His fingers brushed my wrist. Heat shot straight up my arm. I cleared my throat. “Are you… flustered?”
“No,”
I raised an eyebrow.
He looked away, then back at me, shoulders tense in a way they hadn’t been earlier, not even when he admitted to half a dozen crimes.
“I’m not flustered,” he repeated.
I smiled. He exhaled, long and slow, like he wished the elevator would just fall already.
“You good?” he asked softly.
“Yes.”
His eyes skimmed over the oversized shirt hanging off me. “It’s way too big for you.”
I pulled at the hem, feeling it brush the tops of my thighs. “I noticed.”
I moved my heels and set them neatly beside the discarded heap of satin that used to be my dress. The contrast was ridiculous, glittering stilettos, expensive dress, and me now in a Crow’s shirt on an elevator floor.
I took a deep breath.
Okay. Silence. Good. This man has done enough nice things for one day. Clothing assistance, panic coaching, ventilation reassurance… I can be quiet for at least five minutes. I owe him that.
“Why didn’t you eat the mousse?” His voice cut through my thoughts.
“Sorry—what?”
“Earlier. You were upset you didn’t eat the chocolate mousse. Why didn’t you eat it?”
I stared at him like he had asked me why I hadn’t eaten a car.
“Oh. That.” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Because it’s a lot of calories.”
He tilted his head, waiting.
I sighed, embarrassed. “Like,a lota lot. And it was late. And the lighting in that restaurant is brutal and my dress it clings everywhere and, I knew my mother was—” I stopped myself before the rant spiraled into the bow-and-heel matching saga again. “It’s a really long story.”
His brow furrowed slightly.
“So, whyareyou in the building tonight? Other than the power thing,” I asked, quickly changing the subject, pulling my legs tighter under me. His shirt slid off one shoulder, and I tugged it back up quickly.
He stretched his arm over one bent knee. “Meeting my brother. We had a problem that needed to?—”
“Let me guess,” I cut in. “Correcting?”
His eyes met mine.
A tiny smirk. “Yeah.”
I let my head fall back against the wall, the cool metal easing some part of me I hadn’t realized was tense. Silence followed. I closed my eyes for a moment and breathed.
Just breathed.
“What else do you collect?”
My eyes opened slowly. “Why?”
