Impulsively, I swing open the exit door—and collide with an intoxicatingly scented dark blue wall.
"I'm also glad to see you," a voice I would recognize among thousands says.
"Kjell?" My body would love to sink into his arms and enjoy the embrace. But my head is stronger and commands my legs to step back.
He grins crookedly. "I didn't think you'd miss me so much. But it's good to know."
Despite the cold winter air pouring in from outside, I feel unnaturally warm. An entirely inappropriate tingling sensation spreads through me. "You're in the way." That should have sounded matter-of-fact, but it comes out just as confused as I feel right now. "What are you doing here?"
"Maybe I'm looking for you?" He raises an eyebrow.
"Is that a question?" Even as I speak the words, I know it was a mistake. I should have ignored his insinuation and the palpitations it stirs within me and just walked away.
"Oh, so that counts again, does it? Interesting. In that case, we're even." He crosses his arms in challenge. "After all, you first pronounced my name in question and then wanted to know what I'm doing here," he adds, probably due to my perplexed expression.
I shake my head and gesture toward the exit, which he still blocks. "Now that we've cleared up the important points, I would like to..."
"As you wish," he replies without making way for me. Is that disappointment in his eyes? "But I don't think it's a good idea."
Oh, it definitely is. "Whatever you're trying to do here, just stop," I respond, forcefully pushing aside the rebellious feeling surging in my chest.
For a moment, which definitely lasts too long, he silently regards me. Then he shakes his head with a gentle expression. "I'm not trying to do anything."
The resonating sound of his voice lingers within me. "Then let me through." My tone doesn't match my words, and the way I meet his gaze probably doesn't either. "Please."
My plea doesn't seem to impress him. "You look terrible," he says empathetically. "You shouldn't be alone right now."
Probably not. But I shouldn't be near him either.
"Come," he offers me his hand. "I promise not to ask any questions."
My gaze shifts back and forth between his fingers and his face.
"So you need evidence," he says, a compassionate smile briefly gracing his lips. Then he gently touches my shoulders and turns me around to face my reflection in the glass door.
Dark gray streaks cover my cheeks, and my eyes are puffy.
"You shouldn't be alone right now." Kjell repeats his earlier words. "No questions, I promise."
I look at myself and see a woman who is utterly alone with her worries because she has no one to confide in.
A woman who desperately needs distraction.
And also, a woman who knows exactly where to draw the boundaries and can spend a few hours with Kjell without changing anything.
"No questions?" I whisper.
He nods and even refrains from reminding me that I just asked one. At that moment, I realize he means it.
He wants to be there for me. Maybe because I was there for him in Milan when he shared his pain with me. Perhaps because I'm not insignificant to him.
"Okay." I tear myself away from my reflection. "What should we do?"
