Page 15 of Master of My Heart

She grabbed her sweater and shoved her feet into her flip-flops before making her way to the central car, which had panoramic windows. The upstairs was surprisingly full for the hour, so she made her way to the empty café downstairs. It was cool and quiet. Once again, she found herself staring out the window, lost in her memories.

The dark landscape sped past as she tried to think of anything except the idea that she’d lost everything. That there was no hope of anything awaiting her in Boston.

Except for her audition. That was sole remaining flicker of hope in her life.

But that slight flame did nothing to dull the agony brought by the image of Chase happily married, swinging a young child around in his arms before hugging her close to his heart.

She groaned and slumped forward on the table, burying her face in her hands. Every breath was a struggle, but the pain in her lungs was a relief from the ache grief wracked in her body.

Heavy footsteps sounded in the stairwell. Sabrina turned her head slightly to see a man walking down the stairs. He wore faded jeans and a red-and-black flannel shirt, his dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. He looked to be about thirty. When he saw her, he stopped and smiled. “You look like you’re having a rough time of it.”

Sabrina sat up and looked around, wondering if there were someone else she hadn’t noticed before. Seeing nobody, she tilted her head. “Me?”

The man took a step forward and nodded. “I saw you come down here. You looked upset.”

Sabrina stiffened. She supposed she wasn’t exactly trying to hide anything, but the fact someone had noticed did surprise her. She shrugged. “I suppose.”

He walked toward her. Sabrina leaned back in the booth. “I’m Kelvin,” he said, extending his hand.

Sabrina nodded, but didn’t shake his hand. What does he want?

Kelvin smiled again and sat down in the bench seat across from her. She swallowed hard and watched him study her, looking thoughtful.

“What happened?” he asked.

Her brows twitched. “When?”

“What happened that made such a pretty girl look so sad? Boyfriend break up with you?”

“Something like that,” Sabrina mumbled, turning away to look out the window again and wishing he’d leave.

“Well, then, he must be the stupidest man alive.”

Sabrina stiffened at the thought of anyone calling Chase stupid. “He’s the best man in the world.”

Kelvin rolled his eyes. “Anyone who lets someone like you go must be a fool.”

She looked up and saw the sincerity in his eyes. “It’s a long story.”

Kelvin leaned forward, arms braced on the table. “Want to talk about it? I’m a good listener.”

“Not really.”

“Suit yourself.” He leaned back and stretched his arm along the back of the seat, studying her in silence once more. “Ya know, my girlfriend told me I had to stop impersonating flamingos, so I put my foot down.”

Sabrina snapped her head around and stared at the man. A girlfriend? His eyes twinkled, but his face was impassive. Flamingos? Foot down?

She furrowed her brows. “Wait... What?”

Kelvin pressed his lips together, but his shoulders shook. With laughter?

Stop impersonating flamingos...

Then Sabrina laughed. Hard. So hard, tears streamed down her face. Kelvin’s face lit up and he laughed along with her.

“Okay, it wasn’t that funny,” he said between bursts of laughter.

Sabrina bit her lip to stop laughing, but when Kelvin grinned at her, she started again. How long had it been since she’d heard a joke? It felt so good to laugh.

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