by Kensie King
“Mr. Stone?”
“I’m here,” I said. “Password.”
She grumbled something I couldn’t make out and then said, “Give me twenty minutes.”
She hung up the phone before I could say anything else.
But twenty minutes later, the elevator doors dinged, and she was walking through in jeans and a T-shirt, looking rested and happy.
She placed a coffee in front of me and said, “Trouble in paradise?”
My eyes narrowed, but I couldn’t be angry with her. She’d come. And she’d brought me coffee.
“What would the partners think?” she asked, nudging me out of the chair so she could access her computer.
“That I fell in love and the man I love doesn’t know what to do with that.”
Her eyes widened. “Holy shit.”
I waved away the comment. “Forget it. I need those files.”
“No way. I’m the only one here who knows your secret and I need to know all of it. Now.”
I scowled, but she only folded her arms and waited.
After a heavy sigh, I pulled up another chair and turned the coffee cup around and around in my hands as I spoke. “Not much to tell. Roe is amazing but he still doesn’t trust me. He didn’t tell me about the theater and how he’s been saving to buy it. And when I mentioned that I wanted to help him with it, to figure it out with him, he shut down.”
She tented her hands under her chin, nodding like it was reasonable. “Maybe he’s still under the impression this is an agreement and he’s just sticking to his side.”
“I don’t want this to just be an agreement.”
“Does he know that?” she asked.
I opened my mouth, but I didn’t have an easy answer. He had to know that, right? Sleeping together hadn’t been in the agreement. Neither had spending time together, falling for each other. Or maybe that was just on my end.
But Roe wasn’t the kind of person to sleep with someone he had no plans of staying with. Unless that was something else that had changed.
Maybe I was completely clueless.
Olivia tapped on the keyboard, logging into her computer and searching for the files.
“I need to tell him,” I said.
“Call him.”
I straightened. “Right now?”
“Tell him you need to talk. Take him out to dinner. Do whatever you need to do to show him you’re in this.”
I frowned. “I think you like Roe more than you like me.”
“I think he’s good for you.”
“You barely know him.”
She grinned. “Sometimes you can just tell, you know? Some people are a good fit from the beginning.”
I let her comment sink in while she continued to type on her computer. Roe was a good fit, and he had been from the beginning. There was something about him that made me crave more. I’d needed more time with him after that first night, and by the time we’d gotten to the B&B, I was already halfway gone.
Which was why I’d basically lost my mind. I hadn’t known what to do about feelings like that. The only solution I could think of at the time was to shut it down.
I was supposed to be making my mark on the world and I was vulnerable from the loss of my father. Roe was the right person at the wrong time, and it was all my fault.
I stood and pulled out my cell phone, then paced away from the desk. I pressed his number and waited for the phone to ring, hoping he’d pick up.
But after a moment, it went to voicemail.
“Dammit!”
I ended the call and tried again but got the same message. “Hi, it’s Roe and I’m indisposed…”
When I returned to the desk, Olivia met my eyes.
“Keep trying. Or send him a text.”
I swallowed down frustration. If he’d just listen to me, we could work through this. Unless he wasn’t on the same page. Then I had no idea what I’d do.
“Here,” Olivia said, turning her screen to show me.
I scanned the information on the loan.
“You know, I had to do a few favors to get this information,” she reminded me.
I knew she had. We worked for the bank, but loan information like this wasn’t our business. I wasn’t supposed to know how much Mr. Carson had paid for the theater or how much he owed. But now I did.
“He can pay it off in five years,” I murmured.
“Right. But the equity isn’t much—it’s a historical building and it’s falling apart,” Olivia said. “He’d be smart to sell it to the highest offer.”
“Which isn’t Roe,” I said.
She lifted her eyebrows. “Roe really wants to buy the theater?”
I nodded. “And restore it. He wants the kids from the community center to have a place to perform.”
“Damn,” she said. “No wonder you fell in love with him. So what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I want to help Roe in some way.” I looked down at my phone. “But he doesn’t seem to want to let me.”
I sent him a quick text. Please give me a call. I need to talk to you.
“You said there’s another offer on the table?” Olivia asked, turning the computer screen back to face her.
“Yes. That’s the problem. Mr. Carson needs to sell before he goes into foreclosure. The theater isn’t doing well, but I believe he was holding off because he knew how badly Roe wanted the place.”
And he probably wanted to sell to someone who was passionate about it, someone who would make it what it once was.
Olivia stared at her screen, holding up her finger. “Give me one minute.”
I had no idea what she was doing, but I gave her space. Olivia had a sharp mind, and I knew above anyone else, she’d help me figure this out.
I willed my phone to ding with a text, but it didn’t, even though I saw Roe had read my message.
Fuck. He couldn’t ignore me forever. I knew he was upset, but so was I. And I felt like I had a right to be, didn’t I?
I wanted to be a part of his life and I’d made that clear. The problem was, Roe didn’t seem to know what he wanted on his end.
While Olivia continued whatever she was doing, I sent Roe another text, this one with an explanation.
I understand why you’re upset. We didn’t set any sort of boundaries or rules. It made it easy to blur the lines, for me to fall for you and believe it was real. I’m sorry if we’re not on the same page.
I sighed and pressed send before adding another note. I wanted to tell you this in person, but I want you to understand where I’m coming from. When I walked out on you before, it was all on me. I was scared. I’d never met anyone like you, and it rattled me how intense it was. I’d lost my dad only two months before and I was inclined to believe love was a mistake if it was going to hurt that bad when you lost it. My mom was devastated when my dad died, and I never wanted to have to go through something like that. When I met you, it was like love at first sight and it scared the hell out of me. I didn’t react well, and I hurt you. I’m so sorry.
I didn’t ask him again if we could talk. I didn’t say anything else because there wasn’t anything else to say. If Roe wanted to talk, he’d let me know.
In the meantime, I could do this for him. I could figure out some way for Roe to keep the theater.
22
____________________
ROE
I sat with Elise in a booth at the pizza joint on the corner of the street we used to live on, drowning my sorrows in a pitcher of root beer while we waited for our pie.
My phone dinged with another text from Lucas and I sighed.
“Lucas again?” she asked.
I frowned. He’d already called twice but didn’t leave a voicemail and now he was texting me. “Sorry,” I told her. “I should just turn it off.”
“Then why don’t you?”
I wasn’t sure. Maybe because I was torn. I hadn’t responded well to him this morning, and I knew it. All he’d been trying to do was
help me. He wanted me to let him into my life and I hadn’t realized how much I was still guarding my heart.
“I don’t know what to do,” I told her.
“What’s the problem?”
“Me.”
She leaned back as the waiter came to deliver our pizza and then put a slice on a plate for me. “You?”
“I think I might be the problem.”
“Explain.”
I sighed, turning my phone over so I wouldn’t have to see Lucas’s texts. “We…” I swallowed. “We were fine. We had the agreement and then…things got a little more complicated.”
“Meaning?”
I shook parmesan all over my piece, getting carried away. “Meaning feelings got involved.”
All sorts of feelings. Emotional ones and physical ones. God, last night had been amazing. I could still feel Lucas pumping into me, his body curled around mine, hands holding me to him when he went over the edge.
“You’re falling for him?” she asked, eyes wide.
“I think…I think he’s falling for me. And I didn’t even see it. I was going through the motions,” I told her, shrugging. “I was telling myself in my head that this was just for a year, for the agreement. It made sense for us to spend time together. But it became more than that.”
And I couldn’t lie to myself either. I had fallen for him a little as well. He was a different person than he used to be, and he was showing me that day after day. Every time I’d needed him, he was there.
“So…you don’t feel the same way?” Elise asked.
My phone dinged with another text. It took all my willpower not to pick it up and look.
“I…” I swallowed. “I don’t know. I think I do, and it’s scaring the shit out of me.”
“Because you think he’s going to hurt you again?”
I pulled a long piece of cheese from my pizza, suddenly losing my appetite. “I don’t know.” I looked up at her, then shook my head. “No, I do know. I don’t think he’ll hurt me again.”
Her eyes went soft. “Roe. People change, and I think you’re seeing that. It’s okay to trust in love again.”
I swallowed once more, but the lump of emotion in my throat stayed. Trust was scary, and maybe that was why I hadn’t told him about the theater or my hopes for it.
“We got in a fight this morning,” I told her.
“About what?”
“He…he wanted to talk about the theater. To help with it. Mr. Carson has to sell soon, and he has another offer.”
She reached out, rubbing her hand on my arm. “I’m sorry. Can you make a counter offer?”
“It won’t be enough. And I get it. He needs the money and he’s probably ready to retire.”
She chewed her pizza thoughtfully. “There’s got to be something you can do. You should—well, I’m going to say it. You should talk to Lucas. Let him help. I’m sure you can figure something out.”
“I know,” I said, miserably. “That’s what we fought about. He wanted to help. He wanted me to share this with him and I…I don’t know. It’s been my project for so long. My thing. I put my heart and soul into this after what happened with me and Lucas before. It was kind of what kept me sane. So it felt weird sharing it with him.”
“And weird relying on someone else when that someone had let you down before?”
My stomach sank. Yes. But the problem was that I had no reason not to trust him anymore. I’d said I forgave him, but I hadn’t really. And even though he’d been there for me and hadn’t given me any reason not to trust him, I was still wary.
“Roe,” Elise said softly. “I can see you’re hurting.”
“I hurt Lucas. That’s worse.”
“Then talk to him. Tell him how you feel. It sounds like he wants to talk to you. He’s not running this time.”
No, he wasn’t. I was.
I snatched up my phone, eyes drawn by the messages. My mouth opened in surprise as I read through his apology. The truth about why he’d walked out. How he felt.
And, oh, God, he’d said love. Love at first sight. That’s how I’d felt too, which was why it had hurt so badly when he’d left.
I stood abruptly, glancing at Elise. “I need to call him.”
She smiled. “Of course. I’ll just be here with the pizza.”
I walked outside into the sunshine and sent the call to Lucas. Pick up, pick up.
He answered, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Roe. God, are you okay? I was getting worried—”
“No. I mean, yes, I’m fine. Don’t be worried.”
He exhaled, and the sound of it gave me even more hope. He cared. He really cared and wanted to talk this through with me.
“You sure you’re okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Are you?”
“I want to talk. I shouldn’t have walked out this morning.”
“I understand. Truly. And…I got your texts.”
He was silent on the other end. I could hear the sound of a phone in the background but other than that, he didn’t say a word. He seemed to be holding his breath, waiting for my response.
“I understand,” I told him. “About why you left. It makes sense. And—and I forgive you. I know I said it before, but I really mean it this time.”
He gave a quiet laugh. “You sure?”
“I’m positive. I want to see you,” I breathed, the sudden longing for him more than I could bear.
“Absolutely. I’m finishing up something here and I’d like to talk to you about the theater if that’s okay. I’d like to help.”
“Yes. Please. I’d like that. I’m supposed to go to talk to Mr. Carson tonight.”
“When?”
“At eight.”
“I’ll be there. I’m working on this and hopefully, I’ll be done before, but if not, I’ll meet you there. I promise.”
I smiled to myself. I believed him. “Thank you, Lucas.”
“Of course. I’ll see you soon.”
***
When Lucas sent me a text at four and said he was still working, I tried not to be disappointed. Then another came at six.
Almost done. I’ll meet you at the theater.
But it was bordering on eight when I took a cab to the theater and I hadn’t heard from him again.
My stomach twisted with nerves. I hadn’t expected to have to talk with Mr. Carson alone.
When I stepped out of the cab, I looked around. No, Lucas would make it. He promised.
I checked my watch again in the dim light. The sky was darkening and the evening growing cooler.
It smelled like smoke—like someone had turned on their fire.
I glanced around. Still seemed too warm for a fire.
Pulling out my phone, I debated on whether or not to call Lucas. What if something had come up? No, he would have told me. He promised he’d be here, and I had to believe him. Even though he was already a few minutes late.
The smell of smoke hit me again and I frowned. Ten more minutes, then I was going in there with or without Lucas.
Then I saw the flames.
My heart leaped into my throat. They were coming from the theater!
“Help!” I shouted.
A woman looked up from further down the sidewalk.
“Call the police!” I shouted at her. “There’s a fire!”
I waited long enough to see her grab her phone, then I ran for the door. Mr. Carson was in there.
23
____________________
LUCAS
Ten minutes late. That’s all. I was going to make it and then I’d talk to Mr. Carson with Roe. I even had the paperwork I needed to show him it was all going to be okay.
A plan. We had a plan and I was going to help Roe with this.
Then, I was going to tell him I loved him.
The cab pulled to the right when an ambulance passed us. He was about to get back over when a fire truck came as well.
“What’s going on?” he asked out lou
d.
I checked my watch again, ready to tell him to hurry, when another fire truck zoomed by us.
“Damn…” the cab driver said, getting over again. “Looks like something’s going on down there.”
We were just a block from the theater, and I had half a mind to hop out right there.
But then I saw what he was looking at. Smoke billowed into the sky above the flicker of bright orange flames.
My body froze for one, long terrified moment.
“Pull over. Right here,” I snapped.
I tossed a handful of bills over the seat and got out, my heart thudding hard.
The theater was on fire.
I ran down the street and nearly slammed into a fireman walking around the side of the truck.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “What happened?”
“I need you to stand aside, please.”
I glanced around, helpless with fear. Where was Roe? It was after eight but maybe he was late.
Yes, he had to be late or I’d see him. I went to talk to another fireman, but a woman on the sidewalk caught my attention.
“He just shouted at me to call the police and then he ran inside!”
Alarm shot through my body. I raced over, dodging cars and firehoses.
“Who? Who went in there?” My voice came out broken and desperate.
I had to find Roe.
“Some guy,” the woman said.
“Who? Who?”
A policeman gripped my arm and pulled me off the curb and further onto the sidewalk. “Do you know what happened here?”
“No—I don’t—I have no idea. I was meeting someone here—” I glanced up at the building as smoke plumed to the dark sky and gave a short cough.
Roe couldn’t be in there. She meant a fireman had gone inside.
“Please,” I told the woman, “I need to know who’s in there.”
“He ran inside—I don’t know who else is in there.”
“No,” I snarled. “Who ran inside? How tall was he? Dammit—”
“Okay, calm down,” the policeman said.
“I can’t. I need—“ I swiveled away from him, trying to break free of his grip.
I needed to get in there. If Roe was in there, I needed to find him. To get to him.
