Page 5

Steady rain thrummed against the roof as they settled back onto the couch, journals now forgotten, remote in hand. Iris traced the soft plastic buttons with her pointer finger. Shadows flickered across Gabriel’s face as the scenes changed from light to dark, making his features appear almost inhuman in their sharp edges and sunken depths.

For the first time since they’d met, a shiver of apprehension settled over Iris like an icy cloak. How heavy were the secrets Gabriel kept locked away from her?

And how long would it take to find the key?

3

On Thursday, Iris was so distracted at work that she almost missed her lunch break. Clocking out with fumbling fingers, she snatched her lunch bag from the staff room, hurried onto the elevator, and stabbed at the ground floor button. She stood alone, the familiar tang of antiseptic filling her senses.

Iris stifled a gasp as the metal door slid open and brought her face to face with a handsome stranger. “I’m so sorry,” she breathed, moving quickly out of the way as he stepped onto the elevator.

He wore a sweater that perfectly matched his icy gray eyes—currently wide with shock—and dark jeans, his long golden-brown hair pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He stared at her as if he’d seen a ghost, but Iris was certain they’d never met. I would have remembered that face, she thought, dazed. Before she could speak, the elevator doors closed with a soft thud, blocking him from view.

Blinking herself out of her stupor, Iris hoisted her work bag further up her shoulder and pushed through the double doors into the chilly courtyard. She settled onto a cold picnic bench and unpacked her pasta salad and chips with unnecessary precision, trying to keep her attention from sliding out of focus and drifting back to Gabriel.

He’d been uncommunicative and troubled for the past three days, and Iris was starting to get seriously panicked, though she kept telling herself that if she just gave him time, he would eventually come clean.

She’d always suspected that Gabriel had secrets. Since they’d met, he’d offered up only fragments about his past. His life before she entered the scene was like an incomplete puzzle picked up at a thrift store, impossible to work out with so many missing pieces. It was just that he had never been this laconic, this reticent to share whatever it was that was clearly bothering him.

A ping sounded from her pocket, and Iris reached for her phone, her heartbeat quickening before sinking through the flagstones. It was just a text from her mom reminding her to pick up a photo delivery from the post office that afternoon.

Five minutes before she was expected back at work, Iris dragged her feet onto the elevator. What was the point of sitting around in the cold? In any case, she suspected her grandmother had never taken her full lunch break.

The front desk clerk position at Rhyde Dentistry wasn’t exactly Iris’ dream job, but it had fallen into her lap at such an opportune time that it had been impossible to refuse. Her father’s mother had held the position for over fifty years, and her loyalty had earned her good wages and excellent benefits. She’d died only two weeks after Iris’ father, and when the office called to ask if Iris would be interested in taking over her grandmother’s role, retaining her pay and benefits, she’d accepted at once.

After speaking to her references, Dr. Sumpter had said that Iris must have gotten her work ethic from her grandmother. Never mind the fact that Iris had never actually met the woman. That wasn’t a detail she’d felt the need to disclose.

“Nice outside?” Li, Iris’ favorite coworker, arched her brows as Iris settled into her swivel chair, stashing her bag beneath the long V-shaped desk.

“Freezing.”

Li gave a throaty laugh as she tapped a note into her computer, tucking a stray gray hair into the neat braid that wove down her back. “The staff room’s a lot cozier.”

Iris rolled her eyes so that only Li could see. She avoided the staff room like the plague, a fact Li knew all too well. Few people realized just how gossip-happy dental hygienists could be.

The afternoon was relatively slow, but that wasn’t unusual, since Dr. Rhyde and Dr. Sumpter preferred to schedule most of their appointments for the mornings. Iris took advantage of the lull by making herself a French press coffee at the table behind the desk. The strong, acidic aroma was just the balm she needed to soothe her nerves.

A strange prickling feeling tickled the back of Iris’ neck, and she peeked over her shoulder, straightening up in surprise when she recognized the handsome stranger she’d encountered by the elevator earlier. She hoisted on a professional smile.

“I’m sorry, can I help you?”

The young man shifted from foot to foot. His focus darted from the computer, to the fish tank by the waiting area, to the door.

“Do you have an appointment?” Iris asked, wondering just how long he’d been hanging around. She turned to Li, but her friend was busy sending out late payment notices and didn’t seem to be paying any attention.

“Yes.” His strange gray eyes flicked up to meet hers.

“Are you in our system?”

“I don’t think so.”

“You’re going to need to fill this out for us.” Iris slid a clipboard across the counter. The stranger stared at the new patient form as though it were written in a language that hadn’t been invented yet. “Can you tell me the time of your appointment?” she asked.

He swallowed, the movement causing his throat to tremble slightly. Iris opened her mouth to ask for his name, when a loud ringing from beneath the desk made them both jump.

“I’m so sorry,” Iris stammered, “I⁠—”

Li looked up from her computer, glasses perched on the end of her long nose. “Take that in the back, hun, I’ve got this.” She turned a practiced smile on their guest.