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“Do you think he’ll go to your house next? Will he look for the jewelry box there?”
“No, Danny knows I wouldn’t want anything of my mom’s at my house. I left it all here to deal with later. For my ex to throw allover the place, apparently. Along with your things. Ugh, what a mess.” Piper’s shoulders slumped, blond hair hanging in her face. “I’ll help you clean everything up. And I’ll replace anything that’s broken.”
I reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear. “Fuck the mess,” I grumbled. “I’d much rather try those pastries you brought me. I’ll brew a fresh pot of coffee for us.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Hell yeah, I do. It’s kind of our thing now. Sitting. Drinking coffee. That’s what we did a few weeks ago on your porch.”
“But we had chamomile tea last time I was here.”
My shoulder bumped against hers. “Here’s my deep, dark secret. I actually hate herbal tea.” That stuff was disgusting.
She snorted. “Oh my gosh, so do I.”
“I would throw it all in a bonfire and burn it. Every last little dried flower.”
It was good to see her smiling again.
“Come on,” I said. “Carbs and caffeine will make us both feel better.”
“Those are words I live by.”
I stood and held out a hand to help her up. “That’s exactly why I like you.”
SEVENTEEN
Piper
On our wayinto the kitchen, Grayden grabbed the bag of pastries from the side table. He stuck the to-go cup of coffee in his fridge for later. No point wasting good espresso.
After placing a couple of croissants in the toaster oven to warm, he pointed to the new coffeemaker and bean grinder on the counter. “I’ve upgraded the equipment around here.”
“Thank goodness. I hadn’t seen you at Silver Linings for so long, I thought maybe you’d given up caffeine altogether.”
He hummed contemplatively as he poured beans into the grinder.
I sat at the table, his blanket still around my shoulders. My nerves were jittery, but at least my heart had finally started to slow down.
I touched my fingers to my neck, remembering Danny’s fingers there. He hadn’t pushed very hard, but in that moment, I hadn’t known what he might do. I’d been terrified.
Then Grayden had shown up exactly when I needed him, and he’d beenfierce. Now he’d completely switched gears, taking care of me and making sure I was okay.
I was still struggling to catch up.
“Is there a reason you haven’t been to Silver Linings lately?” I asked.
He moved around the small kitchen to get the coffeemaker started. “You said you’d be busy over the holidays. And I wasn’t sure if you wanted to see me after that night at Hearthstone.”
“I thought you had a nice time.”
“I did.”
“I made you coffee that night,” I teased. “It’s our thing, remember?”
He smirked, leaning his hip against the counter. “But then we were talking about my prison time, and it got a little awkward. Unless that was just me.”
I looked down at the table, tracing the grain of the wood with my finger. He wasn’t wrong.
