SAGE
Beckett held open the stall door for me, and I stood up from the toilet, trying to contain the shaking that had taken over my body.
I wiped my cheeks, smoothed my dress, inhaled.
Questions. I had lots of questions. Focus on that.
“Finn?” I said. “Is he alive?”
Beckett’s face looked pained. “I don’t know. We haven’t heard anything good from your father, but they haven’t said he’s … gone.”
Neither of us wanted to say anything else. I could tell that this information hurt Beckett nearly as much as it hurt me.
I swallowed, centering myself. “When will Jack arrive?”
Beckett scanned me, checking to see if I was appropriate enough to exit the bathroom. “10:00 pm. Right when the bidding is set to start.”
He reached out toward my dress. His finger lingered on the slit at my thigh. “What will people think we’ve been doing in here?”
Yes, Beckett was still trying to distract me, trying to keep me from thinking horrible things about Finn, or Vasterias, or not getting out of here without everything intact inside my body.
At the moment, I was perfectly grateful for a lighthearted distraction.
So I lifted my chin, indignant. “Well, considering that the whole time we’ve known each other, you’ve never done anything more than touch my hand, anything at all would be a scandal, wouldn’t it?”
Beckett took my hand, as if to prove the point. “It’s my dream that someday you’ll let me remedy that.”
He guided me toward the bathroom door, pausing before pulling it open.
“By the way, when we walk out of this bathroom, don’t be surprised if there’s a guy just waking up from unconsciousness ready to hit me in the face.”
I was grateful Beckett changed the topic, so I didn’t have to respond to his comment about the “remedy” of our relationship.
“Me?” I said. I pressed my hand to my chest, playing the charade already. Pretending I wasn’t still shaking. Making myself believe everything was fine. “Me, getting surprised by that? I wouldn’t think of it.”