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I’m not about to divulge my darkest secrets to him. I shouldn’t expect him to return the favor.
“Popcorn?” I ask.
“Definitely.”
I cross to the built-in bar where an old-fashioned-looking popcorn machine sits, measure out the popcorn, and load it into the machine. There’s also a concession-style shelving unit full of candy and a mini fridge beneath with assorted beverages and beers. I jut my chin toward it.
“Help yourself. There’s beer.”
“You guys live very well, which is saying something, given the street I grew up on.”
Pride fills me like a helium balloon. “That’s the goal. That’s been the goal since the moment I left Nebraska. All it took was one look at Boston, the houses in Beacon Hill, the sailboats gliding over the water, the skyscrapers standing tall.”
He reaches into the small refrigerator and pulls out a bottle of beer and holds it up to me. “Want one?”
I nod. “Thanks.”
“This is a long way from Nebraska,” he muses.
“Yeah. I don’t miss having to share a room with my brothers, that’s for sure.” Mostly, I don’t miss trying to hide all my books or read beneath the covers. Those fuckers always told on me for staying up too late.
“All I have are sisters.”
“Lucky.” And I mean it. The man has a natural advantage where Katherine’s concerned. Growing up around women gives him an understanding I’ll likely never have.
I both love and hate the way women are such a mystery. Except that Katherine seems like an open book now that I’ve gotten to know her. She’s not strung as tight as I once believed. That’s all a facade she lives behind. Like a bubble that protects her.
Once the air is heavy with the scent of buttered popcorn, I queue up the first movie, and we settle on the sectional, legs stretched out, the bowl between us.
“Still can’t believe you’ve never seen this.”
“I was busy.”
With a tap of a button on the programmable remote, the lights around the room dim, and the curtains close, cocooning us. King’s right. We live very well, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
This room was worth every penny. As a child who never got control over the remote, this space is something I could only dream of.
As Frodo begins his journey, I sneak a glance at my new friend. He’s utterly absorbed, just as I thought he would be. He’s an outdoorsy type who likes his freedom, so I have no doubt all the action will resonate.
We reach into the bowl at the same time, and our fingers brush beneath the sea of butter-covered popcorn. A tingle of awareness races up my arm. Does he feel it, too?
20
ALEX
My throat tightens, and I want to snatch the words back. I rarely talk about Courtney.
Almost twenty years later, that day feels like yesterday. Sometimes I stare at my cell phone, the memory of the call from my father that shattered our seemingly safe world fresh in my mind.
We all lost our innocence in the blink of an eye.
Katherine burrows closer, so in tune with me. She doesn’t say anything, just sits in my lap, arms clinging to my waist, waiting for me to make up my mind. But I can feel the curiosity vibrating through her. And who wouldn’t be curious?
I tighten my arms around her, soothed by the way our breathing syncs. Slow, steady inhale. A shuddering exhale loosens the tension binding my torso.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?” she whispers.
I duck my head, inhaling her familiar scent. Do I want to open my chest and expose my most vulnerable parts? No. I don’t want to relive the past. I don’t want to open myself up to that. When people hear what happened, I hear pity in their voice. I see the sorrow in their eyes.