We’ve talked and talked until she’s run out of words. I thumb out a quick response.
Sebastian: This afternoon at 4.
I shake my head when I see that she’s typing a response.
Hillary: Can it be sooner?
I scrub my hand over the back of my neck when I feel tension take hold of me.
Sebastian: Now at the Roasting Point Café on Broadway and Seventy-Fourth?
I start the walk toward my room for a quick change of clothes. I already know what her response will be.
Giving up sleep is a sacrifice I have to make.
I made a commitment to her and I’m a man of my word. I won’t let her down. I can’t.
“You’re a million miles away again,”Matilda says as she walks into our apartment.
It’s late. The lights are off, darkness took over the city hours ago, but I haven’t been able to drag myself from this spot by the window.
I’ve been here since I got back from meeting Hillary.
We talked about the same thing we always do. It’s the one thing that binds us together.
Pain.
“I’m right here,” I answer as I look over at her. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get here last night.”
“It’s fine.” She flicks on a lamp near the sofa. The soft light is enough to illuminate her beautiful face. “Your work is important.”
“You’re more important,” I say under my breath.
She doesn’t hear me, or if she does, she ignores my words. “Have you eaten yet?”
I look back at the lights of the city. “I met someone earlier. I had a coffee and a bagel.”
“The same someone you met the other morning? It was a woman, yes?”
“Yes,” I answer briskly.
She closes the distance between us with short, sure steps. Her fingers land on one of the pink roses. She stares down at them. “I’m tired. I think I’ll call it a night.”
I have no right to ask, but I’ve been staring at that bouquet for hours. “Where did those come from?”
“Boyd.”
What the fuck?
“Your ex-boyfriend?” I don’t know why the hell I’m asking for clarification.
She scratches the side of her nose. “He’s the only Boyd I know.”
“Why is he sending you flowers, Matilda?”
Her eyes search mine. “If you want an answer to that, I’ll want an answer to who the person is that you’ve been meeting.”
Fair enough.
