Once again, the young goth barely acknowledged her, and she had to bite down another urge to strangle him. She read his nametag.

“Cliff? The phone in the booth won’t take my credit card. Do you think I could ask you to make a call for me? I need a ride.”

“Okay. Who do you want me to call?”

She opened her mouth, ready to recite Stuart’s number, but then closed it. She was a complete mess, and the last thing she wanted to do was to meet his fiancé looking like this. She could ask Stuart to come alone, but she didn’t really want him to see her like this, either.

“I guess I need a cab,” she said.

“You can just go outside. You should find at least one if you follow the building around the side to the left.” Again, he pointed, his book still open, his hand still propping up his head. She had a wild thought then, picturing his head simply rolling off if he moved his hand from his chin, and she had to bite back a braying laugh. Something in her expression must have given this thought away, as he frowned slightly.

“Thanks,” she managed, and marched back outside into the freezing morning air. The wind tried to ruffle her skin-tight skirt and shirt, and she pulled her blazer ineffectively closer around her, now shuddering with cold.

She rounded the building, and a single, late-model cab was sitting next to a TAXI stand sign. The cab, like everything she’d seen so far in this town, was festooned in Valentine’s decorations, whether permanent or temporary—red and white hearts and cupids over a bright-pink body. Sweetheart Rides, the company was called. She waved at the driver, who popped out, opening the back door for her. She dropped inside a blissfully warm, cozy back seat. The space smelled strangely of vanilla and cinnamon, and she inhaled deeply, the last of the spoiled milk from the bus leaving her sinuses. There was a white fleece blanket with red hearts back here, which she gratefully draped over her nylon-clad legs.

The driver climbed in front and slammed the door, then turned to make eye contact with her.

“You must be freezing in those clothes!”

Captain Obvious, she thought. “Luggage was lost.”

“On the bus?” he asked.

She sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“Seems like you’ve had a rough time of it. Sorry if this is your first time in Loveland. Hopefully things start turning around for ya.”

“Thanks. They couldn’t get worse, I suppose.”

“Where we headed?”

Her mind was completely blank. Stuart had made the reservation for her and had given her all the information in her phone, but that was days ago now, and she hadn’t really been paying attention. Still, she remembered that the place had a funny, kitschy name in keeping with all the other Valentine’s-themed things she’d already seen here.