CHAPTER TWO: THE STRANGER
1348 Words
Sarah should have left.
That was the first thought that crossed her mind when the stranger pulled out the chair beside her.
She should have picked up her handbag, walked out of the hotel bar and driven home.
She should have gone back to Michael.
Instead, she watched the man sit down.
“Daniel,” he said.
Just that.
No last name.
Sarah glanced at him.
“Sarah.”
“I know.”
Her eyebrows lifted.
Daniel smiled.
“I mean, you look like a Sarah.”
She almost laughed.
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“It doesn’t have to.”
There was something irritatingly calm about him.
Sarah took another sip of her drink.
“You always approach women sitting alone?”
“Only the ones who look like they’re trying very hard not to cry.”
Her fingers stopped around the glass.
She looked at him.
“I wasn’t crying.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you say that?”
“Because you looked like you wanted someone to notice.”
Sarah didn’t answer.
That was the problem.
He was right.
Daniel leaned back in his chair.
“You had a bad night.”
“Is it that obvious?”
“To me.”
She studied him.
There was something different about the way he looked at her.
Not like a man looking at an attractive woman.
At least, not only that.
It felt as though he was trying to figure her out.
And Sarah didn’t like being figured out.
“What makes you think you know anything about me?”
“I don’t.”
“Good.”
“I’d like to.”
Her heart skipped.
Sarah immediately looked away.
She was married.
She needed to remember that.
Married.
The word should have been enough to end the conversation.
But Daniel didn’t ask whether she was married.
He didn’t ask where she lived.
He didn’t ask what she did for a living.
Instead, he said, “What’s the one thing you wanted to do tonight but didn’t?”
Sarah frowned.
“What?”
“Before you came here.”
She thought about it.
“Go home.”
Daniel smiled.
“You’re lying.”
Sarah laughed despite herself.
“You’re very confident.”
“I’ve been told.”
“By yourself?”
“Mostly.”
That made her laugh again.
A genuine laugh.
She hadn’t laughed like that all evening.
Daniel watched her.
And for a moment, Sarah forgot about Michael.
Forgot about the argument.
Forgot about the empty side of her bed.
She was simply Sarah.
A woman sitting in a hotel bar with a stranger.
A stranger who somehow made her feel interesting.
“Your turn,” she said.
“My turn for what?”
“To answer your own question.”
Daniel considered it.
“I wanted to meet someone interesting.”
“And did you?”
His eyes held hers.
“Yes.”
Sarah’s smile faded slightly.
There was something in his expression now.
Something heavier.
She looked down at her drink.
“You shouldn’t say things like that.”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t know me.”
“Neither do you.”
“I know enough.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“Do you?”
His voice had lowered.
Sarah felt the warmth of his breath against her skin.
She should have moved away.
Instead, she stayed.
“Tell me something,” he said.
“What?”
“What makes you unhappy?”
Sarah stared at him.
Nobody had asked her that in a long time.
Not genuinely.
Not without immediately trying to solve it.
She looked toward the bar.
“My marriage.”
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Daniel didn’t react.
He didn’t look surprised.
He simply waited.
Sarah swallowed.
“I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Probably not.”
She looked at him.
“You’re supposed to tell me I shouldn’t talk about my marriage with a stranger.”
“I could.”
“But you won’t.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t need another person telling you what you should do.”
Something inside her tightened.
Michael always told her what was practical.
What was reasonable.
What was appropriate.
Daniel was doing none of those things.
And somehow, that frightened her.
“What about you?” Sarah asked.
“What about me?”
“Why are you here?”
Daniel looked down at his drink.
“Business.”
“That’s boring.”
“It usually is.”
“You don’t seem boring.”
His eyes returned to hers.
“Neither do you.”
Sarah smiled.
She hated that she liked him.
She hated that she was enjoying this.
And most of all, she hated how easily she had forgotten that she was supposed to be angry.
The bartender came over.
“Another?”
Sarah opened her mouth.
“No.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
But then the bartender walked away.
And Sarah immediately regretted saying no.
Daniel noticed.
“Changed your mind?”
“Maybe.”
He signaled the bartender.
“One more for her.”
Sarah shook her head.
“You’re dangerous.”
Daniel smiled.
“You have no idea.”
She should have been alarmed by that answer.
Instead, she felt a strange thrill move through her.
The second drink arrived.
Time passed.
They talked.
About nothing.
About everything.
Daniel asked questions Sarah hadn’t realized she wanted someone to ask.
What did she dream about before becoming a lawyer?
What would she do if money didn’t matter?
What was something she’d never told anyone?
Sarah answered some.
Avoided others.
Daniel never pushed.
That made her trust him more than she should have.
Eventually, the music changed.
The bar became quieter.
Sarah looked at her phone.
12:47 a.m.
She sighed.
“I should go.”
Daniel nodded.
“I know.”
She reached for her handbag.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For making tonight less miserable.”
He looked at her.
“I didn’t do much.”
“You listened.”
“That’s not much?”
Sarah smiled.
“Not anymore.”
She stood.
Daniel remained seated.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Sarah adjusted the strap of her bag.
“Goodnight, Daniel.”
“Goodnight, Sarah.”
She took two steps.
Then stopped.
She turned around.
Daniel was still watching her.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re staring.”
“I know.”
Sarah shook her head.
“You really are confident.”
He smiled.
“You came back.”
She frowned.
“What?”
“You could’ve walked out.”
Her pulse quickened.
Daniel stood.
He was taller than she’d realized.
Much taller.
He stepped closer.
Not enough to touch her.
Just enough for Sarah to become painfully aware of the distance between them.
“You came back,” he repeated.
Sarah’s voice was quieter now.
“I don’t know why.”
Daniel’s eyes dropped briefly to her lips.
Then returned to her eyes.
“Neither do I.”
Sarah held his gaze.
For one dangerous second, she imagined what it would feel like to kiss him.
The thought shocked her.
She stepped back.
“Goodnight.”
This time, she walked away.
She made it to the elevator.
The doors opened.
She stepped inside.
Just before they closed, she looked back.
Daniel was still standing there.
Watching her.
Sarah pressed the button for the lobby.
The doors closed.
She exhaled.
“What the hell am I doing?”
She didn’t know.
She only knew that for the first time in years, she felt something she had almost forgotten existed.
Excitement.
And somewhere behind the closing elevator doors, Daniel reached into his pocket.
His phone lit up.
A photograph appeared on the screen.
Sarah.
Standing outside the law firm earlier that week.
Daniel stared at it.
Then smiled.
Because tonight hadn’t been an accident.
And Sarah still didn’t know his real reason for being there.
Not yet.
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