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“Yeah, we call him Fitz. My sister’s name is Shelley. Familiar with Frankenstein?”
“Yeah, I’ve seen a couple different Frankenstein films.”
Bronte only smiled. “They’re based on Mary Shelley’s book.”
“Right.” He could feel his cheeks heat. Who knew this flight would come with an English test as well? “And what about your name?”
She shrugged. “The Brontës are three sisters who wrote a few books in the early nineteenth century, like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, but they all died young in their twenties and thirties.”
“Yikes,” he said, pressing his head into his seat, ignoring Wes’s voice in the back of his head, talking about how the brightest flames always seemed to burn out the fastest. Chris might have been hailed as a genius at his craft, but Wes had said that didn’t mean he had to go out in a blaze of glory.
Chris ignored all that now and instead focused on the woman next to him. “Bronte is unusual, beautiful. It suits you.”
Her porcelain complexion turned pink. “Thank you…? I’m sorry, I didn’t even get your name.”
His stage name, CJ, almost dropped from his tongue, but he swallowed it. She clearly didn’t recognize who he was, and he wasn’t about to spoil it. “Chris.”
Bronte stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Chris.”
He liked hearing his real name after being CJ for so long. And it wasn’t because she was saying it. That fact had nothing to do with it.
Or, maybe, a tiny bit to do with it.
He held on to her fingers. “My pleasure, Bronte.” His thumb caressed the back of her hand for a moment before he let go. Comfortable now, he fell into easy conversation with her. “What were you doing in Chicago?”
“One of my best friends lives about an hour outside. She had a baby two months ago, and I went out there for my birthday, along with my two other friends.”
He smiled. “It’s your birthday?”
“It was Saturday. Turned twenty-six.”
“Happy birthday.”
She nodded her thanks. “The four of us try to get together as much as we can, but with Gemma having the baby and all of us living all over the place, it’s been impossible lately.”
“You spent your birthday with a two-month-old?”
“Yeah, it was great. Gem felt bad, but…” She shrugged. “Those girls are my best friends. Hell or high water, we’re getting together. Plus, I’m totally a type A personality, and it was relaxing for me to go there and do some dishes for her.”
“You did the dishes?”
“Well…” She laughed. It was breathy and kind of embarrassed, and Chris wondered why he was suddenly so interested in every noise and sound this woman made. “Her fiancé has it pretty much covered, but yeah. I don’t mind. I’ve got a bunch of nieces and nephews, so I’m used to the baby panic.”
“How many?”
“My brother has three, and my sister is pregnant with baby number two.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Quite a brood.”
“Mm-hmm. Do you have any?”
“Nieces and nephews?” he clarified.
“Yeah. Or kids, too, I guess.”
For a second, he was tempted to give her some family history, but he tossed the idea out as quickly as it came in. “Nope. None of the above.”
“Yeah, me neither.” Her gaze skated away from a moment, and he could almost see her mind working on something, before she met his eyes again. “So, if you aren’t a bandit, what is it you do, Chris?”
That was the question. It was now or never.
