Page 8 of Fauxmance

His words reminded me of how hungry I was—though I should probably fast until the wedding in hopes of fitting into my dress. Ugh.

We walked out to the hall and stood side by side. Definitely not a hallucination, I thought as I caught a whiff of his scent. A clean mix of evergreen, mint, and something uniquely male. Dreams never smelled this good.

"You mind if we share?" he asked.

"What? The elevator?" I gave him a smile. "Of course not"

"Great, I wasn't looking forward to taking the stairs. Old knee injury."

I tilted my head to the side. "Would you, though, if I told you I was uncomfortable?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation. "Are you? Just say the word."

"That's okay. But you should know that I carry a lot of things in this bag," I said, patting mypurse. "Those include but are not limited to pepper spray, afog horn, and a very sharp nail file. I also have a black belt in karate. And my mom owns a large collection of needles in all different shapes and sizes."

The guy's eyes were wide. "Message received. You're a little scary."

As we stepped onto the elevator, I shrugged.

"Maybe that's why I need therapy," I said.

"Maybe I should've askedyouto take the stairs."

"Too late now," I said as the doors closed, and we began our descent. "You've got nothing to worry about. Just don't try any funny business."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he said.

We each moved to opposite sides of the space, and I couldn't help but smile. This was the most fun I'd had all day. Yes, I'd told one little fib: my karate expertise only lasted until I got my green belt. It was my favorite color, and honestly, I was only in it for the accessories. Also, Mom's collection of needles was vast, but I doubted she'd use them in a violent way. It had been hilarious, though, watching tall-dark-and-handsome's facial expressions.

The elevator jolted, and I squeaked.

"What was that?" I said.

"Don't worry," he replied. "It does this sometimes."

We sank several more inches before it jerked to a halt once again.

"Just getting the kinks out."

The whole thing shivered as if trying to move—before it stopped completely. The lights turned off a moment later. The entire space was pitch black for about five seconds before the emergency lights clicked on. My heart was pounding. I looked around wildly, feeling like a caged animal.

"How about now?" I said. "Should I worry now?"

The stranger's brows were pinched, but he shook his head. "No, we'll be okay. There's got to be an emergency button we can press, a way to call out, something."

But we both stared at the panel for long minutes, and there was no magical red button.

"Phones," I said, digging through my purse.

"I don't think there's service in here," he said.

Darn it. He was right. I didn't even have a signal. My cell was about as useless in this situation as water on a sinking ship.

"Let's scream," I said. "Someone will have to come if we're loud enough. Right?"

"It's worth a shot."

We yelled. We hollered. The high-pitched shout that came out of my mouth may have been at a frequency only dogs could hear. But gah, I was starting to freak out. What if no one heard us? Would anyone come looking? Did the elevator emit some kind of Batman-type signal when there was trouble afoot? I doubted it.

---