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how Blake knew the time; he had no watch.
    His eyes shifted over the waiting people. “They worry about you because you talk to me.”
    Livia realized the other commuters were stealing glances at them. She turned back to Blake like a flower seeking sun.
    “They can kiss my ass. I’d rather talk to you than stand with those spineless nimrods any day.”
    Blake looked fretful. “Livia, you’re not invisible to them. There’s a stigma for talking to me.”
    “They mean nothing to me.”
    “Be that as it may, I’d like to see you have a seat again, so you better go stand with the spineless nimrods.” He stood. “Would you like me to hold on to your cooler since it’s empty now? I’ll return it to you tonight.” He motioned to her arm, but Livia had to step back into his self-imposed shade prison to pass the cooler to him.
    “That’s so thoughtful. Thank you.” Livia smiled.
    Blake gently traced his fingertips over her hand before he took the strap. The jolt from this touch was more than Livia could ever remember feeling during Chris’s sloppy kisses.
    Since they seemed to be sharing truths today, Livia decided to take one last leap. “So, Blake, what are the symptoms of your sun allergy?”
    She expected a rash, maybe hives. Nothing prepared her for his answer.
    Blake looked around the platform covertly before he locked his gaze on hers. “Livia, I’m made of glass, but it only shows in the sun. I can’t be caught in sunlight or everyone will know what I am.” He looked eager for her to understand.
    Now it was Livia’s turn to swallow something that wasn’t there. She recovered as quickly as Blake had. “I’m sorry to hear that, Blake. But I bet you’re very beautiful in the sun.” She watched as his face became triumphant.
    He thinks I believe him.
    Then, with her world radically different than it had been even a few minutes before, Livia walked toward the arriving train in a fog. Onboard, she magically got a seat and a thumbs-up from Blake when she looked back at him on the platform. She waved, and he smiled like she was the eighth wonder of the world. Livia didn’t realize she had tears on her cheeks until the train hit the Marble Hill stop.
    I’m an idiot—of course he’s broken. He must be so very broken.

    On the train ride home, Livia tried to stop chastising herself. She’d spent the day avoiding everything she should have been doing. With an entire faculty of psychologists around her, Livia had failed to ask a single one about Blake’s particular delusion. She also kept sending Chris to voicemail and ignoring his text messages. She felt another twinge of guilt as she freshened her vanilla lip gloss and fluffed her hair just before the train pulled in to Poughkeepsie. As the car emptied of its weary passengers, Livia looked for Blake’s messy hair and lanky frame.
    He stood dead center in the midst of the flow of exiting commuters. Livia’s anticipatory smile turned into outright giggling when she saw his delighted face. People continued to pour out around them, but Livia and Blake stood fast like two river stones, immovable in the current.
    She finally addressed him. “Hi.”
    “Hello, Livia.” His silvery voice surrounded her name like a veil.
    One of the commuters shoved Livia from behind. Not hard, just enough to let her know the regularly scheduled traffic pattern had been interrupted. With one hand, Blake steadied Livia and with the other, he prevented the male commuter from passing.
    Livia was about to tell Blake to let the man go— No harm, no foul —when she caught a glimpse of his face. He looked like an avenging angel.
    “Apologize to the lady,” Blake’s voice was smooth, calm, and deadly. He’d also unleashed his bright green eyes on the poor bastard, who looked like he might wet his pants.
    “Sorry.” The guy looked relieved when Blake nodded and let him pass.
    “Are you okay?” The concern in Blake’s voice made Livia laugh again. He was acting like she’d