Shadow Play

11

“Aye, you’re right on that one. You’ll need to come down to the office and file a report to see if they can figure out where it went,” he said in a jovial tone, like it was a rainbow I was missing and not a fifth of everything I owned. “Super,” I ground out, dripping sarcasm. One at a time, he carried the remaining four boxes into my living room as I tried to recall what I had in each box in a futile attempt to deduce what I might be missing. I would have preferred to have sorted through them right then and there, but it was getting late and I needed to head out for work. I had hardly made it halfway to the museum before a few sprinkles gave way to an onslaught of pounding rain. I was wearing an olive-green shift dress with long sleeves and a high neck, and while I could have worn my heeled boots with the dress, instead I chose some flattering dark gold heels that accented my toned calves. Apparently, I was being punished for my vanity because water seeped into my shoes, soaking them through in a matter of minutes. It wasn’t as cold as the previous day, but wet feet were not going to help matters. I did my best to hurry to the museum despite walking in wet shoes. I was about to cross the road when a car drove through a puddle, soaking me with dirty rain water. “f**k!” I yelled to no one. “Goddammit what is wrong with people? I should have just gone back to bed, but nooooo, I’ve got shadow man back in my dreams so I can’t even do that! Now my stuff is missing and I’m soaking wet, just great!” I lamented along with a litany of curses as I crossed the street and made my way to the front entrance. I stepped inside and tried to shake myself off as best as I could while a bewildered Cat made her way around the visitor’s booth and over to me. “Rebecca, what happened to you? Did you not have an umbrella with you?” she asked as she took my coat to the closet and returned with a couple of paper towels. “Somehow I didn’t think to pack one in my suitcase and the rest of my things only just arrived this morning. I’ll find it once I have a chance to sort through it all.” Then I muttered to myself, “Assuming it’s not in the lost box.” We managed to make me presentable, albeit still cold, and I made my way to the elevator, my feet squishing in my heels with each step. That’s professional, Becca, well done. That’s when I noticed the small sign over the elevator call buttons that read ‘Out of Order.’ “Oh, sorry, I forgot, the maintenance guys are doing a service,” Cat called to me. “It should be up and running by lunch but for now, I’m afraid you’ll have to take the stairs.” I rested my head against the stone wall and wondered what I had done to deserve such a fine morning. Four flights of stairs in wet heels, how delightful. Several hours later I discovered that the arrival of my packages had distracted me enough that I forgot to pack leftovers for lunch. Deciding not to go out in the rain, I headed down to the coffee shop on the first floor. I stood back from the counter assessing my options on the menu overhead. “You look like you could use a hot cocoa,” said a voice beside me. I glanced over to take in the man smiling at me with mischievous brown eyes. He was about five-foot eleven or so and trim, although it was a bit hard to say just how big he was under his wool coat. His dirty blond hair had a bit of wave and despite his use of gel, the moisture in the air had his curls shooting off in all directions. The kicker was his dimples—he had two perfect dimples on either cheek. He was a panty-dropper in a boy-next-door kind of way and I was feeling the effect of his good looks. My cheeks heated as a smile crept across my face. “I was going to grab a sandwich, but a hot chocolate sounds good, too.” “Excellent, you figure out what you want and I’ll start with the order,” he said with a wink and walked to the counter. “What?” I was suddenly confused—was he planning to eat lunch with me? “Unless you’ve got plans already, I’ll join you for lunch. Just tell me what you’ll have and I’ll get it ordered.” I was intrigued with his confident, assertive manner. After the morning I had endured, I told myself to enjoy good fortune when it came my way. “I’m not meeting anyone, but I don’t even know your name.” “I’m Ronan, and you are?” “Rebecca.” I wasn’t the best at chance encounters and flirting, but I wasn’t exactly the Virgin Mary either. Besides, it was time I met one man in this country who wasn’t a total fruitcake. Just in case he was yet another Irish nut-job though, I decided to vet him and make sure I didn’t need to go running back to my office. We put in our order and found a table by the windows. He took off his coat and set it on the back of his chair and I could see now that he was exceptionally fit but not particularly bulky, more like a swimmer rather than a weights kind of guy. “Were you touring the museum?” I asked after we sat down. “Something like that, but I seem to have gotten a little sidetracked.” He peered at me from under thick, dark lashes and I could feel a warming in my chest at his attention. “Do you work here then?” he asked, seeming genuinely interested in learning more about me. “I do, just started yesterday.” “So that would explain the accent—new to Ireland, are you?” I nodded in response as a server brought our food to the table. “Ronan, I have to ask because you seem to be decently well adjusted and so far that hasn't been my experience around here. You don't happen to make a habit of chasing girls down the street or have any other stalker-ish tendencies that I should know about, do you?” I asked with one brow raised as I took a bite of my sandwich. He chuckled before he responded. “Tell me that’s not the welcome you’ve received to our fine country.” “In fact, that and more, it’s been an interesting few days.” “It sounds like it. I can easily see what all the fuss is about, but I will endeavor to keep myself well behaved.” My eyes dropped shyly at his compliment. “Thank you. Should you feel the need to get on the crazy train, at least give me a running head start.” He laughed aloud and I brought my eyes back to his. “Well, I assure you that the good doctors who released me back into society said I was no longer a danger to those around me so you have nothing to fear from me.”