Page 31 of The Promise

I run my hands up and down my arms. I planned to feign apprehension at this point, but I had no idea I’d have an overabundance of it already. “The park looks different at night.”

“You’ve never been here at night?” Kai takes a step toward me.

“No. But I’ve been out at night in other places. Once I-”

Kai leans in and interrupts. I can almost feel his breath on me, just like before. “Elaine, you want to know something?”

“What?” I lean away, peering up into his eyes, which have become mischievous, just as they were on the elevator in Long Island. The resemblance is startling.

“The less you’ve been out at night, the better I like it.”

We watch each other for a moment. The lines are hitting too close to home. I’m embarrassed again, so I drop my gaze to our feet and take a deep breath. It isn’t an act. It’s a natural response.

“We’re in the perfect spot, Elaine. Do you want to know why?” he asks from in front of me.

“Please don’t tell me,” I reply quietly, still not looking at him.

“The war has ended. Things have never been this simple, this uncomplicated.”

“You call this uncomplicated?” I turn my eyes to his chest, unable to meet his face.

“Of course. We’re just friends, walking through the city at twilight.” His voice is soft and reassuring.

The room grows silent when I finally return my eyes to his. He’s right. We can just be friends now. The war—our war—is over. At least that’s what he wants me to believe.

“I’ve got work at ten. Otherwise, I’d walk you home-” He breaks the quiet.

“No, no. I’m going to be fine. Don’t worry.” I take a step backward.

Kai clears his throat. “So tell me, do you have a nickname, Elaine?”

“A nickname?” I look at him cautiously.

He says nothing.

I take another step back, tentatively. “Sometimes, they call me Elle.”

He smiles. It’s a warm, encouraging smile. “You are very beautiful, Elle.”

“Stop,” I reply in a barely audible voice. It’s part of the script, but it’s what I really want to say. I start to turn away because Elaine doesn’t want to hear it, and neither do I.

But his voice fills the room behind me. “Thank you for the walk.”

I look over my shoulder at him. “Will we do it again?”

“Tomorrow we will, Elle,” he replies with a salute, finishing the scene.

Then, we simply stare at each other. His green eyes and his dark hair, his gentle expression and his tall stature dwarfing mine; he really is William. The physical resemblance is uncanny, and so is his personality. As much as I hate to admit it, they’ve actually cast him perfectly.

EIGHT

Kai

“That was excellent. Really, really excellent,” the casting director says eagerly from her seat.

Sophie and I are locked in a gaze neither of us can break. I barely believe she’s standing here in front of me. She’s plagued my mind for the last three months, digging even deeper into my thoughts from hundreds of miles away. When I arrived back in New York a few weeks ago for my series of auditions for the role of William, it took every ounce of my strength not to contact her.

But I resolved not to try because I knew it wouldn’t have mattered. She made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with me, and I wouldn’t gain anything from continuing to chase her.

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