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“No, thank you.”
She darted past him, her head low. She needed a walk to clear her mind.
Tonight, she couldn’t face her dark, empty house. There was only one place to go. Making her way down the street, she turned the corner. The hair in her nape suddenly stood erect. She had a feeling of being followed. She pulled up the collar of her coat and looked over her shoulder. A group of men leaving a pub uttered their goodbyes, but other than that, the street was quiet. A double echo of steps on the concrete stopped her. She turned in a circle but saw no one. Picking up her pace, she walked faster until the brightly lit entrance of the theater came into view. She almost fell through the door.
Gerry frowned. “Everything all right, Miss Jones?”
“I forgot something in my office. Maybe I’ll just work for a while since I’m here.”
Gerry nodded. She felt his eyes on her back until the metal door shut behind her. Finally, in the dimply-lit corridor, peace surrounded her. Switching on footlights as she went, she made her way to the spotlight bridge.
The hard metal punished her backside when she sat down, but she was too weary to stand. For some time, she allowed the solitude of the hall to surround her, finding calm, composure, and safety in her elevated hiding spot.
The sound of footsteps had her tense. Nobody was working. Her pulse quickened as the bridge moved under her. Someone was coming straight at her through the dark. She tried to push to her feet, but the sling of her handbag got caught in the metal framework. The steps were only a few paces away. She jerked on the sling with no use. It didn’t budge. She zipped open her bag, groping through lipstick, pens, and bills for her phone.
“Looking for a light?” a voice asked.
Chapter 6
The profile of a man became visible in a portion of dim light that fell over the bridge. “Personally, I prefer the dark.”
Clasping a hand over her heart, she exhaled the breath she’d been holding. “Zach! You gave me a fright.” A relieved giggle bubbled over her lips. “What are you doing here?”
He stopped close. “Same thing as you.”
“Hiding?”
“Recharging. Sometimes, I forget how exhausting the world is. May I?” He motioned at the space next to her.
“Be my guest.”
Seated, he regarded her from under his long eyelashes, shadows playing over his face. The first time they’d met, she hadn’t noticed how handsome he was. There were laugh lines around his eyes and the corners of his mouth. The hair around his temples was graying.
“How old are you, Zach?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Interested?”
“How rude of me.” She laughed. “I didn’t mean to pry. I’m just curious.”
“Curious about me?” He dipped his head. “Why would a pretty girl like you wonder about me?”
“We seem to have a lot in common. It almost feels like we have a weird connection.”
“Do we?”
“We chose the same hide-out, and here we are,” she waved a hand between them, “the two of us on a spotlight bridge over a dark stage in the middle of the night.”
He chuckled. “If you put it like that.”
“From what do you need a recharge, if I may ask?”
“You may, only if you promise to answer my question.”
“Deal.”
“People. I came here to take a break from people.”
“I’m a person, so I’m spoiling your break,” she said with a mock pout.
“On the contrary.” His gaze traveled over her face. “You’re not the average person. You’re different.”
“In what way?”
He smiled. “That’s a second question. My turn. Why are you hiding, tonight?”
She pulled up her legs and rested her chin on her knees. “I was upset. This is where I come when I need to find my balance.”
“I’ve seen you here twice. The first time you were crying, and tonight you’re upset. Do you sometimes come here to be happy?”
“I’m very happy here, too, especially when I watch a performance.”
“Your eyes are beautiful when you cry, so expressive, and when you gave me a smile just now I…”
“Wow.” She touched the back of her neck. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t get compliments much?”
“Don’t make fun of me.”
She swatted at his arm, but he leaned away, escaping her assault.
“Care to tell me what upset you?” he asked.
The darkness, his kindness, and the fact that they were two strangers sharing the same secret place made it easy to open up to him.
“I loved someone deeply a long time ago, but he left without an explanation. Now he’s back, blaming my family for leaving in the first place. What we have is…” She looked down at the stage, searching for the right word.
“Physical?” Zach offered.
She cleared her throat. “He says he can’t love me, anymore.”
“What about you? What do you want?”
“A normal life, and he’s far from anything normal.”
