Page 15 of Mafioso's Muse
She pressed her lips together. ‘Truthfully, I already knew that. I spotted you from the dress circle earlier and saw that you were alone.’
‘Ah.’ The faintest smile came and went on his face. ‘You should be focused on the play.’
‘I was.’ Again, too quickly. ‘I just happened to glance over.’ She cleared her throat. ‘Do you prefer to watch alone?’
He took a slow step towards her. ‘Depends on my mood. I wasn’t up for small talk this evening.’
‘Oh.’ Her hands went hot. ‘And here I come with the small talk.’
One corner of his mouth lifted. ‘I don’t mind it so much with you.’
She searched his eyes, then swallowed.
‘There you are’ came a voice behind her.
Willow jumped at the sound of Harrison’s voice, then looked over her shoulder.
‘I’ve been looking everywhere for you,’ Harrison said, clearly agitated. ‘Everyone’s going back in.’ He stopped in his tracks when he saw Vaughn standing there. ‘Mr Gallo?’
Vaughn nodded a greeting.
Willow drew a breath and found a smile. ‘Sorry. I spotted Mr Gallo in the foyer and thought I’d come say hello.’
Harrison looked between them. ‘Great.’ His tone didn’t match the sentiment. ‘You enjoyingLes Misérables?’
Another nod from Vaughn. ‘I am.’
‘Good. Well, I’ll steal my date away so we don’t disturb you any longer.’ He extended a hand to Willow, summoning her like a toddler. ‘Let’s go.’
Of all the words he could have said, he chose ‘date.’
Vaughn regarded Harrison for a long moment before his gaze slid to hers, his expression amused. ‘You two have a good evening.’
Heat crawled up Willow’s neck. ‘Goodnight, Mr Gallo.’
He pulled his cigarette case from his pocket, eyes never leaving her. ‘Goodnight, Miss Hayes.’
She turned and walked over to Harrison, who placed his hand at the small of her back as he guided her inside. She stared at the footpath the whole time, not looking up until they reached the doors.
‘I wouldn’t be alone on a dark street with a man like Vaughn Gallo if I were you,’ Harrison said once they were well out of earshot. ‘You need to be smarter than that.’
She kept her eyes ahead. ‘Why? Does he have a history of hurting women or something?’
‘Probably. Nothing would surprise me when it comes to that family. The rule of thumb with them is just because they haven’t been convicted of something, it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.’
Willow fell silent as they made their way through the foyer, resisting the urge to look back. Harrison remained painfully close as he escorted her up to the dress circle, as though he were afraid she might flee. The protective big brother act was suffocating at times.
When the lights dimmed once more, Willow’s gaze went to the balcony where Vaughn had been seated earlier, but he was nowhere to be found. She kept looking over, waiting for him to return, but he never did.
The curtain fell, and the audience erupted into applause as they rose from their seats. Harrison looked at Willow with a wide smile. ‘The orchestra was very good, don’t you think?’
‘Amazing,’ she agreed, trying to compete with the noise. Though in truth, she had been distracted through most of the second half wondering why Vaughn hadn’t returned.
After a few minutes, the applause died out and the lights came on. The pair joined the slow-moving crowd making their way out.
‘I appreciate you coming along,’ Harrison said as they headed down the stairs. ‘Always helpful to get a woman’s insights.’
She gave him a weak smile. ‘Not sure how helpful I was.’