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“Saying you’re too old is the same as saying I’m too old,” he said.
“Well, if the shoe—”
“Fits. I know the idiom. I’ve got one for you. You’re never too old to have fun.”
“More accurately, you mean to say that you’re never too old to learn.”
“To learn to have fun.”
Her laugh was genuine this time. “Good one.”
Now let me out of this cage.
“Mackenzie, you’re young, vibrant, and beautiful, and the world is your oyster, as the saying goes.” Reassurance filled William’s tone. And his eyes.
Unpleasant shivers crawled over her. Was this how claustrophobia felt? Because right now, the space next to William was growing smaller. She exhaled as their turn to disembark from the car arrived. Perfect timing for an escape. The bar pinning them in released. Mackenzie couldn’t get out fast enough and hopped to the ground.
And to freedom.
She headed straight for the clearly marked exit. William followed closely, his hand against the small of her back. She searched the area around the ride, hoping he didn’t catch on to her wariness.
Seeing Julian had been a hallucination. Nothing more.
Music, grinding motors, screams, and laughter filled the air, along with the aroma of buttery popcorn and fried pies. Unfortunately, she also caught the pungent odor of an overflowing garbage can as they walked.
“How about we grab a soda and cotton candy?” William asked.
What are you, seven?She smiled for his sake. He was trying so hard. Too hard. “That sounds like a plan.”
“Good. No more wild rides tonight.” He grinned and led her through the crowd toward the end of a long line for the food truck that featured loaded fried pickles, hot dogs, greasy fries—glorious carnival junk food.
William held her hand, and she didn’t have the heart to do anything but go along with it. What was wrong with her? He was handsome and thoughtful. He was just ... not for her.
“Agreed. No more wild rides.” Calliope music drew her attention as they waited in line. “The carousel would be nice.” Then maybe just take me home.
To make matters worse, he’d driven all the way from Lansing for the weekend, just to see her. She kept a condominium in a quaint town near Lake Michigan for weekends and summers.
“So you’re heading back on Monday for the semester?” she asked.
“If I could teach something as”—he lifted his shoulders—“how can I put it . . . clandestine as you, then it would be fun teaching in the summer. But I forget, you can’t really talk about your work.”
She offered a smug grin. He was teasing, of course, and she could give as good as she got. “Yeah ... it’s on a need-to-know basis.”
William was an adjunct professor at the university, and he had repeatedly asked her out until she finally agreed to a date.
One date. Which had somehow turned into a weekend event since his parents supposedly owned a nearby summer lake house. I never should have agreed to a date, much less an entire weekend.
She was as trapped in this date as she had been riding the octopus. She had to grit her teeth to make it through and somehow let him down gently. Although ... maybe he was feeling every bit as uncomfortable as she was.
While they moved forward in line, Mackenzie took in the carnival activities. The growing crowd was beginning to shift from adults and younger children to older teens as the evening deepened. If Julian had actually been at the carnival, she probably wouldn’t even have recognized him. They’d been kids when it happened.
William cleared his throat. He’d been paying attention to her on their date, and she’d been distracted. “I admit, I’m not good company for you this evening.”
He shrugged. “You don’t seem to be a carnival kind of person. And to be honest, neither am I. But I thought it might be fun. I saw it when I got into town, so I made the suggestion.”
“Oh, it was a great idea. We tried.” She offered a grin. He really was a nice guy. Thick dark hair, clean-cut, and a boy-next-door kind of look, and as a runner, he had a lean, athletic body. But there was no emotional connection. At all. Why couldn’t she get into him? She’d thought that she would be married and have at least two kids by the time she was thirty-two. Instead, she kept relationships at a distance.
They continued inching forward in the line, and she almost suggested they skip it and grab something from a drive-through.
