Glaring at him, Daryl drew himself to his full height—a good two inches taller than Jason. “I came to apologise to Rachel. Stay the fuck out of it.Please.” He kept his voice soft, which Rachel thought made it sound more menacing. Maybe that was what he was going for.
Barely suppressing an eye roll of her own, Rachel stepped between them and put a hand on their chests. “Stop. Both of you. Jason, thank you, but I’m fine, honestly. No need to protect me.”
“I wasn’t—”
She cut him off with a look.
“Yeah, okay. Sorry.”
Turning to Daryl, she sighed. “You don’t need to apologise. I’m not normally this touchy, but you know…” She waved her hand about. “Fucking bonds.”
He grinned at her, eyes crinkling at the edges, and one of the few times he hadn’t looked all dark and broody since she’d met him. “I can only imagine. But seriously, I should’ve known better. So Iamsorry.”
She smiled at him, her mood lifting. “Thank you. Apology accepted, then.”
With another glare at Jason, Daryl left and caught up with the others.
Rachel watched him go and noticed she wasn’t the only one.
Jason tracked him all the way, frown firmly in place. When Daryl disappeared out the door, Jason faced Rachel again. “What?”
“Nothing.” She kept her expression neutral. Whatever thoughts Jason was having about Daryl were none of her business. She had enough drama of her own.
“I can’t work him out, that’s all.”
“Me neither a lot of the time.” The almost-clear blue sky called to her, and she pointed out the window. “Fancy a walk? I need some fresh air. And coffee.”And something to occupy my mind.
Jason smiled and motioned for her to go first. “Yeah, sounds great. Lead the way.”
