Oh yeah, a bossy literary agent, a killer case of writer’s block, and a very expensive ticket. Not to mention a vintage wedding gown, courtesy of my sweet fairy godmother landlady.
“We made it.” TJ stops on the last step. He’s barely even breathing heavily after hauling me up here. How is that possible? “You ready?” he asks.
“Born ready,” I tell him, because that feels like the sort of thing a self-assured, easy, breezy, beautiful Lucy would say.
Truthfully, I don’t know what I was born for, and I don’t mean that in a morbid way, just in amy parents died and I’ve made a complete mess of my life, so what am I really doing?sort of way.
TJ doesn’t know these sorts of esoteric thoughts are rolling around underneath the jeweled crown I’m wearing, and it’s very much for the best. I need to keep it that way. I need to channel fun Lucy for an hour or so more.
Then I can go back to Daisy’s Inn and pore over every minute and detail of what’s turning out to be an unforgettable night. I square my shoulders. If this is the one opportunity I’m giving myself, I’d better make the most of it.
Chapter 5
TJ
Iease my mystery woman down so she’s standing on her own two feet. I immediately miss the warmth radiating from her body. I don’t give her a chance to step too far away from me—not that there’s anywhere to go. We’re on a small landing in front of a nondescript door. I grab for her hand and, at the same time, use my other hand to twist the door handle, leading her toward the catwalk that crosses the rafters in the ceiling of the Atrium.
I step out first and look back to gauge whether she was honest when she told me heights don’t bother her. Even though her face is covered with a mask and thick, artsy makeup spreading out from either side of it, I can still see her eyes—and while they’re wide with surprise, they aren’t darting around in a panic.
Calm in the face of a surprise. My kind of girl.
Wait. No. She’s not my anything. She’s my one-night good time.
That sounds ungentlemanly. My grandmother would bite my head off if she could read my mind right now.
But the point stands. This thing with Cinderella, or whatever her real name is, is for tonight. I don’t need to get attached. I need to show her some fun.
She pauses and slips her heels off, leaving them safely on the landing before stepping out behind me onto the vented catwalk.
Calm and smart.
Instead of dwelling on how this woman is quickly becoming the most captivating person I’ve met in some time, I focus on leading her to the middle of the walkway suspended high above the Atrium. There are railings on either side, but it’s a narrowpassage, so I go slowly, giving her a chance to follow me at her own pace. I keep her fingers gripped in mine to steady her.
“Want to sit for a minute?” I gesture down to the walkway. “It’s not the most comfortable spot, but you can’t beat the view.”
She laughs softly. “It’s perfect. Yeah, let’s sit.”
We maneuver so we’re seated side by side, our feet dangling from the catwalk.
“Wow,” she says on an exhale.
I nod. We’re looking down from above the strands of twinkling lights. It’s like the party below is shrouded in a spider web of shining lights and we’re on the other side of it, protected somehow. Part of it, but separate. It’s like the best sort of out-of-body experience.
“This is incredible,” my mystery woman whispers. She turns to look at me, and I meet her gaze. She smiles, and it’s dazzling. “Thank you for bringing me up here.”
“You said you needed to be inspired. This is where I come for…” I trail off. For what, exactly?
“Inspiration?” she fills in with a small smile.
I return the smile. “I guess, but also not exactly. More like perspective. Solitude. A reminder that I’m a small piece in the mosaic of this great big world.”
This is the third time I’ve come up this way. The first was when I got signed to the River Foxes as a rookie. I was feeling pretty untouchable until I got turned around in the maze of hallways and was lost for twenty minutes until I found a maintenance worker who pointed me in the right direction. Before he let me leave, he told me he wanted to show me this spot. He didn’t say why, but I’m pretty sure he knew I needed to be knocked down a peg or two, and coming up here is a good reminder that I’m not as much of a big shot as I sometimes like to think I am.
The second time was on the third anniversary of Tess’s death. I couldn’t get to the cemetery where she was buried like I hadplanned, and I needed to clear my head and be alone with my memories. This felt like the safest place to do that.
I blink a few times, realizing that Cinderella is staring at me as I’ve been lost in my own thoughts.
I tug at my collar. “Sorry. That got deep fast.”
