Page 41 of Love On and Off Set

No Luigi. I’d only had him a month, and he still didn’t trust me. That kind of abuse took a long time to overcome. We’d work on it together, though.

Chapter Seven

Hallstein

Normally I didn’t mind that I lived in a suburb outside of Vancouver. Port Coquitlam was, reasonably affordable. And I didn’t have to cross a bridge to get to Vancouver, which was a bonus.

But that didn’t help me as I sat snarled in traffic. I’d gotten to the museum on time. The vase sat nestled in the blanket bed I’d created for it behind my seat. Now, though, I was stuck mid-span on the Lion’s Gate Bridge, and traffic northbound—my lane—wasn’t moving. Equally disturbing was the fact there was no southbound traffic. During the height of rush hour, there should have been two lanes.

All this meant there was likely a nasty accident that I couldn’t see.

A call rang through on my Bluetooth. “Hello?”

“Hey, Hallsy.”

Jesus. “Hello, Myles.”

“Cole and Donovan are both stuck in traffic. You too?”

“Yes.” I glanced around. “I’m contemplating turning around and going to the Ironworker’s Memorial Bridge.”

He whistled. “That’s miles out of the way.”

“True…but I’d be moving.”

“Oh, pumpkin…no patience?”

Pumpkin? Again…Jesus. “It’s Hallstein, Myles. Not Hallsy. Not pumpkin.” I sighed. “Why are you not stuck in traffic?”

“Because I live in Lower Lonsdale. It’s one bus up the hill.”

“Ah, you live in North Vancouver. That’s…convenient.”

“Well, as long as I don’t need to get to Vancouver. Otherwise, it’s a Seabus or a bridge.”

“Point made.”

“Hey, you could park downtown and take the Seabus across. Then hop a bus or a cab.”

I barked out a laugh. “You think I’m taking a three-million-dollar vase on public transit?”

He laughed. “Okay, point taken. Look, Seamus also lives in North Van. He’s checking in with everyone who might be stuck. He said not to panic because, like I said, Cole isn’t here either, and—”

“Yes!”

“Okay, I just—”

“Traffic’s moving. I have to go.” I cut the call. Unless I had to, I didn’t even speak to people in the car while driving. Distractions could prove fatal.

I inched forward and eventually over the bridge. Whatever the accident had been, it was gone. I spotted colored plastic, likely from a headlamp. I hadn’t heard an ambulance, which gave me some hope. If it had been a fatal accident, we would likely have been held up longer or there would’ve been a coroner’s van.

And that thought gave me chills. I’d nearly needed one of those.

When I arrived at the studio, I found myself approaching the building at the same time as Cole.

He grinned and held the door. “After you.”

“Uh, thanks.”