“I got the report you sent and wanted to drop by in person to say well done. It looks like you’ve accounted for every detail. Of course, you get all the credit, since I was out for two weeks in the middle of everything.”
“Thank you.” Her expression softened. “I couldn’t have done it without Dara’s help. She told me you guys gave her an extra bonus, and I think that’s really nice.”
“Dara’s fantastic.” He tried to sound casual as he asked his next question. “Now, when is your flight to LA?” After their little scene at the apartment, she wouldn’t even discuss the idea of them flying out together.
“My train leaves tomorrow.”
“Your train? You’re really traveling by train? That’ll take days!”
“It saves us $200.” Her nostrils flared. “It’s quite comfortable. My seat turns into a bed, and there’s a shower and everything.”
“That can’t possibly be safe,” he objected. “There’s no door to lock while you’re sleeping.” Maybe he could book a bodyguard on the same train.
“It’s safe.” Her jaw clamped shut. “Nobody’s going to attack me on the train.”
“You can’t know that,” Finn snapped. “It happened to…” He choked back her name, just in time. “It happened to a friend of mine. She thought she was safe, too.”
“Oh my gosh!” Steph exclaimed, wringing her hands together. “Was she hurt?”
A glance showed Laurie standing with her arms crossed in typical obstinate fashion.
“She wasn’t hurt, physically,” he answered with wooden lips. “But if her roommate hadn’t come home early, she would’ve been.”
The painful memory played in his mind like a horror movie. He’d been late to pick her up, finalizing all the arrangements for the proposal. When he knocked at her apartment, dressed in a black tuxedo and holding a single red rose, her roommate had cracked the door open with wary eyes.
“Jill was attacked,” she said. “He ran out the back when I got here. She didn’t get hurt, but—”
“Where is she?” He pushed his way inside to find Jill, sitting on the couch with her hair in disarray, her dress ripped at the shoulder. Frightened out of his mind, he rushed to hold her, but she pushed him away with a stiff arm.
“Go away, Finn,” she wailed. “You were late. As usual. I opened the door, thinking it was you, and this man…” The accusation hung in the air. It was his fault. He’d failed to protect her.
“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
Her eyes closed, and she didn’t answer.
“We called 9-1-1,” her roommate said. “We’re waiting for the police to come.”
Finn dropped to his knees and reached for her hand, but she knocked it away.
“I’m so sorry I was late, Jill. I was… getting ready for tonight.”
“You’re always getting ready.” She lashed out in anger, but he forgave her. She’d been through trauma. “You and those stupid treatments. CF takes up half your life—there’s no room for me in it.”
“I love you,” he said, tasting the salty tears on his face. “I’ll do better. I’ll get up earlier in the morning, so I’ll have more time for you.”
“It’s over.” Though her image wobbled in his watery vision, he could see her eyes were dry… emotionless. “This was my wakeup call. I thought I could do this with you, Finn. I really did. But I realize now, I want more than you can give. I want someone who will put me first in their life, but with you I’ll always feel second to cystic fibrosis. After this, I’ll never feel safe when I’m alone, so every time you go in the hospital, I’ll panic.” She turned her head away. “I’m weak, I guess. But I don’t think I can handle being a widow, either.”
“I understand.” He nodded, holding himself together by a thread, stood and moved to the door, still carrying the rose in his hand. “If you change your mind, I’ll be waiting.”
“I won’t change my mind.”
As he stumbled down the street, the rose slipped from fingers, falling to the gutter. From that moment, he knew marriage was not a part of his future.
“I’m sorry that happened to your friend.” Laurie’s voice jarred him back to the present. “But that has nothing to do with me being safe on the train.”
He snatched his cell phone from his pocket. “I’ll check with Harvey and see if we can move my flight up to Saturday, like I originally suggested. If we both go on the company plane, that will save the cost of a train ticket.”
“There’s no reason for you to get there a week early.” Laurie was on her feet, gathering the takeout food containers. “I’m not getting on that plane with you, no matter what, so don’t bother changing the date. I’m happy with my train ticket.”
“Don’t be so stubborn. It only makes sense for us to ride together. I promise I won’t bother you.”
“Not happening.”
Her hands shook as she packed the containers back into the paper sack. She must still be really angry. He’d hoped she was beginning to forgive him, but evidently his almost-kiss had ruined any chance of friendship in the future. Only when his phone gave an extended beep did he notice he was squeezing it with white knuckles.
“Can’t we talk about this?” He tried a gentle tone, hoping to find a way around her fury, but she stomped off into her office, mumbling under her breath.
“Finn…” He jolted when Steph appeared beside him with a sympathetic expression, her hand resting on his arm. “I’m afraid this is a lost cause. Laurie changes her mind about as fast as a glacier moves through the Arctic.”
“What can I do?” he asked Steph, the impression of looming danger weighing him down like a thick, wet blanket. “I can’t explain it, but I really feel like something bad is going to happen on that train.”
Stephanie’s head inclined like a curious puppy. “Tell me something, Finn. Why do you care so much?”
He cleared his throat. “I’m her boss. She’s my responsibility.”
“If you say so.” She returned to the table to pick up her trash. “Don’t you think you might have an overactive imagination? Since you know someone who was attacked, you’re probably worried for nothing.”
“Or maybe I’m simply aware of the danger,” he countered.