Chapter 11
Several hours later Kathryn crept silently from the room, backing slowly into the dimly lit hallway. Her mind was a maelstrom of emotions and it was small wonder she was unaware of the singular figure approaching from the elevators. Gently closing the door, she turned and walked right into Nick.
"God!" she cried out in terror, realizing only seconds later that she was in no immediate danger. "Nick, I thought you were --"
He could only stare in amazement. She was beautiful, more beautiful than before, and wore the look of a woman who had been well and truly loved.
Self-consciously, she smoothed her dress, then her hair. "What?" She blushed, wondering if by dressing in the dark she had made the horrific error of putting something on inside-out. Afraid to chance looking down, she simply blushed again.
"Do you need a ride home? It's late ..." He trailed off, wondering why in the hell AJ wasn't with her.
"No," she replied quickly. "Umm, actually, my car is downstairs and ... I ... I just need to get home. It's been a long day and--"
"A lot has happened. I can tell." He grinned.
"Damn," she mumbled. "Stop it, Nick, this is really difficult for me." Hot tears stung the back of her eyes and she blinked them back.
"AJ -"
"Is asleep. You have an early call tomorrow and he needs his rest. He knows I'm going, Nick, I didn't just sneak out."
Now it was Nick's turn to blush. "Sorry, I shouldn't have jumped to the wrong conclusion."
"I have to go. Besides, you need to get to sleep too."
As she turned to go, he called after her, "Kat?"
Looking back over her shoulder she paused, her eyebrows lifted in question.
"Be happy. He loves you, you know."
A single tear spilled and traced its way down her face. "Yes, I know. See you this afternoon."
Nick watched until the doors of the elevator had closed behind her, then turned to make his way to his room. Pausing briefly, he considered waking AJ up and begging for details, but decided he valued his ability to stand upright. Instead, he turned for his own room and a few blessed hours of rest.