from you, we get to meet Ryan today – it's like a
dream come true!”

Karina looked at her crossly, “I still don’t
understand why we had to come all the way over to Amanda’s just to
drive back up to my house together. And it is way too early in the
morning to be this perky,” she grumbled.

“
Amanda wanted us all to ride together
in the van, plus it’s way more fun this way. And I love this time
of morning,” Sam bubbled sincerely, “You're up early every day,
too, I figured you liked it as much as I do!”

Karina snorted, “I get up early out of
necessity, not because I like it. I think it's unnatural to enjoy
being up this early.”

They reached the end of the walkway leading
to Amanda's door and rang the doorbell.

“
It is unnatural. If you're
a...vampire!” Sam said and looked at Karina expectantly. Sam had
recently been on a quest to try to become intentionally funny, and
had been attempting to work jokes into regular
conversation.

“
It's too early for joke practice,”
Karina responded sourly.

“
Fine, I'll just say my regular
response, then, which is that if it's unnatural to like being up
this early, then I guess I'm unnatural, because I love it!” Sam
enthused, her cheerfulness not dampened in the least.