Magic in Our Hearts Read online

  “Since when has that stopped you?” Jeb knew that Taylor didn’t sleep around a lot, but she was known to enjoy a casual sexual relationship with an attractive woman.

  “I’m sick and tired of dating a woman once or twice and sharing a couple of nights of sex, then nothing more. I want what you and Rex have.”

  “Honey, you will find someone.” Jeb knew Taylor’s innermost thoughts. She had lost both parents while in high school, and ever since college Rex had been her only family. Taylor wanted a family of her own, a woman to love, and a couple of kids. It was something she spoke about quite often.

  “How will I do that? The only women I come in contact with are athletes—

  arrogant, egotistical athletes.” Taylor’s opinion of them was mirrored on her beautiful face. Many of the finest and most well known athletes came to Taylor because of her skills as a physical therapist. Her close contact with them didn’t make her one of their fans. Taylor understood that arrogance was a large part of the reason most of them were world-class athletes. She didn’t have to like it, though.

  “They seem to like you an awful lot, and they especially like what you do for them.”

  “I know. I just want to meet someone who looks forward to more out of life than the next tennis or golf match.” Taylor laid her head against Jeb’s shoulder.

  “What’s wrong with me?”

  “You need some passion in your life, honey.”

  “And how do you suggest I find that?”

  “You might need to take some chances, honey. It means you have to love someone no matter what, and believe with your heart that they will love you back. Taylor, you can’t only be with women you can control.” Jeb spoke honestly. Taylor’s one fault in her relationships was that she chose women that she could easily manipulate.

  “I don’t control anyone,” Taylor protested quietly, but she knew Jeb was right. She did pick women that she knew she could persuade to her way of thinking. “I’m just so tired of work right now.” Jeb glanced down and smiled as he looked at Taylor’s lovely face now scrunched up into a pout. She was a champion pouter. “Well, something came across my desk last week, and I was about to send the request to another clinic. Maybe you should hear about it.”

  “What is it?” Taylor looked up at Jeb with renewed interest.

  Normally, Jeb ran the business end of the clinic and spa and Taylor took care of the hiring and training. Taylor was a board certified physical therapist and sports trainer and was well known for her ability to rehabilitate injured athletes.

  In fact, her reputation was widely renowned and respected in spite of that fact that she was a stern and demanding taskmaster who expected her clients to work hard. In return, she developed programs that gave her clients much more than hope. Taylor’s regime of total fitness returned them to the world they lived for, the world of sports. And there was no shortage of famous athletes with injuries that threatened their livelihood. The business was lucrative and bursting at the seams with clients.

  “Mrs. Camden, the matriarch of a wealthy family in Boulder, Colorado, contacted me last week with somewhat of a unique request.” Jeb had spoken at length to Mrs. Camden. He had not, until that moment, let Taylor know about the unusual request. He knew the effect it would have on Taylor, and he didn’t want to see his best friend hurt in any way. He would protect Taylor from anything that could harm her but he now realized that it was exactly what she needed.

  “What?”

  “It seems that her only child, a young woman, was terribly injured while skiing. Her legs were broken in several places, her knees had to be replaced, and her left arm was badly crushed. She’s undergone seven surgeries and is now going through painful physical therapy.”

  “What’s the request?”

  “She wants to hire a physical therapist with sports training experience to help her daughter recuperate. She wants this therapist to commit to a six-month time frame, and she wants the therapy to be exclusive to her daughter. She’s willing to pay and pay well.” Jeb didn’t mention to Taylor that Mrs. Camden had a personal reason to hire her, beyond Taylor’s stellar reputation, and had wanted to speak directly to Taylor. In truth, she was the only physical therapist that Mrs.

  Camden wanted for the job.

  “We don’t do that.”

  “I know, but I think this job might be right up your alley.” Jeb looked at her, his eyes serious. He expected once Taylor understood the request, she would not say no.

  Taylor was intrigued. “Why?”

  “You know the daughter. She was a world-class downhill racer and a well-known party girl, Brett Andreson.”

  Taylor’s head snapped around as she heard a name from her past. “I didn’t know she was hurt. I just assumed she had stopped racing.”

  “The information about her injuries was intentionally kept quiet because of the circumstances surrounding her accident. She and another woman were party-ing quite heavily at the family home in Boulder when they decided to go skiing.

  Brett was showing off on the downhill slope and lost control, slamming into a tree. That was nine months before the 2002 Winter Olympics. She was to be the shining star of the U.S. Ski Team. Her injuries were devastating.”

  “I do remember noticing she wasn’t skiing anymore. I just thought she’d grown bored with it.” But Taylor knew in her heart that there must have been more than simple boredom that led to Brett’s disappearance from skiing and the Olympics. Brett’s lifelong dream had been to ski in the Olympics. Taylor just hadn’t wanted to know anything about Brett. It hurt too much to dredge up the past.

  “I saw her medical records, Taylor. She was lucky to live through the accident.

  She was in a private hospital for almost four months. The surgeries she went through must have been excruciating.” Jeb watched Taylor carefully. He knew how much she had grieved when the one serious relationship that Taylor opened her heart to had blown up in her face. She had mourned for over a year, never quite healing from the breakup.

  “That all happened over two years ago. Why is her mother looking for a live-in physical therapist now?”

  “The last one quit, and she wants her daughter to be more self-sufficient.” Taylor gazed up into Jeb’s face and waited. She knew that there was more. “Mrs.

  Camden has been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and has only months to live.”

  “Oh, my God! That will destroy Brett. She loves her mother more than anything.” Taylor’s mind flooded with memories of Brett Andreson, a woman she hadn’t seen or spoken to in over six years. Brett may have been a party girl but her family, especially her mother, had always come first. Jeb sat back and waited, his eyes watching the play of emotions on Taylor’s beautiful face. She could hide nothing from him. He was one of the few people who knew that Brett had broken Taylor’s heart so many years earlier and left her questioning her ability to ever have a successful relationship.

  CHAPTER 2

  After college, Jeb and Taylor’s business had started slowly with a big dream and a small office in Los Angeles. As the two of them networked and connected with other physical therapists in the area, Taylor started to make headway with her unique and well–planned program for injured athletes. She called it the mind and body program, being a firm believer that without a positive mindset and healthy lifestyle, recovery would take longer and be less successful. The first four years they barely paid the rent on the two-bedroom apartment over their tiny clinic, but they loved every minute of the struggle. Working long hours, with little more than the bare essentials, they had flourished, building their reputation and their clientele one success at a time. And they supported each other in every way.

  It had been Taylor’s connection with the sports teams in the area that had brought in several clients with serious injuries. Taylor’s successes created more interest and generated more clients, which meant the business needed a larger space and more employees. It was Jeb’s head for business that allowed him to design and develop th
e business plan for the clinic and spa as it was today. They called it “The Mind and Body Clinic and Spa.” Over the years the business had grown to encompass a staff of forty-three and had a yearly income in the millions.

  This was primarily due to the endorsements of many professional and well-known athletes who had successfully used their services. Taylor had assisted in the recovery of many famous athletes after potentially career-destroying injuries. These clients had paid her back by establishing her reputation and recommending her to other athletes. The spa was the first place world-class athletes thought of when they needed to recover from potentially career ending injuries.

  Jeb and Taylor found themselves making more money than they knew what to do with as more and more clients showed up on their doorstep. Their success had provided them with nice salaries, and Jeb had bought a house of his own while Taylor purchased a high-end condominium. Along the way, they had enjoyed being single and carefree in swinging Los Angeles, until four years earlier when Jeb had met and fallen in love with Rex Bonn, a talented chef at a local restaurant in Hollywood.

  Rex’s eatery had raised the bar for restaurants with fresh and nouveau cuisine and catered to the fast moving and discerning Hollywood crowd. Even the name reflected Rex’s philosophy as a restaurateur. He had called his restaurant Fast because of the fact that he changed his menu monthly to keep the interest of the wealthy people who patronized his business and to define his quick rise to success from head chef of another restaurant to owner. He had decorated Fast in a mini-malist style, expecting the food and the clients to be the main attractions. He wasn’t wrong. With grey, black, and red as the only colors used throughout the place, he had struck gold with the atmosphere, not to mention the cuisine. His place attracted the famous, the wealthy, and a large population of gays and lesbi-ans to the hot spot. It was a place to be seen in a city that boasted many a fine restaurant. Reservations were made weeks in advance and were highly sought after.

  Jeb and Taylor had gone to the restaurant for dinner one evening to meet a potential client from the PGA golf circuit. Rex, as he was known to do, spent time visiting with all of his guests, stopping at each table to welcome them. Rex was not only a talented chef but had a rapier wit and a wicked sense of humor.

  When he arrived at Jeb and Taylor’s table, he proceeded to tease the professional golfer and make Taylor laugh with abandon. But it was his hazel eyes that captured Jeb’s attention, as they gazed at him appraisingly and with obvious appreci-ation. Jeb thought Rex was one of the most beautiful men he had ever met with his generous smile and ready laugh. Rex had looked Jeb right in the eye and asked if he wanted to attend a wine tasting party with him the following evening. With a grinning Taylor watching with interest, Jeb had blushed and agreed to go. Jeb was known to date but not often. He was selective in his choice of men, but Rex was different and Jeb had been hooked from that first moment.

  It had been love at first sight, and the two men had eventually settled into a comfortable relationship that included Taylor as part of their family. It was understood that they would include Taylor in their small family. With essentially no other family to turn to, this had worked well for all concerned. Within two months the men were cohabitating and enjoying life as a couple. Rex worked nights at his restaurant and during the day developed new dishes to introduce to his discriminating clientele. Jeb always joked that he had gained twenty pounds the first two months they were together. Taylor spent many a night eating dinner with Rex and Jeb at a back table in the private area of his restaurant, and Taylor grew to love Rex completely. He was a loving and hopeless romantic who wanted more than anything to find someone for Taylor. He was always seeking out women to introduce to Taylor, and much to her chagrin. Brett had been one of those women.

  Brett Andreson was a charismatic woman, a talented athlete, and a major player in the greater Los Angeles area. Her coal black hair, dark eyes, and generous mouth were arresting, as was her strong, muscular body. Being the only child of a wealthy family, Brett never lacked anything, including a stable of women who were in and out of her expensive loft. She was easily bored and went through relationships quickly, making it clear that she wanted no commitments from anyone. The only thing Brett ever took seriously was her skiing, and there she excelled.

  Brett was best at downhill racing and giant slalom, where her fearless style and natural abilities were put to the test. She set record after record on the World Cup ski circuit, and eventually her only remaining goal in life was to garner a gold medal in the Olympics. She partied hard off the course, but worked out compulsively to improve her skiing. Finally, she became so skillful that no one could touch her on the ski slopes. She had promised her mother that she would win a gold medal, and Brett never, ever broke a promise to her mother. Whatever it took, she would win the gold and present it to the woman she respected above all others.

  Brett frequented Rex’s restaurant because of the excellent food and the pre-dominantly gay clientele. Rex liked Brett from the first moment he met her. She was open about her pursuit of sex and fun, but hidden deep inside the woman’s heavily armored heart was the need to find the one woman who would love her unconditionally. She didn’t want someone to love her for her money or her fame, just for herself. Rex saw more deeply into Brett than she was aware of. He recognized a lonely woman that wanted more than anything to find the one woman she could be with for the rest of her life, and he wanted that woman to be Taylor.

  Taylor and Jeb went to the restaurant for dinner one evening because Rex had said he wanted them to try out some new dishes. His true plan, however, was to introduce the two women. Rex had invited Brett to his restaurant for a special meal that included a tasty venison filet. He hadn’t expected her to show up with two women in tow, all three far beyond mildly intoxicated.

  Brett entered the small restaurant with the flare that she was known for. Two women hung on either side of her, both attired in designer label eveningwear.

  Brett was wearing a pair of navy silk slacks and an off-white muscle shirt that showed her amazing physique to perfection. She was laughing, her head thrown back, her dark eyes flashing with humor and intelligence. No one in the restaurant missed the wanton sexuality exuded by the stunning woman. She moved like a sleek, elegant panther, her toned, muscular body evident in every step.

  Although oblivious to the attention she was attracting, she caught the eye of both men and women as she and her party threaded their way through the crowded space. “Reservations for Brett Andreson.”

  “Yes, Ms. Andreson, follow me, please.” The maitre d’ led her to a private table near the one that Rex had reserved for Taylor and Jeb and where they were now seated. His plan had been to introduce the two women and let fate take its natural course.

  The threesome never separated as they sat down at the table, the two blond women draping themselves like decorations over Brett as she accepted their attentions as her just due. She didn’t mind spending time with two beautiful women, neither of which wanted a relationship. They just wanted to spend an evening with the sexy and talented skier and have uncomplicated sex.

  Taylor looked on as the charismatic, dark haired woman ordered a bottle of expensive champagne and sat back, allowing the two women to vie for her attentions. Taylor found the scene wildly entertaining.

  Brett was having a good time with Alicia and Carole, two women who liked to hang out with the US Women’s Ski team. They both were wealthy groupies, who loved to play with the larger-than-life skier. She glanced around the crowded restaurant, seemingly unaware of the interest she was attracting. Brett was used to getting attention. Her eyes landed on a petite woman seated at the table next to her. She had dark red hair, unlike any color she’d ever seen. She was talking quietly to a tall, handsome man as they enjoyed the plate of hors d’oeuvres sitting in front of them. Brett continued to watch, fascinated by the woman’s hair, shiny, thick and straight to her shoulders. And then the woman turned and locked eyes with Brett. Stunning aquamari
ne eyes gazed back at Brett, and the woman smiled. That smile took Brett’s breath away. She felt like she had been hit by lightning, and her heart thudded in her chest.

  Brett grinned back at the gorgeous woman and pushed the two blonds away from her. She bent and whispered something to each woman. They grumbled audibly as they stood up, picked up evening bags and wraps, and prepared to leave. Brett was no longer in the mood to play with them. She sent the two women on their way with no more than a request for a taxi to take them home.

  Rex walked up to Brett’s table as the two pouting women headed for the door of the restaurant, disappointed that Brett wasn’t going to continue their party.

  “Brett, girl, you look good!”

  “Thanks, Rex. Looks like you have a full house.”

  “Yep, business is good. Brett, let me introduce you to my partner, Jeb, and our best friend, Taylor Aronson.” Rex turned and gestured to the table where the stunning woman sat.

  “Hello, Jeb, Taylor. It’s a distinct pleasure.” Brett stood up and approached the table. She flashed a grin Jeb’s way before reaching out to clasp Taylor’s hand in greeting. Her considerable charm was tuned up to full wattage as she gazed down at the redhead.

  Taylor felt the flash of energy and heat as she looked up into the laughing dark eyes of the handsome woman. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Brett, sit, sit. I’m going to bring out some more food for these two. I’m trying out some new dishes and they’re my guinea pigs. Join them.”

  “I will, thank you.” Brett sat down quickly next to Taylor, her laughing eyes locked on to Taylor’s unforgettable face.

  Taylor could remember that night like it was yesterday. The minute she had looked at the sexy, inebriated woman, she’d been hooked. Brett might have consumed a large amount of alcohol, but that didn’t hamper her ability to charm.

  She had made Taylor laugh with her and tremble with arousal. Brett proceeded to regale Jeb and Taylor with stories of her skiing and travels. She was funny, articulate, and bent on capturing Taylor’s attention because the minute Brett had met Taylor, she had known. Taylor was the woman she had been waiting for her whole life.