He clears his throat, pulling me out of my thoughts. My eyes roam over him from head to toe on their own accord. He’s dressed in the same suit he was wearing this morning, minus the jacket. The disappointment I felt earlier at the thought of never seeing him again vanishes. My eyes travel back up, locking onto his.
Jenny is right behind him and tries to push her way into the room, but he doesn’t budge. “Excuse me, sir, but I−”
“It’s okay, Jenny. He can stay,” I cut her off, but never break eye contact with him. How did he know where to find me? I don’t even know who he is, yet he’s standing here in my gallery, in my office; this makes me smile on the inside for some reason.
“Okay, but call me if you need anything.” Jenny leaves to go back up front and we continue to stare at each other.
I turn on the bench so I’m facing him with my hands in my lap, but I remain seated in the same position with my right leg tucked under me. He walks closer, coming inside my office. Now I’m looking up at him and he’s staring down at me.
I’m the first to break eye contact, looking down at my hands. “What are you doing here, and how did you know where I worked?” I look back up to him while I wait for an answer.
He reaches into his pocket and retrieves a small object. When he opens his hand, it reveals my ring lying in his palm. The one I had taken off at the bar last night. I hadn’t thought about it or even realized it was missing.
What does that tell you, Shannon?
“I didn’t have a chance to give this back to you this morning before you ran out.”
“I didn’t run; I walked out,” I reply and stand up to take the ring from him. I did run out, but I didn’t think it was that obvious. Apparently, I'm wrong. When I reach to take the ring from his palm, he gently grabs my hand. The ring between our hands is the only thing keeping us from complete contact.
I look up at him. I’m standing now, but I still have to look up a little to meet his eyes. I’m not a short person. I’m of average height at 5’7 He must be about eight inches taller, putting him at about 6’3. His shoulders are broad. His biceps and chest fill his dress shirt, making creases where I can see his muscles underneath.
“It looked like you couldn’t get out of there quick enough,” he says in a low steady tone.
God, I wish he would stop looking at me the way he does. I feel like I have knots in my stomach. This is not a feeling I’m used to.
I take the ring from his palm and toss it on my desk. Looking back up, I say, “You didn’t answer the last part of my question. How did you know where I would be?”
He takes a half of a step closer. I can feel his breath on my face and I can smell his scent. He smells fresh and clean. Like he just stepped out of a shower.
I like it.
“Your business card fell out of your purse last night. I didn’t know you would be here. I took a chance, and here you are.” The way he responds comes off odd. Like it’s forced and he tensed slightly when he said it. Plus my cards are zipped up in my wallet, so it’s a stretch that one just fell out. I don’t question him or call him on it though.
I hear commotion out front. It’s Luke’s voice. The sound makes me want to break something.
“Great,” I say sarcastically on a sigh. It’s just what I need today. I grab the ring from my desk and step around the intoxicating man in front of me and walk out of my office to the front. Luke and Jenny are talking. He’s dressed in blue scrubs for work.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I ask him in a harsh voice.
I feel the stranger from last night coming to stand behind me. I don’t know why he’s here, but it makes me feel warm again, almost as if he is keeping me safe and protected. I ignore this and concentrate on Luke. I don’t want to see him.
Ever again!
Luke walks up to me. He looks me in the eye as he’s only about an inch taller than I am. “We need to talk,” he says and grabs my arm at my elbow.
I snatch it out of his grasp, taking a step back. The man standing behind me is so close I can feel his breath on the back of my hair and I tense. He notices because he places his hand on my shoulder and it immediately relaxes me.
Luke looks at his hand on my shoulder then at the man standing behind me. His eyes land back on mine.
He’s angry.
“Who the hell is he?” Luke asks.
I ignore his question because I can, and because I don’t know who he is, but at the same time, something inside me is glad he is here. I take the ring from my hand and toss it to Luke. He catches it in his right hand.
“That’s yours. I don’t want it and I never want to see you again! Now get out of here! We! Are! Done!”