Chương 2
Elena picked up her coffee and stepped around the opposite side.
The charging station hid her for another second. A man in a Broncos cap blocked the aisle with two rolling bags while his wife argued with him about whether they had packed medication in the checked luggage. Elena slipped behind them, then crossed toward the check-in counters.
Tess met her halfway.
“What happened to you?” Tess asked. “You look like somebody canceled Europe.”
“Vancouver isn’t Europe.”
“I know. That was my attempt at humor after being charged eighteen dollars to park for eleven minutes.”
Elena took the charger.
Tess’s smile faded. “Are you sick?”
“No.”
“That answer sounded medically unconvincing.”
“I’m tired.”
“You were fine ten minutes ago.”
Elena looked past her.
Julian had emerged from behind the pillar. Vanessa was no longer beside him. She had moved toward another security entrance, walking quickly, cream coat closed now. Julian scanned the crowd once.
His expression did not change when he saw Elena.
That was the first moment she understood how practiced he had become.
He approached with the warm impatience of a husband who had been waiting too long.
“There you are,” he said. “I thought you were with Tess.”
“I was buying coffee.”
Julian glanced at the cup in her hand.
It was the same coffee she had carried when she arrived.
“You hate airport coffee.”
“I changed my mind.”
He smiled, but his eyes stayed on hers for an extra beat.
Tess held up both palms. “I delivered the charger. I’m officially uninvolved in whatever marital disagreement is forming.”
“There’s no disagreement,” Julian said.
“Then I’m even more uninvolved.”
She kissed Elena’s cheek. Her voice lowered. “Text me when you land.”
Elena caught the sleeve of Tess’s coat.
The urge to tell her rose so quickly it nearly became sound. Tess would have believed her. Tess would have turned around, found Vanessa, and made a scene with the fearless loyalty that had carried Elena through her father’s funeral and two miscarriages. She would also have told Elena to leave the airport, call the police, call a lawyer, call everyone.
Julian watched them.
Elena released Tess.
“I will.”
Tess searched her face, waiting.
Elena gave the smallest shake of her head.
Not here.
Tess understood only that much. She squeezed Elena’s hand and walked away.
Julian picked up Elena’s suitcase handle.
“You ready?”
No, Elena thought.
She heard his voice from the recording as clearly as if he had repeated the words beside her ear.
She’s about to lose everything.
“I’m ready,” she said.
They moved toward security together.
Julian placed his hand against her back while they waited in line. It was the same gesture from the museum, gentle enough to appear affectionate and firm enough to guide her where he wanted her to go.
Elena looked at the dark briefcase in his other hand.
“Is Vanessa traveling tonight?” she asked.
Julian did not hesitate. “Chicago. Client issue.”
“I thought the client issue was resolved.”
“New problem.”
“What kind?”
He glanced toward the people ahead of them. “Do you want the boring version now?”
“I don’t know. Is it especially boring?”
His thumb moved once against the satin at her back.
“I’ll tell you on the plane.”
The answer was ordinary. That was the worst of it. Julian had never lied like a desperate man. He lied like someone rescheduling lunch.
At the security checkpoint, Elena removed her necklace and earrings and placed them in a gray bin. Her shoes went beside them. The blush-pink gown pooled around her bare feet while travelers avoided looking directly at a woman dressed for a gala at nearly midnight.
Julian joked with the security officer about their schedule. He apologized for the number of electronics in his briefcase. His ease attracted ease in return.
Elena watched the bag enter the scanner.
For one irrational second, she wanted the machine to sound an alarm.
It did not.
On the other side, Julian reassembled himself quickly. Shoes. Belt. Watch. Phone. Briefcase.
Elena took longer. Her fingers would not fasten the necklace. Julian reached to help, and she stepped away before she could stop herself.
His hands remained raised between them.
“What’s wrong?”
“The clasp caught my hair.”
He waited.
Elena freed one strand and closed the necklace herself.
Julian picked up her passport from the bin and handed it to her. “You’ve been strange all evening.”
“I had to give a speech to four hundred people.”
“You’ve given speeches before.”
“I’m still allowed to dislike them.”
A shadow passed across his face, too small to name.
Then he kissed her temple.
“I’ll get you a drink at the lounge.”
Elena nearly laughed.
The sound reached her throat and stopped there.
The airport lounge was crowded with delayed passengers. Julian found two chairs near the windows and ordered sparkling water for himself, bourbon for Elena. She had stopped drinking bourbon four years earlier because it reminded her of her father, but Julian either had forgotten or wanted her unsteady.
She left the glass untouched.
While he answered an email, Elena sent the audio file to Mara through the secure portal. She added one sentence.
I heard this ten minutes ago. Julian does not know.
The message showed as delivered.
Her flight began boarding before Mara responded.
Vanessa appeared at the far end of the lounge, walking toward another exit. She did not look at them. Julian did not look at her.
Elena wondered how long two people had to rehearse indifference before it became this smooth.
At the gate, Julian stood close enough to shield her from a group jostling toward the boarding lane. He had always done that in crowds. Once, years earlier in Barcelona, a cyclist had cut too close to the curb and Julian had pulled Elena against his chest before she noticed the danger. She had loved his vigilance.
May you like
Now she understood that protection and possession could share the same posture.
Their seats were together in the first cabin. Vanessa was six rows behind them.
