“Maybe later,” I hedge. “I guess I’m not that hungry yet.”
Webb’s lips press into an unhappy line. “You really should—” He stops. “You just tell me when you’re ready.” He thinksanother second before saying, “I should have asked before. Did you have any questions that weren’t answered in the meeting?”
My stomach lurches again, but for a different reason. “Um. I don’t think so. At least, I think I got the gist of things. Surveillance on Ken, checking my apartment to see if he left any clues that would prove he broke in, hopefully hacking his computer and deleting the videos… Oh, and protecting me in case Ken totally loses his mind and comes after me. Is that everything?”
By the end, my voice is high-pitched and wobbly. “Sorry,” I add, much more quietly. “I guess I’m still a little stressed.”
“That’s okay, Noelle.” Webb hops off the stool and holds out his hand. “I have an idea. Since you’re not hungry, there’s something else we could do.”
I take his hand. “Like what? A movie?”
As we head back towards the living room, he replies, “We can if you want. But I had a different idea. Something that helped me a lot when I was going through a tough time.”
The thought of Webb struggling brings a tightness to my chest. “Webb. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It happens.” He shrugs. “And I had it a lot easier than most.”
Instead of heading to the couch, Webb turns down the hallway. He opens the first door on the right to reveal a tidy home office, complete with a modern desk, two matching bookcases, and a battered trunk that looks like it might have been from his early days in the Army.
He guides me to the computer desk, pulls out the chair, and waits. Rather than standing there like a stubborn jerk, I sit right away this time. “What do you want to show me on the computer?”
Webb leans over me, his biceps brushing my cheek. He smells of soap and lemon and this indescribable scent thatmakes me want to bite him. Which I don’t. But I compromise by rubbing my cheek on his arm, just for a second.
His hand strokes down my hair. “Noelle.” Then he kisses the top of my head. “You really are…”
“What?”
He hesitates. “Special. You’re really special.”
Awww.If I weren’t sitting, I’d be a puddle on the floor.
“Anyway,” he continues as he clicks the mouse. “There’s a game I want to show you. Have you ever heard ofWorld of Warcraft?”
I turn my attention to the screen, where a montage of fantasy characters moves across it. “Yeah. One of the lighting guys at my last job used to play. He’d talk about it sometimes. Something about a Blood Elf?”
Webb makes a pshhh sound. “Forget Blood Elves. Trolls are where it’s at.”
“Oh?” I’m intrigued by this new side of Webb I’m seeing. “Why?”
“Because that’s what I play,” he replies with a grin. He gives the mouse a few more clicks, then moves my hand to it. “Not that you have to make a Troll character. You can make whatever you want.”
I look up at him. “You want me to playWorld of Warcraft?”
“We’ll both play,” he clarifies. “I have a laptop, too. So we can get you set up with a character, then I’ll help run you through some starting zones.” He hesitates, and that vulnerable look comes back to his eyes. “Unless you don’t want to. It’s fine if you don’t. I just thought… When I left the Army, I had some hard nights. A friend of mine—Gage, he was a Night Stalker, but now he’s living out in Vermont—suggested it to me. He said it might be a good way to get my mind off things.”
“And was it?”
“Yeah. It actually was.”
With me sitting and him standing, I have to crane my head to look up at him. Which I don’t really like. So I get up and pat the seat for him to sit down. “Sit,” I say with a tiny smirk. Once he does, I sit crossways on his lap. “This is better. Now I can see you.”
He smiles. Kisses my cheek. “I agree. Thisisbetter.”
With Webb’s warm strength surrounding me, I can feel more of the day’s tension slipping away. I lean my head on his shoulder and ask, “Why did you need to be distracted? Do you mind telling me?”
His hand, which was stroking my arm, stills. “I don’t want to make this about me right now, Noelle. You’re the important one.”
“But if it’s something that affected you, something that bothers you, I’d like to know. If you’re willing?—”
