The Admirer's Secret by Pamela Crane

sifting away her giddiness. Most evenings she spent eating dinner with her mother, so she hadn’t gone grocery shopping in weeks. This routine began after Haley came home from a bridal shower one Saturday afternoon a few years ago feeling unusually lonely. She wanted to be happy for the glowing bride-to-be, but she was secretly jealous. Insanely jealous. That same evening, she saw her house differently, with a sad realization that there were no personal effects from a man who loved her, no framed pictures of memories with a special someone. Dinner for one had gotten old, and a roommate was out of the question, because being obsessively neat made it next to impossible for anyone without unconditional love to put up with her nagging.
    For years, Haley settled comfortably into her private space. But recently , despite her desire to chase dreams of Hollywood movie-making, she found herself wanting real companionship—more than wanting, hungering for it—and spending evenings with her mother was a comfortable distraction from the void. It was by no means the solution, but dwelling on her loneliness hadn’t gotten Haley anywhere, so she returned to the only person who truly loved her, even with her flaws. Gabrielle always accepted Haley no matter what foul mood accompanied her, willing to be Haley’s retreat during the lows in life. And Haley had her fair share of lows recently. 
    Cold air seeping from the fridge reminded her that Marc was waiting upstairs, and she felt her insides flutter. Nervous anticipation crept up on her, and she started running possible topics of conversation through her mind. After reaching the top of the steps, she paused before making her presence known, eyeing his broad shoulders and back while his fingers moved furiously over the keyboard.
    “How’s it going?” she interrupted while approaching him from behind, one hand offering the drink.
    “Oh, thanks.” He accepted the water and took a swig before continuing. “I think I figured out the problem; it wasn’t your monitor after all. Though you still should consider getting a new one before this one quits on you. You should be up and running in no time. You said you lost a file. Is this it?”
    She leaned forward, and her cheek felt his hot breath pass over it. She nodded. “That’s it.”
    “I’m not trying to be nosy, but it comes with the job. It seems like the file you lost was a story of some sort. Are you a writer or something?” Marc’s curiosity stirred Haley. So he wanted to know more about her. That was a step in the right direction.
    “Aspiring screenplay writer, actually. Right now I’m just a secretary; it’s not really the most glamorous life.”
    “Nothing is as glamorous as people make it out to be. But that’s great that you have passion about something. A lot of people lack that part of life and just become complacent.”
    “Yeah, writing helps me feel like maybe I can make a difference in the world; share a message, y’know?”
    “Sounds like you know what you want. I’ve always felt that each person is designed with purpose. It’s what we are here for, right?”
    “Exactly! Can you explain that to my mom? She doesn’t understand how much I love this work. She thinks it’s a waste of time. It intrigues me how a movie can capture the heart. My goal is to get a screenplay made into a movie someday.”
    “Wow — so you could be famous. Maybe I should get your autograph now.” He grabbed a piece of pink heart-shaped paper and pen off her desk and thrust them at her with a forged starstruck urgency.
    “Ha! We’ll see. It’s a cutthroat business.”
    “Hey, if you don’t believe in yourself, who will? If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you should always follow your dreams.”
    Déjà vu hit Haley like a ton of bricks. A thought skittered through her mind that perhaps Marc was an angel sent to remind her of her dad’s words, but she hurled the childish notion aside.
    “So what kind of