His comment curled around her like a hug. “I’d say my odds are fifty-fifty.”
He held her gaze for a long moment, something working behind his eyes. She had no idea what he was thinking, but even though her mind was spinning with worries about Sofia, Cass couldn’t help but appreciate the fact he was willing to not only listen to her but let her talk it out as well. There had been no judgment about her broken relationship with her family, just quiet support and unabashed honesty.
He brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear and then dropped his hand to her knee. “So, it’s worth a try?”
That two-step gentle touch went deeper than skin. Her voice was husky when she said, “Definitely.”
It would be easy to fall for him.
That realization didn’t scare her per se, but it left her a little off-kilter because Grayson Beck was the last thing she’d expected to walk into her life. But now that he was there, she really wanted him stay.
Oblivious to her ah-ha moment, Grayson’s hand tightened on her knee as he smiled. “Good.” He let her go and sat back. “If that doesn’t work, we’ll get his last name and whatever other information we can get out of him. Then we’ll run with that and see what we can dig up.”
A little bit of the knot loosened. “Your internet-stalking skills are that good?”
He chuckled. “Not as good as some, but I can get around. What about yours?”
She thought of the searches she, Isa, and Des ran on the regular. “I’m sure I can keep up.”
“That sounds—” A knock at the door diverted his attention, and he frowned. “Hang on a second.” He got up to answer.
Curious, but not wanting to appear nosy, Cass stood, collected their dirty plates, and rounded the counter to the kitchen, keeping her ears trained on the short entry hall.
Chapter 8
Grayson
Grayson had no clue who was knocking on his door, but with the echoes of his brother’s text warning, he knew a visit from his dad was a real possibility, and he couldn’t chance ignoring it. He braced, checked the peephole, and then opened the door to a familiar face. “Miles, hey. What’s up?”
His college-aged neighbor rocked from foot to foot as he dragged his hand through his longish hair. Considering it was standing up at all angles, this had not been the first time he’d done that. “Hey, Gray, man. I’m so glad you’re home. I kind of need your help.”
Grayson heard his sink go on and figured Cass was cleaning up their dinner. “Is it urgent? I’ve got company.”
The younger man looked embarrassed. “Kind of.”
Sighing, Grayson stepped back and held the door open. “Come on in.”
Miles mumbled his thanks and shuffled through.
Grayson closed the door then led the way into his condo. When he hit the kitchen, he found Cass at the sink, setting the last plate in the drainboard. “Cass, this my neighbor Miles. Miles, this is Cass.”
Miles’s anxious air dimmed long enough for him to say hello and once again offer an apology, which Grayson waved off. “Just tell me what’s going on,” Grayson said.
Miles drew in a big breath. “Okay, well, you know how Jenna and I are moving to Denver?”
Clearly, this was going to be a story, so Grayson braced a hand on the back of one of his bar stools and settled in. “At the end of month, right?”
“Yeah. Since that’s, like, right around the corner…”
Amused, Grayson silently corrected to More like two weeks.
“We decided to have one last get-together with our friends the night before last, but it got a little out of hand.”
Familiar with Miles’s tendency to understate, Grayson had to ask, “How out of hand?”
Miles winced. “They kind of trashed our place.” When Grayson didn’t say anything, Miles rushed on. “One of Jenna’s girls, an air mage, she, like, got into a fight with her guy, a water mage, and the next thing we knew things were flying around, and he was using the kitchen sprayer to ward it off, and by the time we got them separated, the place was a freaking mess.”
“Was anyone hurt?” Grayson asked, considering how bad things could turn when it came to hurt feelings and upset magic users.
