GRAY OFFERED TO take me for coffee themoment the police were done taking my statement, and I’d never been more gratefulto anyone in my life. I couldn’t have spent another minute standing in themiddle of the disaster zone my apartment had become.
It was like my entire lifehad been turned over and rifled through. Probably because ithad.
Louisa had promised me thelock would be taken care of, and Sergeant Moreno had helped me put my papersback together while I told her the story of what had happened. It was just thebookcase to take care of, really.
The thought of handling itstill made me sick.
I wanted to ask Gray if he’d help me, but Iknew that wasn’t his job. If I needed help cleaning up, that was what thebuilding’s maid service was for.
It was just that the thoughtof a stranger rearranging my thingsagainmade me uncomfortable.
“How do you take yourcoffee?” Gray asked as he led me to a cozy table toward the back of the coffeeshop he’d automatically walked to. I assumed he knew it, since he hadn’t had tostop to look even once.
I’d never been in herebefore, but the change of scenery was exactly what I needed. Sitting downhelped, too, and I collapsed a little too heavily into one of the quirky,mismatched chairs the place had to offer.
“Uh. Black, no sugar.”
Gray raised an eyebrow.
“It dilutes the caffeine,” Iexplained. “Coffee is just the most palatable delivery system for caffeine we’veinvented.”
He looked at me for a fewmore seconds, taking a breath as though he was about to say something, but thenletting it out without speaking.
Not that it was hard to tellwhat he was thinking.Should you be having caffeine when you’re still shakinglike a leaf in a hurricane?
But he didn’tsayit, so I didn’t have to feeltoo guilty about my life choices. I wasn’t sure I would have had the strengthto argue if he’d told me I couldn’t have it.
Honestly, I almostwantedhim to. Some selfish part of me would have loved to be taken care of rightabout now, though I knew better than to ask for it.
Again, not Gray’s job. This wasalready above and beyond.
Besides, I knew what happenedto needy people. They got abandoned. The last thing I needed was for Gray toabandon me right now.
“Black it is. Any allergiesI should know about?”
“No,” I said. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want you todie suddenly on me,” Gray said, as though it was obvious. “You need to eatsomething. It’ll help with the shock.”
My stomach knotted up at thethought of putting anything that wasn’t a liquid in it, but as it turned out, Ireally didn’t have the strength to argue. Graywastaking care ofme, and it was more than I deserved, and who the hell was I to say no when abeautiful man was offering me coffee and food and company when I needed itmost?
“Okay,” I agreed before I’deven finished the thought. “Yeah, sure. I hate cherries.”
“Really?” Gray asked.
“Uh.” The tips of my earsburned with embarrassment. Had I insulted him? What if he came from a long lineof cherry farmers and I’d just told him I hated his entire heritage?
That seemed unlikely, but Iwas still on edge, and it wasn’t literally impossible.
“I hate ‘em, too,” he said,beaming at me.
Oh.
That was a relief.
“No cherries, promise,” headded, heading for the counter.
Now that I was alone, Icould hear the blood rushing in my ears all over again. The world closing inaround the edges, the faintest hints of panic creeping into the corners of myconsciousness, just waiting for me to drop my guard so they could jump me andleave me a sobbing mess in public.
