Page 10 of All My Broken Dreams

“I can, actually. I don’t mind small spaces.”

A grin broke over his face, lightening the mood. “Good to know, but the boot cupboard under the stairs is filled with Mrs. Cameron’s cleaning supplies. Not enough room. Come on. I’ll make you something to eat. You can leave a note for your brother in case he comes back, but I haven’t seen anyone in that apartment in months.”

It was better than nothing. Robbie scrawled a note on a scrap of paper for Harry and slid it under the door.

Deacon led the way, lifting her suitcase up the stairs like it was nothing. The second floor was cramped and low-ceilinged with dark rose-patterned wallpaper on the walls. The doors and trim were stained mahogany and the whole corridor was lit with the weakest bulbs imaginable.

“Prewar, this building housed workers so no upgrades were made. Postwar, there was no money for upgrades. The university does the bare minimum for its tenants, but I like it.”

Suddenly, this was real. She was going to be alone with a strange man for the entire night–a thing she had never done in her twenty-two years. Other girls her age had boyfriends. Robbie was acutely aware that she was a weirdo for being the exception to the rule.

Her heart stuck in her throat and throbbed there as she waited in the shadowed corridor for Deacon Wake to unlock the door.

As though sensing her anxiety, he paused and turned to her. “Are you going to be alright with this? It’s not too late to get you a cab. You can check into a hotel.”

“What did you mean when you said you could lose your job?”

“Male staff members are not allowed to have female overnight guests. The building is owned by Locksley Hall. They make the rules.” He stared at the wall. “Don’t worry about it. I can come up with an explanation if I have to.”

“It never occurred to me that you were taking as big a chance inviting me in as I was in accepting. I am so sorry. I’ve put you in an awkward position, haven’t I?”

He shrugged. “I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t think it was safe. I hope you’re not a late riser. The housekeeper comes in at eight a.m. to do the rooms. We’ll have to be out by then.”

“Deacon—”

“Look, I know this isn’t a safe choice for you either. We’re both taking a chance, but you’re in no condition to take care of yourself right now.”

“A normal person would be. I’m not proud of dragging a stranger into my problems. I wish I had more guts, but my streak of courage evaporated in the alley. You better not be lying to me, Deacon Wake.”

His gaze was steady. “I’m not lying to you, Rowena Listowel.”

A shiver went through her when he met her eyes. There was something in that look that excited her. A hunger that she responded to in her starved-for-affection state. For as long as she could remember, Robbie had felt alone.

Harry would say it was her own fault for refusing to leave her apartment. He’d say under the circumstances, loneliness was inevitable. He would argue that one does not jump at the first stranger one meets to feel better.

The lock clicked and Deacon Wake’s door swung open.

He was lying to her and he wasn’t–a contradiction that Robbie internalized as she stepped over the threshold. Deacon was not a threat to her. Not a physical threat. The threat he posed was different; one she couldn’t put into words.

It had something to do with her first boyfriend, Rick Bergman. She thought he’d be her boyfriend forever until he dumped her for Cassidy Edgar. The point was, she knew her level and guys like Deacon Wake didn’t notice girls like Robbie Listowel.

His interest in her was suspicious.

Robbie shook herself and almost snorted with laughter. He didn’t notice hernow,for Pete’s sake! He was the proverbial Good Samaritan, helping out a fellow human being. A brave guy who was taking a chance, the same as she was, to make the best of a bad experience.

The only threat he posed was all in her mind.

Deacon Wake could make her forget why she came to Edinburgh in the first place. It wasn’t that he noticed her. It was that she noticed him.

Chapter Six

He was almost shy as he ushered her inside the room and pushed a button that turned on the lights. “Ancient electricity,” he muttered, but she could see that he was proud of his home.

Robbie loved it.

“This is really nice, Deacon. It’s so comfortable! That’s the one great thing about being agoraphobic. I gravitate to snug, little places.”

He chuckled in his throat and helped her out of her coat, taking care with her shoulder. Her coat was hung on a peg behind the door. No closet.

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