Thin Ice Read online

  He smiled when she looked back at him, embarrassment written plainly on her face, her eyes tired with dark circles underneath.

  Peter shrugged, “kids.” He said, trying to ease her frazzled nerves.

  She smiled back at him, pushing a lock of hair out of her eyes, and nodding, just before she turned back to the squirming little boy and caught his hands as he reached for a chocolate bar again.

  Harmony had watched him drive up. She'd been standing near the doors, cleaning up a spill as she heard the motorcycle pull into the lot. She remembered shivering as he came to a stop, kicking out the stand and leaning the bike against it. A Ducati, she thought to herself. Harmony owned a little yellow Miata herself, a gift from her grandfather on her twenty-first birthday, but she'd always had a thing for motorcycles. Especially good quality ones like the Ducati he'd rode up on.

  It was Black, with red accents, and shone brightly in the sun, like it had just been waxed, or was perhaps even brand new, yeah she'd almost bet on that. Right off the showroom floor. Not a scratch on it, probably not even a smeared bug yet. It was a fine specimen if she'd ever seen one.

  The driver wasn't too bad either.

  Since he was still a good way out, Harmony couldn't make out his precise features, but as he pulled off his helmet, and shook his shaggy hair, it glinted like gold in the sunlight. He then took off the bike's seat, securing his helmet, and Harmony followed his motions with her gaze, traveling the length of his body.

  He was clad in a dark washed pair of blue jeans, with black riding boots, though to the untrained eye they could have passed for your run of the mill steel toed variety, but Harmony knew better, and as her eyes traveled up his long lean body she noticed the new black leather jacket he wore too. Also meant for those riding a motorcycle, discreetly padded for his protection against the road if he were to fall. Though it seemed to have been tailored to fit his lean frame.

  When he turned to walk towards the door, he unzipped his jacket, shoving a hand inside and pulling out a pair of aviators, quickly slipping them on. He stretched then, the white t-shirt he was wearing riding up a little to expose the pale and utterly chiseled abs underneath. It was enough to make Harmony's mouth water, and she had to shake her head to get her mind back in order.

  Making herself scarce, and not because she didn't want him to catch her staring, but because they were shorthanded, and she needed to get back to work, or so she told herself, Harmony walked into the back office and began working on the afternoon paperwork.

  She hoped that by the time she was needed back out on the floor he'd be long gone. Harmony wasn't very good at hiding her emotions. Was even less adept at keeping her mouth shut, so probably better off for her if she didn't run into him.

  Of course, wouldn't you know, when it was time to relieve one of the cashiers for her break, who but the singularly most attractive man she'd ever seen in her life, would be in line waiting to check out. From the corner of her eyes, as she rang up the purchases of one of her regulars, she noticed him smile and comment to a young mother who was having a hard time keeping her little one in line. Though the exchange was fuzzy to her, it made her heart sink anyways. Good looking and a gentleman! Was there any other kind?

  Yes. Of course there was. And she knew it too. She'd experienced firsthand what other kind of men there were out there. Not all the venomous snakes in the world wore brightly colored skins, and it was those, the ones who fooled you into believing their lies most easily that women needed to worry about.

  The young woman with the child was next. And while she slid her items across the price scanner she noticed the man thumbing through a copy of one of the latest tabloids. Could he be gay? No. She shook that thought almost immediately. Yes, a lot of gay men were attractive, and certainly took care of their bodies as he so obviously did, but he gave off such a vibe of masculinity that it practically reverberated throughout her system.

  She made small talk with the woman in front of her, talking to the child as well, he was an adorable little imp and the spitting image of his mother, and all the while, she studied the man in the motorcycle garb. However, if he noticed her peeking from the corner of her vision at him, he gave no indication of it. He still had his aviators on though, so she probably wouldn't have known if he had been staring at her in return or not, but his face gave nothing away to the contrary.

  Once it was his turn, and his purchases slid to the front of the conveyor, a roast beef sandwich, a pickle, a bottle of water, and a couple of bags of dog treats, he took off his glasses and smiled at her.

  And her world turned upside down.

  Harmony gasped, her hand lifting to her mouth to hide the hopefully inaudible sound. No such luck. His boyish smile widened, his head cocking to the side.

  “Are you alright?” he asked, his voice soft, but thickly accented.

  Chapter 2

  You are Fan No?

  Harmony nodded. Turning away for a second she coughed and tried to gather what was left of her composure. With the glasses on he exuded such sexuality that it nearly radiated off him in waves, but with the aviators gone, and that roguish smile spread across his face, the entire package was breathtakingly beautiful.

  Yes, he, a man, was beautiful. His hair was golden, with darker streaks throughout, and it curled at the ends, it was worn shaggy and as it was slightly damp from his helmet it lent him a windswept quality that she found completely erotic. His jaw was angular, his chin strong and rounded, his nose straight, and his lips full, totally kissable.

  Oh god, she had to get a hold of herself! But how could she when Adonis himself were standing before her, smiling and looking so sinfully delicious?

  And his eyes! Oh god, if he kept looking at her that way! Harmony's knees felt weak, she had to brace herself against the counter as she started to ring him up. But she couldn't help staring, was almost embarrassed that she couldn't pull her gaze from him, she was so flustered she accidentally rang up the dog treats one time too many.

  “Shoot. I'm sorry about that. Here, let me fix it.” She said, thumbing herself mentally for the lapse.

  He shook his head. “No, no. Is okay. I will go and get one more.”

  “You're sure?”

  “Da. I mean, yes.” He assured her, smiling again.

  A smile that reached all the way to his eyes. Eyes so blue, and so crystal clear, they may have well as been made of ice! And his thick blonde brows, they were so expressive, it made his gaze that much more intense as he cocked one upward.

  Being the recipient of such a smile, Harmony gulped. “Thanks,” she whispered.

  And then it hit her. She'd seen this man before! Okay, so maybe she hadn't seen him in person, but she'd seen a picture! And of course, it was then that her verbal diarrhea took over.

  “Hey! I know you! You're that Petrovic guy, right? Petrovsky...Petrovsky Petrovic, that's it!”

  His smile widened, as if that were even possible. The sight of it sending little butterflies soaring in her stomach.

  “Da. Yes, I am Peter Petrovic.” He leaned forward, catching a glimpse of her name tag. “Is nice to meet you... Harmony.” He said, extended a hand to her and saying her name with such softness, it made her heart flutter as well.

  “It's nice to meet you too... Peter.” She replied, taking his hand and giving it a shake.

  The moment they made contact, a bolt of electricity shot through her, gasping as she pulled back more quickly than she would have liked to, Peter laughed, causing her to wonder if he had felt it too. It wasn't like anything she had ever encountered before, certainly nothing like one would have expected from static electricity. No, this was different. If was like a lightning bolt had singed her hand where their skin met, shocking her to the very core.

  “You are fan of the Slashers Miss Harmony?” He asked, pulling her from her thoughts.

  She shook her head, “What? Oh no, I'm sorry.”

  “No need to be sorry.”

  “Oh, um, what I meant was, no, I'm
not. I uh, I have the Slasher's calendar, the one you guys did last year... with the animals. You know?” She said, laughing uncomfortably as she caught her breath. “You were Mr. January, right?”

  “Da.” He said, chuckling to himself. “Yes. It was... good experience.”

  She smiled then, she liked the sound of his voice, even through his thick Russian accent, it retained a melodious quality. Smooth, like a good vodka.

  She finished scanning his items, placing them in a bag, “you like animals then?” She inquired, indicating the bags of treats and touching on their earlier conversation.

  “Yes. Dog from calendar..”

  “Sadie?” Harmony supplied for him, causing him to hang onto that marvelous smile of his.

  “I..,how you say... adopted her? I think that is it.”

  “Adopted? Yes, that's the word. You adopted Sadie, the dog from the calendar then? That's so sweet. And she's a beautiful Belgian.”

  He looked surprised, his eyes darkening a little. “You know dogs then?”

  “Yeah, I have a shepherd myself, of the German variety. My grandmother raised sheep, so we've had lots of dogs, mostly herding dogs.” Harmony noticed the line was starting to back up at that point. She needed to move things along.

  But she didn't want to.

  She could stand here and talk to Peter all day. He was charming, with his handsome yet somehow boyish features, his smile, all sexy and taunting. Yeah, she could look at Peter forever if he'd let her.

  Blinking a couple of times, trying to clear the haze, Harmony took his money and started to cash him out.

  “You don't live around here, do you? I'm sure I would've heard about it if you did. Maybe you just moved into the area?” She continued, not wanting the conversation to end.

  Peter shook his head, “net. No, I live in Savannah, out for a ride. Is nice area.”

  She agreed, and should have figured as much about him not living in the area. It would have been one hell of a commute from here to the rink where he played. Nodding in acknowledgment, and blabbering on before she could stop herself she heard herself say, “I live there too, love the city. There's a nice dog park off of Victory Drive, it's part of Daffin Park, have you ever been there?”

  She melted like butter as his lips parted, his white teeth peeking through as he smiled, too many more of those and she'd faint to the floor right here, like a puddle of goo. God, it seemed as if all he did was smile! Peter had such a shy quality to him, it was almost endearing really. Sometimes, she even swore he blushed a little!

  One of the bag boys came up then and handed Peter another thing of treats, obviously having eavesdropped on their conversation, and giving Harmony just the distraction she needed to get herself under control. She handed him his change, and he took it, quickly shoving it into his pocket, and grabbing the bag, giving her one more charming grin.

  “Perhaps I will see you there? Da?” He said, turning and walking away.

  Harmony nearly swooned. So much for control, she thought.

  Peter laughed to himself as he put the bag under the seat of his motorcycle and pulled on his helmet. Straddling the big bike, he looked once more in the direction of the store windows and started the motorcycle, revving the engine a little before pulling out of the parking lot and heading to a park he'd seen on his way over. Once there, he pulled his food from the bag and sat down at a picnic table to eat his spoils.

  He couldn't stop thinking about Harmony though.

  Harmony. What a beautiful name, and what a beautiful woman she was! Though he towered over her by nearly half a foot, she was every bit as striking as her name. Her hair was long, and curled at the ends, the color a shade of brown so dark one might have called it mahogany. When she moved and her hair shifted, the light picked up several variations of red as well. It looked as soft and luxurious as the finest silk, and he had itched to reach out and touch it.

  Her face was slightly rounded, perhaps even a little heart shaped, but she had high cheekbones, delicately arched eyebrows, a pert little nose and a dimple in her chin. Harmony's eyes were another thing. They were blue, but so dark he could have sworn they were violet. And where she lacked in height, she more than made up for in curves!

  The woman was stacked on top and bottom, he thought the term was shaped like an hour glass? Yes, that was it! She had a trim waist, but her hips flared and rounded, and though she was a little shorter than most, probably no bigger than 5'4, she gave the appearance of having long legs.

  Maybe her torso was a little on the petite side then? Either way, Harmony was a complete knockout! What Peter wouldn't give to be around a woman like that more often!

  And why couldn't he?

  He knew where she worked, he could come back and ask her out, couldn't he? He looked around, it was a nice area indeed, but he couldn't see himself riding out here all that often. Hadn't she said she lived in Savannah though? Even gone so far as to mention some dog park on Victory Drive? Perhaps as he had said, he might just see her there!

  Shortly after Peter had left, and the line dwindled down, one of the other cashiers named Kate, walked over from her station.

  “He was certainly good looking eh?” she teased, wiggling her eyebrows as she spoke.

  Harmony didn't need to ask who she was talking about either, as no one else in line had come remotely close to being as good looking as Peter, not to mention that most of the other patrons were either female or much older gentleman.

  Counting out a deposit from the register she had taken over and turning out the light, Harmony shook her head. “Yes, he certainly was. He's a famous hockey player too.”

  Kate leaned against the side of the register. “Really? You don't say.”

  “He plays for the Slashers.” Harmony remarked, tapping Kate on the shoulder to indicate that she shouldn't be leaning. “Why don't you go check on the cart situation outside?” she suggested.

  Kate grumbled but headed outside to take care of the unpleasant task as asked, leaving Harmony to catch her breath as she strolled back to the office to drop the overflow of cash into the safe.

  Peter had definitely made an impression, one that would take time to level out. So Harmony wanted a minute alone, a second to breathe.

  No such luck.

  As she finished straightening up the back office her father walked in, looking rather aggravated to boot.

  “Hey pop.” She said, barely looking up from her paperwork. “What's a matter?”

  “One of our vendors is threatening to pull out.” he grumbled, pulling a pencil from behind his ears and twirling it between his fingers. “the price of grain is going up, and if we don't pay the difference, they pull their product.”

  “Consumer grain? Or is it for the livestock division?”

  “Livestock, but I don't see why that matters.”

  Harmony looked up, a soft smile gracing her lips, “oh it matters.” she said confidently.

  “Humph, how do you figure?” Her father retorted.

  “I've spent most of the morning trying to figure out where we could save a little, and I've come up with some ideas.” She continued, watching as her father placed his hands on his hips and scowled at her. “Oh don't look at me that way, you knew this was coming.” she scolded.

  Bill shook his head, “I didn't figure you'd come up with something so fast!”

  “Well, I did,” Harmony affirmed, grabbing a folder she had brought in with her and pulling several sheets of paper out of it. “Take a look at some of our expense accounts.” She shuffled a few sheets in front of him, spreading them out on the counter so he could take everything in at once. “I went through everything one section at a time, rather than by product category, and I highlighted everything that has a negative sold quantity, as in, we don't sell any at all.” She pointed to the few items she'd mentioned, then took another sheet of paper out of the folder, handing it over as well. “And everything here has a high cost to profit ratio, in other words, we're not making much off it.”
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br />   Bill took a minute to look everything over, nodding as she explained her analysis, “looks like most of it is in the outdoor section.” He commented.

  Harmony nodded, pushing her hair back off her shoulders as she leaned in closer to her father, “exactly,” she agreed. “Which is why I think we can eliminate carrying these products,” Harmony tapped on a few of the highlighted lines, “and just offer to special order them if a customer asks, that way the inflated price gets paid, but not by us. We don't really make a profit on any of this stuff anyways, and we're usually in the red in that specific category, so if we just stop carrying it altogether, but keep a working relationship with the vendor, say, pushing their cards or passing out a flyer and letting them know we'll still offer specials on a limited basis, everyone should be happy.”

  Placing a hand on his daughter’s shoulder, Bill smiled, “I knew I made the right decision in letting you take over. Great work Harmony. Let's get this done. And from now on, if you come across any other comparable findings, don't hesitate to make an executive decision, you obviously know which products sell and which ones don't.”

  Beaming from her father’s compliment and vote of confidence, Harmony walked back out onto the floor with an added pep in her step. What a day it was turning out to be, even if she had been called into work on her day off!

  Peter returned home that night just before the sun went down, pulling his motorcycle into the garage through the back alley to the townhouse. Since it was only a one car garage, even if it was a little over-sized, Peter had agreed to let Viktor park his car in there if he allowed Peter to put the bike in there as well. He certainly wasn't about to leave it in the alley, or even in the driveway for that matter.