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*One week later*
Amy sat alone in the catering room at the arena, thankful for some private time with her thoughts. She only hoped no one would come in and disturb her - or worse yet, question her.
She twined a lock of red hair through the fingers of her left hand, recalling Mandy and Adam meeting for the first time. It had been enough to bring her to tears - to downright *bawl*, actually. Thank goodness she'd been able to hold it all in until late that night, back at the hotel. Matt had been sound asleep and had been for at least a solid hour. When she'd felt she couldn't take it anymore, she'd gotten up and padded to the bathroom, locking herself in, sitting down on the floor and crying.
She'd spent a good deal of time in there as she'd wept, remembering - and regretting. She'd always wondered what would have happened if she'd contacted him, told him...
Suddenly, the sound of someone entering the room startled her, and she straightened up, doing her best not to look so pensive. Her gaze softened as she saw it was Adam walking into the room. Yet, at the same time, she was nervous and scared to face him.
"Hi..." he said as he stood over her, his green eyes fixed to her hazel. He was still in shock that she was here.
"Hi." She bit her lip, knowing full well she was too obvious with her nervous gestures.
"You know," the tall blond man said as he pulled up a chair to sit across from her, "since you've been here, we've never actually gotten a chance to talk - catch up."
The redhead's eyes widened for the tiniest of split seconds. Then, regaining her composure, she smiled.
"You're right... How have you been all these years?"
He ran a hand through his long hair, hesitant to tell her the truth. It wasn't that he *blamed* her, but he knew the reason he'd been unable to sustain any meaningful relationship with a woman in the last six years was because of her.
"I've been okay," he finally answered, his gaze to the floor before he trained it back on her. "I've had a pretty successful career, a lot of great friends..."
Amy nodded, her heart pounding as she wondered about another aspect of his life. She also wondered if it were a coincidence he'd deliberately omitted the information about it. She bit her lip nervously, the idea of it almost nauseating to her. Nevertheless, she posed the question.
"So... What about someone special? Is there any special lady in your life, Adam?"
The tall blond man felt a twinge at her question. He'd always wanted *her* to play that role.
"Um... To be honest, no," he replied, meeting her eyes squarely. "I'm not seeing anyone. It's been awhile, actually."
The redhead bit her lip again, a slightly different emotion coursing through her this time. There was just something about the way he'd said that, something about the way he was looking at her, that just made her want to hold him. There seemed to be a vulnerability and melancholy about him she'd not seen six years earlier. And the way he was looking at her... It felt as though he were peering into the very depths of her soul.
Amy snapped back to reality. What the hell was wrong with her? Why would Adam feel the same way toward her after all these years? They hadn't seen each other or even so much as written in all this time. Besides, she had a boyfriend in Matt. But... Why had she felt as though she'd just settled for him all these years?
After another moment of silence between them, she knew she had to get away. She stood abruptly, pushing her chair back, and the blond man stood up with her in a gentlemanly gesture.
"Excuse me, Adam..."
Then, before he could question her, the redhead bounded from the room. She raced
down the hallway and didn't stop until she reached the ladies room - where she locked
herself into a stall and silently wept her heart out.