In Full Bloom (Second Chances 1)

Chapter 1

Taryn Michaels walked through the side entrance to her apartment building. Exhausted and exhilarated at the same time, she started up the stairs to her apartment. She’d finished her last day as a veterinary intern at the Los Angeles Zoo. When she went back on Monday, she’d be an official employee.

As she started up the second flight of stairs, she let out a surprised yelp. Quickly dodging a box as it rolled down the stairs toward her, she turned to watch as it broke apart at the bottom of the landing with a thunk.

“Shit! I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” a worried voice asked from the top of the stairs.

“Yeah. I think whatever was in that box probably isn’t though,” Taryn said, turning back toward the voice at the top of the stairs.

He wore a pair of faded jeans that were torn in several places and a snug black T-shirt. His lower jaw was covered in dark stubble. His black hair was short and messy, as if someone had been running their hands through it. His eyes looked almost black in the dim light of the hallway. He was in his mid-thirties, Taryn decided. He was the very definition of sin.

Suddenly, aware she had been staring, she asked, “So, uh. Why are you throwing boxes down the stairs at me?”

Tall, dark, and sexy gave her an all-out grin now and said, “Hey now. I didn’t throw it so much as it fell.”

Dear Jesus. That voice. It was deep and smooth. A sexy face, a ridiculous body, and that voice, too? She couldn’t look away as he descended the stairs and stopped in front of her.

Reaching out, he extended his hand and said, “Evan Connolly. I bought the building.”

Taking his hand and giving it a firm shake, she said, “Taryn Michaels. Your tenant.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“You, too. I’m gonna head on up so you can go ahead and finish throwing your things down the stairs,” Taryn said, grinning.

“Yeah,” he said, smiling good-naturedly as he ran a hand through his messy hair. “I’m not likely to live that down, am I?”

“Probably not anytime soon,” she said, stepping around him. “Have a good night.”

As she moved toward her apartment door, she thought, Well. This was certainly an interesting development.

An hour later, Taryn had showered and changed. She was applying a coat of mascara when she heard a knock on the door. Putting the mascara wand back in the tube, she moved back through the bedroom.

“Hang on,” she shouted as she moved toward the door.

When she opened it, her sister Cora stood on the other side of the door. All but tackling her, she squealed, “Tare, you’re a vet now!”

Grinning, Taryn said, “I am!”

Taryn pulled her inside and said, “Help me lace up t

he back of this shirt. When I bought it, I didn’t think about the dynamics of trying to put it on without help.”

Turning around, she presented Cora with the back of her red corset top.

“Ooh,” Cora said. “This is hot! Are you looking to get some tonight?”

Snorting, Taryn said, “You’re staying the night tonight. I’ll pass.”

“The girls were out,” Cora said, gesturing to Taryn’s chest. “I was just checking!”

Rolling her eyes, Taryn moved toward the bathroom, saying, “Lemme mascara and then we can leave.”

Ten minutes later, they walked across the street. Darla’s was a little hole in the wall place. Darla, an older heavy-set woman, had been behind the bar the few times that Taryn had gone in. It was low-key and close to home. In deference to the fact it was technically her celebration, the girls from work had let her pick the place.

As they walked in the door, she immediately spotted Serena from administration sitting at a table with Mindy, one of the other veterinarians on staff. Serena immediately jumped up and said, “You’re official now! Congrats, honey.”

Taryn was immediately pulled into hugs, then gifted with a tiara and a martini. She took a sip of a martini, placed the tiara on her head, then introduced Cora.

Over the next few hours, several people stopped by the bar to congratulate Taryn. Even her new boss, Mike, had showed up for a while. He’d congratulated her on finishing her internship and reminded her that now she, too, would know the joy of telling the intern to shovel the poop from the rhinoceros cage.

Everyone had wanted to buy her a drink. After the fourth one, she’d started giving them to her sister and had switched to water. At 5’3”, Taryn was a light-weight to say the least.

It was after midnight when they finally walked back across the street to Taryn’s apartment. She wasn’t particularly drunk, but she was definitely feeling relaxed. As they turned to walk up the second flight of stairs, Taryn ran directly into a wall of warm, male chest.

Looking up, she saw Evan. Reaching out, she grabbed his shoulders to steady herself, then felt his hands settle on her hips. Feeling the warmth of his fingertips against small swath of skin between where her top ended and her jeans started, awareness coursing through her veins. She watched him now as he slowly appraised her, taking in the corset top and dark-washed jeans.

His hands flexed against her hips as he released her and stepped back. Even though they no longer touched, she could still feel the electricity arc between them.

Next to her, Cora said, “Well, hello. I’m Cora. Who are you?”

“The new Mrs. Weatherly,” Taryn answered, not breaking eye contact with Evan.

Sparing her a glance, he said, “Evan Connolly. Nice to meet you.”

Looking him over, Cora grinned and said, “Definitely easier on the eyes than Mrs. Weatherly.”

When neither party responded, she continued, “Well, I’m going to go inside and make another drink while you two stand out here on the landing and eye fuck each other.”

Giving a little wave, she wobbled up the stairs.

The spell effectively broken, Taryn flushed and said, “You’ll have to forgive my sister. She’s incredibly drunk.”

She saw a wide grin spread across his face as he waved her off and said, “I could barely tell.”

She felt her lips twitch in response and then said, “Right.”

“Night, Princess,” he said, his fingers reaching up to tap the tiara on her head.

Taryn opened her mouth to speak and then heard Cora yell, “God, Taryn. Come let me in, at least! I have to pee.”

“Night,” Taryn said with a hint of exasperation in her voice, as she walked around him and up the stairs.

Cora squinted down the hall way at her, then asked, “The new Mrs. Weatherly? Wait, so he’s your landlord now?”

“Yep,” Taryn said, unlocking the door and letting them into the apartment.