“And I’d love to give you a personal tour.”
“I’ll take you up on that.”
It would be good to get past all this, to spend some time with her without the fate of her two friends hanging over her head. What he was doing now was only a small stopgap, something to lighten her mind, if only for an hour or two. Last night’s vision had come while she was sleeping, but who was to say one might not intrude when she was awake? He supposed he’d just have to hope it wouldn’t hit her when she was out in public. Maybe coming here wasn’t such a good idea….
Nothing he could do about it now. Alex pulled into the parking lot at the studio, which was moderately more full than it usually would be during a weekday. Tourists from the Phoenix area, most likely, visiting because their kids were out of school. He hoped the place wouldn’t be completely overrun.
There was an open parking space not too far from the entrance. He stopped the Pathfinder there, and then he and Caitlin both got out. A warm breeze ruffled his hair, but that’s all it was — warm, not hot. A perfect day for coming out here.
He turned toward her, and she came around the front of the SUV, her own hair blowing around her face in a cloud of brilliant copper. God, he wanted to run his hands through that hair, feel its silky strands slip through his fingers. Who knew he’d have such a redhead fetish? Before now, he wouldn’t have really admitted to a preference when it came to hair color in women.
Or maybe it was just that it was Caitlin’s hair, rather than its particular color.
“This way,” he said, hoping his voice didn’t sound as strained to her as it did to him. He really did need to keep it together.
She smiled and followed him into the park, eyes bright, interested. Clearly, she didn’t think it was hokey or silly that he’d brought her here. And she maintained that wide-eyed appreciation the whole time, during the stunt shows and the staged gunfights and the tour that talked about all the movies and TV shows filmed in the facility and its environs.
Since Alex had been here several times before, he found himself focusing on Caitlin and her reactions to what was going on around them, rather than the shows and displays themselves. It was good to watch her forget, if even for a little while, the real reason why she’d come to Tucson. She needed this, he could tell. And he needed it, too. How long had it been since he’d gone out and done something for fun, just because?
Way too long.
And how long had it been since he’d felt like this when he looked at a girl?
Even longer. No, that wasn’t exactly true. He wasn’t sure he’d ever felt like this. Not really.
Just what he was supposed to do about it, he had no idea.
10
The afternoon was gone, and Alex was driving them back into Tucson proper after suggesting that they go downtown for dinner. That sounded good. Walking over the old movie sets and watching the shows and yes, even panning for gold like a silly tourist, had worked up quite an appetite.
“What’re you in the mood for?” he asked.
By then she was so hungry that even the greasiest fast food would’ve sounded good. “You choose. It’s your city. Whatever’s your favorite. Except sushi.”
“What, you’re not into raw fish?”
She made a face, remembering the one time Danica had talked her into trying some sashimi. “Not really.”
He grinned. “That’s okay — neither am I.”
Well, thank the Goddess for that. True, most Japanese restaurants had teriyaki and tempura, and she was okay with eating either of those. That didn’t seem to be an issue now, though. She did have to wonder where they were going to end up, however, as they zigzagged off the freeway and headed into the heart of the city. They wound through the streets of downtown, some of which ran one way, and ended up opposite a structure that appeared to be an official building of some sort, maybe a courthouse. That clearly wasn’t their destination, as Alex instead led her to a brick-fronted building with no obvious signs. It didn’t look like a restaurant from the outside, but once he ushered her in through the front door, it was clear that’s exactly what the business was.
And obviously it wasn’t the first time he’d been here, since the girl performing hostess duties greeted him with a “hey, Alex!” and led them right to a table off in one corner, much to the disgust of the people who’d been waiting there ahead of them. True, they were a party of four, and Caitlin guessed the hostess could use that excuse as to why they hadn’t been seated first, but….
“It’s good to know people, isn’t it?” she said to Alex as the hostess made her way back to her spot by the entrance.