Break by Vanessa Waltz Page A

incredible.”
    There was nothing like this where I had grown up. We walked back towards Big Ben, the snarl of traffic shuddering down the streets, the red double decker busses groaning as they passed us. Luke grabbed my arm and pulled me back violently when I almost walked into oncoming traffic. Out of habit, I looked left instead of right.
    “Thanks,” I said as bright red patches burned my cheeks. “I’m not used to it yet.”
    “Close call.”
    I recognized some of the statues in the Parliament Square as we walked around it. I noticed a long line of people outside one of the buildings. A large gothic church stood in front of the square with three bold arches covering the three doors. The one in the middle was the largest, and it was where the line formed. “Is that—?”
    “Westminster Abbey? Yes. Do you want to go inside?”
    I rubbed my hands together and tried to conceal how much I wanted to go. “Well, only if you don’t mind.”
    He rolled his eyes at me and pulled my hand. “C’mon.”
    Inside the abbey were vaulted ceilings and high arches with so much detail carved into the stone that I could stare at them for hours. Every surface was covered with marble busts and memorials. Even the floor had them. I squealed in delight when I recognized an author name from my English classes.
    “Look—Charles Dickens!”
    Luke leaned over and nodded. “Cool,” he said in a tone of voice that suggested boredom instead of fascination. Uniquely decorated chapels tucked into the corners of the abbey were dedicated to different members of royalty.
    “You don’t like this stuff, do you?”
    He shrugged as we walked around the choir. “It’s all right. I’ve seen it all before—many times on school trips. I’m more of a thrill seeker. I like hang-gliding, parasailing, white-water rafting, steeplechase—that sort of thing.”
    I never did any of those things. “What if we went to a soccer match?”
    Luke’s face lit up. “Now, you’re talking. Do you like the sport?”
    I used to spend my summers with Natalie on the same recreational soccer team. Her parents paid for the annual fee because there was no way in hell my foster parents would have. “I used to play a lot when I was younger. I miss it.”
    “Well, we should definitely see a match, then. I’ll ask my friend if he would like to join us.” He had already opened his phone and was searching.
    Wow. I guess we have one thing in common. I mentally praised myself for bringing it up.
    I watched as his fingers moved rapidly over his smartphone.
    “There’s a match today at Boleyn Ground. It’s West Ham versus Tottenham Hotspur. Oh my God, we have to see it.”
    “Can you get tickets?”
    He looked at me and smiled as if I had made a joke.
    Well, that answers that.
    As we walked out of Westminster Abbey, Luke drummed his fingers over his smartphone. “I have meetings this afternoon, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to make it. I’ll leave early if I have to. I haven’t been to a football match in ages.”
    Luke rubbed his hands together with a manic grin on his face. It was nice to see a gleam of excitement in his eyes instead of his mask of polite amusement. I didn’t argue as Luke called a cab to take him to work, giving the driver explicit directions to take me wherever I wanted.
    “The game starts at three o’clock. Best to be there at two-thirty. I’ll call and send a car wherever you are.”
    He leaned across the seats and his lips brushed my cheek. When he pulled away, his smile was full of so much warmth that my breath caught in my throat.
    “Have a good day, Jessica.”
    Luke slid out of the car and gave me a small wave through the window. As soon as he had left the car, I felt the absence of him like a hole in my stomach. I was still looking out the window when the driver cleared his throat. He was staring at me through the rear-view mirror.
    “Uh—can you take me to the Tower of London?”
    * * *
    Breathless, I stepped out of