"As the day is long and the sky is blue, I find myself hopelessly in love with you."
When a fateful stalled elevator brings an intoxicating stranger into the life of Doctor Elliot Kingsley, there is scarce little he can do to stay away from her. Eve...
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"Hi!" Reina says, enthusiastically, soft, barely there, dimples creasing her glowing cheeks, "Jenna said that you're around here somewhere."
Elliot smiles, calmly back at Reina. "I didn't know you would be here."
"Oh, yeah. I'm here," she says, easily, almost laughing, "Ever since I started in tourism, I do make it some of these conferences."
Since I'm standing abaout a foot and a half away from Elliot, she doesn't notice me till that moment, but when she does, Reina turns her dazzling smile on me. "Oh, hi! You must be Jenna's wife, Juliet. I'm Reina."
She holds out her hand to me.
I reach for it, almost in a daze, shaking my head. "No, I'm not Juliet, I'm –"
"Oh, God, I'm so sorry," Reina says, clutching my hand, her bright face turning genuinely apologetic, "I'm such a spaz. It's just that Jenna said that the last time she saw, Juliet was when she was standing next to Elliot." Reina gestures between us. "So, I just assumed."
"No problem," I smile back at her, but I doubt it's as dazzling as hers.
Her head snaps in Elliot's direction. "You must be happy to see your sister married, Eli. I know how much you love her. Speaking of, how's your Mom?" Reina asks, "How's your Dad? Still dishing out the best advice you could hear?"
Staring at Elliot's face through a screen for a month has really attuned me to watching emotions play in his eyes and the subtle movements of his face. I watch as Elliot's face slowly changes from placid to distant to almost worried. He pauses and then, puts a small smile back on to his face. "Would you please excuse me, Reina?"
"Oh, yeah, sure!" she nods at him and he nods back before nodding to me and walking away.
Reina turns to me, her face the same as it was when I told her that I wasn't Juliet. "Oh, God. What did I say?" she asks.
I watch Elliot's disappearing back before turning to her and giving her a small smile. "Reina, uh, Elliot's Dad passed away a few years ago."
Her gasp is so audible that a few people standing around us turn to see what the matter is.
Reina clutches my arm. "Oh, no. I'm such an idiot. I wasn't in the country for the last few years and I went back only at the end of last year and I hadn't heard. Oh, no," her head whips back and forth between my face and the direction in which Elliot went, mesmerizing me by the bounce of her shiny, black hair as she does, "I should apologize, right? Do you think?"
I pat the hand of hers that's still clasped around my arms. "It's okay. I think he just needs a moment."
Reina chews on her bottom lip which is a shade of pink that I could never pull off without looking like a ghost, but against her skin, it makes her look like a Barbie. "Okay," she nods. Giving me a bright smile, she takes her leave. "Well, tell him I'm sorry if you see him. It was nice meeting you."
