Second Chances(22)

"The pictures are very good."

"What?"

"The pictures of you and...well for the sake of making things easier, me I guess. They are good. Good quality I mean. Clear and sharp."

"For fakes, you mean?"

Paige nodded.

"But they aren't..."

"They have to be. I wasn't there. Wherever it is those were taken."

"I have more," Nathan said, tapping the computer case by his feet.

"Just as good no doubt."

"Well no, some are quite blurry. I always said you belonged in front of the camera, not behind it," he said, a sad smile on his face.

Sally returned and removed their empty plates, they both declined dessert.

"Okay, you say they are fake?"

"They have to be," Paige insisted.

"Then show me some that aren't."

"What?"

"Well you must have some. At least a snapshot or two in your purse or on your phone."

"No...I don't. None, besides the one on my driver's license."

"Well that doesn't count." Nathan said, a bit harsher than he'd intended.

"I lost everything just a couple weeks ago. Everything," she repeated. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. "There...there was..." She stopped and looked at Nathan. She felt a little dizzy as she realized that she didn't have to finish her sentence, he already knew. She could see he was almost mouthing the word 'fire'.





CHAPTER SIXTEEN



Nathan wasn't the least bit surprised when Paige rose from the table and walked off. He'd gone too far. He'd pushed when he knew he shouldn't. Sally brought him the bill and for once her cheerfulness was thankfully restrained.

He knew he'd crossed a line. He just wasn't quite sure how far he'd crossed it. His heart was racing as he approached the front desk of the hotel.

"How may I help you, Mr. King?"

The man behind the counter instantly picked up on Nathan's reaction.

"We spoke earlier. I arranged for your luggage to be held."

"Oh yes," Nathan said, "not my luggage."

"The young lady's. Do you require it now?"

Nathan placed his hands on the counter and let out a sigh.

"Are you alright, sir?"

"Yeah," Nathan replied. "Fine. Jet lag getting to me I guess."

"Do you require the luggage?"

"No, I don't think we'll need it just yet. The woman I was with, have you seen her?"

"I'm sorry, but I haven't."

"Your pool area?"

The man gestured to the right.

Nathan glanced at his watch.

"Anything else, Mr. King?"

"Yes, I think we'll be staying with you for the night."

"Wonderful. Let me see what we have available."

"Two rooms please."

"Adjoined?"

"Yes...no. Next to each other, but not connected," Nathan stammered. The man at the desk nodded his understanding.

"Okay let me see what we have."

"Marina view if you have it."

The man clicked a few more keys and then nodded. "Two rooms, non-adjoined. Marina view."

"Balconies?"

"Yes, I think we can accommodate you. The rooms will be..."

"Doesn't matter," Nathan said and handed the man a credit card.

"Very good. One moment, please."

When he came back, the man returned the credit card to Nathan along with two plastic room keys.

"Rooms five twenty-one and five twenty-three. Would you like the luggage taken up?"

"Yes. Place it in room twenty-one, please."

Nathan left the desk and headed off to the pool. He saw her immediately. She was leaning against the railing on the far side of the pool, looking off into the marina and the rippling reflection of the fading light on the water.

Paige glanced over at the sound of his approach, but didn't turn to face him. Her face looked red, but Nathan was certain it was simply a trick from the dying light. At least he hoped it was.

"Sorry."

She continued to watch the colors dance upon the water's surface.

"I...I thought maybe we'd spend the night. Maybe start over in the morning."

Nathan reached out. She didn't jerk away, but neither did she turn towards him. He placed one of the room keys on the lounge chair behind her.

"Five twenty-one," he said. "I'll be next door in twenty-three if you need me."

She remained silent. He looked at her, opened his mouth and then closed it again without saying a word. He walked away, moving slowly around the pool. He stopped briefly and reached into his pocket.

Paige watched out of the corner of her eye. Nathan flipped a coin in the air and watched it plunge into the pool. He stood there for a moment, until a relative calm returned to the pool's surface, before heading back into the hotel.

Paige picked up the room key and held it, sitting down on the lounge chair. She could turn it in. Just turn it in, get her luggage and get the hell out of here. Get away from Nathan, this stranger who seemed to know her almost as well as she knew herself. Get away from his crazy story. She sighed. She didn't know if you could do that. She still had so many questions, so many doubts. Could she really just walk away without trying to find out the truth?