Under the Lights by Rebecca Royce Page A

man’s gaze. It was two in the morning, and yet the streets were filled with people, some who had stopped to stare. If he let them, they’d all snap a photo, and then eventually those pictures would be sold to a gossip website. Ian Mackenzie having a nervous breakdown on the street. He rubbed his head and nodded to the doorman. He didn’t know the man’s name. The daytime guy was Joe.
    “What’s your name, man?”
    The older man nodded at him. “Chris.”
    Ian extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Chris.”
    He managed to not let his voice shake. Maybe he was a better actor than he gave himself credit for because as soon as he got upstairs he would shatter into a thousand pieces.
     

Chapter Six
     
     
    Teirney fingered her grandmother’s blue suit, trying to memorize the texture. She’d take it to the funeral home for Granny to be buried in, and, since her grandmother had wanted a closed casket, this would be the last time Teirney ever saw it.
    Every detail was planned, every decision made months ago when Teirney could still ask her Granny for guidance so she could give the other woman the funeral she wanted. Today was the last day she could ever do anything for her.
    Of course, there was more paperwork than she ever imagined, an amazing amount of bureaucracy accompanied death. It was time to go. Teirney leaned her head against the side of the closet before grabbing the hanger holding the suit and moving toward the front door. She had one more thing to do before she could go on with the day she’d known was coming yet hadn’t been prepared for.
    Balancing her cell phone on her shoulder, she managed to click on Ian’s name before she nearly dropped the phone. It rang once and went immediately to voice mail.
    He was either busy or ignoring her.
    The second option seemed more likely, and she couldn’t blame him.
    “Hi, it’s Teirney. I owe you an apology. Probably a bunch of them. Not any of what happened was your fault. I’m not…in my right mind. Anyway, I hope you have a great show. It’ll be the first I miss. Thank you for last night and for this morning.”
    She disconnected the phone. Her guilt in the middle of her grief was playing havoc with her stomach, and she hadn’t been able to think about eating anything all day. Why had she been so shitty to Ian? Teirney knew the answer.
    Someone had to be blamed for her deciding to take off for the night at the end of her Granny’s life and he had been easy to blame. If she really stopped and acknowledged how desperately she had wanted, no needed, the time away, then she would wash away in the flood of grief sure to follow.
    Basically, her behavior made her a coward, and she couldn’t live with the ramifications. When she next saw Ian, if he would speak to her, she would tell him so. He’d given her a great night and she had shit all over him.
    The other reason for her reaction was harder to deal with. She’d fallen hard for him, and he had an expiration date in her life. Granny left because it was her time. Ian would go—leave his temporarily rented apartment with the stunning views of New York—and return to his Hollywood life. Teirney would be left here to pick up the pieces.
    Maybe she had wanted to go ahead and take the pain of losing Ian now instead of later. All at once.
    Neither of these explanations for how she treated Ian made her very proud of herself. Why could she manage everything except her own emotions?
     
    ****
     
    How could a day pass in a crawl and also feel as if it flew by in a blink of the eye? She held her phone in her hand and stared out the window. Her grandmother’s dishes had all been loaded, each piece wrapped in casing so it wouldn’t break. Teirney would bring it all to the second hand store the next day. The old collection was probably worth something, but without anywhere to keep anything, Teirney wouldn’t be able to keep any of the items which had meant so much to her.
    Everything had to be emptied and sold in an