Page 108 of Love Deep
“I think so,” I say. I wish we could just go to our seats. I feel awkward and uncomfortable. Like we’re hillbillies who’ve come up to the big city. New York has felt like home until right now.
“Shall we go and find our seats?” I say to Riley. “We can figure out where the restrooms are and get situated.”
We get directed down a corridor and through some more doors. “You’re Orchestra 4, Row CC,” the usher says to us as we arrive at another set of doors. “Best seats in the house,” he says with a grin.
“Thank you,” I say, as he directs us into the auditorium.
We find our seats eventually and I have to triple-check. The seats are three rows from the front and right in the middle. Riley’s going to have the time of her life.
“Mom, you have to take a picture of me!” she says.
There aren’t many people in the auditorium yet, and Riley poses in front of the stage and I take at least three hundred pictures.
We’re posing for a selfie when Riley says, “You think Fisherwill be here?”
I almost lose my balance, I’m so distracted by her question, it’s like my brain can’t process which way is up. “No,” I reply. “Why would you think that?”
“Well, he works with her, doesn’t he? Why wouldn’t he be at her concert.”
Call me naïve, but I didn’t even contemplate Fisher being here. Maybe it’s because I associate him so strongly with Star Falls. “Lots of people work with her, honey. Fisher doesn’t go to all her concerts.”
She looks downcast. “I really thought we’d run into him. I didn’t realize how big New York was.” My stomach churns at her disappointment. I really didn’t realize how attached she’d gotten to him in such a short space of time. It was what I’d tried to avoid, and I thought I’d been successful.
I press a kiss on her head. “Yeah, it’s even bigger than I imagined too.”
“Fisher!” Riley screams, and pulls out of my arms.
I look up—and see the man whose name she’s screaming.
My heart soars in my chest and my body starts to shake. And my entire world grinds to a halt.
Fisher.
My Fisher.
All tousled hair and broad shoulders. He’s right here, coming toward me.
Riley jumps into his arms and he lifts her up, grinning. Pulling her into a hug. Then he looks up and our eyes lock. Even though I know it’s impossible, it feels like the ground is shaking. Like I’m going to topple over. I grab on to the back of the seat where I’m standing so I don’t fall.
I’ve missed him so much.
Did he know we’d be here? Did he ask Vivian to inviteus? Maybe he’d been the one to offer the tickets. I don’t know how these things work.
“Hey, Juniper,” he says, in his easy-breezy British way as he comes closer. “I wasn’t expecting to see you guys tonight.”
“I just knew we’d run into you!” Riley says. “I’ve been telling her all day we’d see you.”
“You have,” I say. “And you were right. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to see you, either.”
“You got tickets?” he asks. “They’re pretty hard to come by.” He leans forward and places a kiss on my cheek. Maybe I’m imagining it, but he seems to linger a little longer than he needs to.
“Vivian sent them,” I explain.
“Oh,” he replies. “That makes sense. That’s nice of her.”
So he didn’t arrange this? Does that make this awkward for him? I know we’d agreed to a clean break, but it’s so good to see him.
“She’s really nice,” Riley says. “I really like her.”
