The Midnight Tour

looked like she wanted to rip my face off.”

“She always blows everything out of proportion. I mean, I have to look at other women sometimes. You know? Or I’d bump into them.”

Dana laughed softly. “So that’s why you had your eyes glued to me—to avoid a collision.”

“Exactly.” Smiling, he added, “Plus...uh...because I couldn’t exactly help looking at you.”

“Why’s that?”

“You know.”

“Right. I know. I’m too big to miss.”

Owen laughed. “That’s not why. It’s because...I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful.”

Dana’s face suddenly turned scarlet. “Well, thanks. That’s very nice of you to say so.”

“It’s just the truth. You’ve seen mirrors, haven’t you?”

“I don’t look that great to me. Anyway, Owen..” She took a deep breath and said, “Back to you and Monica.”

“If it’s optional, could we maybe skip it?”

“It’s mandatory. To me, it is—since you came back today without her and I might be part of the reason why.”

“Well...”

“Also, I see that you’ve got tickets in your pocket for the Midnight Tour.”

Nodding, he patted them.

What’ll I say about the second ticket?

“Tomorrow night’s tour?” Dana asked.

“Yeah.”

“Monica hates Beast House. She also hates me.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t...”

“You’re probably not bringing her on the Midnight Tour.”

“Nope.”

“And you’re probably not planning a return trip to San Francisco before tomorrow night, are you?”

“No.”

“So you’re just leaving Monica alone in a hotel in San Francisco for a few days?”

“I’m not really planning to go back at all.”

“What?”

“I left her. I snuck out of the room while she was asleep and...”

“Good God. Didn’t say a Word?”

“No way.”

“Did you leave a note or something?”

He shook his head.

“She might think you got kidnapped or murderer or something.”

“I doubt it. I took all my stuff with me. She’ll probably figure I took an early flight home. And she’ll know why, too.”

Grimacing, Dana shook her head. “That’s an awful thing to do to someone, Owen.”

“Yeah, I know. But she’ll be fine.”

“She won’t be fine. She’ll be devastated.”

He smirked. “You don’t know Monica.”

“Any woman would be devastated if she’s on a trip with a guy and he disappears on her.”

“Yeah, well. I know it wasn’t a nice thing to do, but she had it coming She was asking for it.”

“Where’re you from?”

“We flew up from Los Angeles. And she has her return ticket. She also has plenty of money and everything. She can probably fly home today if she wants to. Or she can just go ahead and enjoy the rest of the vacation without me. I’m sure she’ll enjoy it a lot more without me. All she ever did was whine about everything. I mean, you saw her. She’s horrible. And she thought she had me. She actually believed I was going to marry her. I had to get out before it was too late.”

Dana kept grimacing and slowly shaking her head. “Were you engaged?”

“Not yet.”

“How long had you been going together?”

“Since about Christmas.”

“And you dumped her because of yesterday?”

“Sort of.”

“Because she ruined your tour of Beast House? Or did it have to do with seeing me?”

Owen squirmed.

“I was ready to break up with her before yesterday,” he said. “I just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.”

“So what was it about yesterday that made up your mind?” .

“She was just so bitchy about everything.”

“Did I have anything to do with your decision?”

Go for it, man!

He shrugged and said, “Sort of. It was like a combination of things. I wanted to come back and do the tour without Monica screwing it up, and I really wanted to take the Midnight Tour—she never would’ve let me do that. Any...I guess I was sort of hoping to see you again.”

“You didn’t dump her because of me, did you?”

“Not really.”

“Oh, terrific, not really. Means maybe you did.”

Owen cringed and shrugged. Unable to look at her, he lowered his gaze to the grass in front of his shoes. Then he said, “It’s, uh...not like I expected to go out with you or anything. I mean, someone like you...you’ve probably already got guys all over the place. Last thing you need is someone like me. But the thing is, looking at you? And, you know, we talked a little when you were taking the players back? The thing is, you’re like everything Monica isn’t. Everything a guy could ever ask for. And there I was, stuck with this sneering, snotty bitch. How could I throw my life away with someone like her when there are people like you in the world? You know?”

“You’ve maybe got me overrated,” Dana said. Her voice sounded odd.

Owen lifted his gaze.

Dana’s eyes were wet and shiny. Frowning, she turned away.

“I’d better get back to work.” She started walking.

Owen stayed by her side. “I’m sorry if I upset you.”

“I’m fine.”

“And you don’t have to worry, I won’t hang around bothering you. I won’t ask you out or anything.”

She glanced over at him.

He tried to smile. “Not unless you want me to.”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I’ll have to think about it.”

Oh, my God! She’s going to think about it!

“Where’ll you be staying tonight?” she asked.

Wow!

“I’m not sure. Probably the Welcome Inn, if they have a vacancy.”

“You haven’t checked in yet?”

“No. I was planning to go over and register after lunch.”