Free Exit Row by Judi Culbertson Page B

was about to board! Why wouldn’t he have gotten on the plane?”
    â€œMaybe he gave up his seat to someone. I see by the roster that the plane was full. You’re sure he was at the airport.”
    â€œHe said he was.”
    â€œPlans do change.”
    â€œCan you at least check the name of one of the other people?”
    When all else fails, negotiate.
    â€œI told you, Fiona, I can’t do that. The families would have to inquire themselves.”
    â€œBut it would really clear things up.”
    â€œI’m sorry . . . ”
    She sighed theatrically. “I guess this has been a wasted trip then. I’ll have to scrounge around and buy a ticket home.”
    Now he looked alert. “If money’s a problem, I’m sure we can work something out. Like every airline, our flights aren’t always full. If you’re flexible, I know we can find a spot for you.”
    â€œReally?”
    â€œWhen were you thinking of going?”
    The question caught her off guard. “Well, if I wanted to do any sightseeing—Friday morning?”
    â€œGood. Then you can have dinner with me tonight.”
    Was it a serious invitation?
    â€œYou don’t know anyone else in town, do you?”
    â€œNo. But you don’t have to do that.”
    â€œI want to. Where are you staying?”
    â€œThe Turquoise Trail Inn.” Was it a mistake to tell him that?
    â€œI’ll pick you up about seven o’clock. Is that too early?”
    â€œNo, it’s fine. I’m still on Eastern time.”
    â€œIt’s a plan.” He got up from his desk and skillfully ushered her out.

Chapter Sixteen
    O UTSIDE ON THE sidewalk, Fiona blinked and reached in her bag for her sunglasses. The light was harsh now, the leaves of the trees above her a blatant chartreuse. I don’t want to be here . She should have asked Will Dunlea for a voucher to leave immediately. Of course, she could always pick up her things, drive down to Albuquerque, and get a flight from there.
    Yet would being home be any better? Without Lee, without the future they had been planning, she would have to creep back to Sydney Beach and figure out how to live next. How could you do this to me?
    She found a white ironwork bench in the next block and slumped down on it. These were the facts: Lee had never been on the Day Star flight. After a delay it had landed safely in Denver without him on it. Without the other people on it too, evidently, but she could not think about them now.
    Seven months had not been a long time. She and Lee seemingly could not get enough of each other, but love had blinded her to what she did not want to see. Perhaps Lee had been secretly judging her all along, hiding any reservations he felt. When they were finally apart, objectivity had made him realize that the relationship would not work. Fiona had been a charming novelty, not a lifetime partner.
    Always before she had kept some part of herself in reserve, enjoying the men she was with, but knowing she would survive if the relationship ended. As it always had, with some wistfulness but no devastation. This time she had held nothing back—and this is what happened. But why wouldn’t Lee just tell her? Perhaps he could not face her shock, her entreaties, her tears.
    Maybe he was back in New York right now, packing what he wanted to take to South Africa. Maybe he had begged the magazine to tell her he had not been in touch with them. She let herself think what she had been resisting until now: He had met someone else. She remembered how immediate their attraction had been, how they had gone back to his apartment that first night. Maybe that was the way it worked for him. He might have run into a former lover or planned to meet someone in New Mexico.
    Sarah. They had lived together for eight years. Eight years! That was practically like being married. Ironically, she had finally left him because he didn’t want to take the next step, had