Heat climbed up my cheeks.Yup, great third impression.
“Yeah, but no.” I forced a laugh, hurrying to pick up a blanket from the floor between the living and dining areas. “I was running behind yesterday morning. Fell asleep on the couch reading, woke up late, and tore through the place getting ready.”
After artfully draping the blanket over the end of the couch, I started straightening the books, hoping he wouldn’t notice they were all military romance novels with half-naked men on the covers.
This is so embarrassing.
I paused on the one next on my to-be-read list. The cover was mostly man-chest, but included the lower portion of his face. From what was visible, he looked a bit like Garrett. Broad chest, defined abs, short beard, maybe scars from his military days...
No, he looked likeGalahad. A knight in shining armor, protecting his lady from?—
Stop it, Grace. Just stop.
I glanced up at Garrett, who furrowed his brows at me before continuing through the apartment. His T-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders with every movement, making him resemble those book covers even more.
Oh my god, Grace, you have to stop it.
“What about that?” He nodded at the open kitchen cabinets. “Is that normal, too? It’s not a sign someone else has been here?”
“Like I said, I was running late.” I rushed over to close the cabinets. “I was going to make coffee but didn’t have time.”
He barely nodded and continued toward the sliding balcony door.
“I’m not normally like this.” What did I mean? That I wasn’t normally an awkward mess? A slob? And why did I feel the need to tell him that?
Because Iwasan awkward mess. I had a former operator stalking through my apartment with a gun, silently judging my habits, while all I could do was ogle him.
Andthe place looked like it had been ransacked. I darted around after him, straightening things, gathering clothes, trying not to die of embarrassment. I’d thought about hiring a cleaning service a year ago, but my mother had suggested a grown woman should be able to take care of twelve hundred square feet on her own. She wasn’t wrong, but I worked long hours and didn’t care enough when I got home.
“I’m going to finish checking the other rooms.” Garrett was probably one of those guys who always put everything away in the same spot. Every time.
Work-Grace was like that. Home-Grace might have let things slide. Not like I had a lot of visitors. My parents visited, Izzy came by, and a few other friends dropped in every once in a while, but none of those were people I needed to impress. And there hadn’t been any men in my life for over a year.
You’re rambling, Grace.
To yourself!
I followed Garrett into the bedroom. At least the bed was made—score one for falling asleep on the couch.
He checked the window latches first. The way he moved was undeniably primal, as though he understood exactly what his body could do, and was constantly in complete control. Maybe his reaction at Tristan’s hadn’t been an overreaction. Maybe it was his training. Maybe he really had been concerned for my safety, not just angry that I hadn’t calledhimspecifically.
“Do you honestly think someone would try to break in through a second-floor balcony or window?” I’d always thought living anywhere above ground level was safe.
“People will do almost anything when they want something badly enough.”
I took in a breath to retort or point out he hadn’t found anything out of the ordinary. That there was no boogeyman, no one hiding behind the shower curtain.
But the words died on my tongue.
My jewelry box was closed.
Garrett navigated around the edge of the bed, opened the closet with one hand, leaning one way, then the other, leading with the gun. All he found were some neatly hung clothes and a heap of dirty laundry.
“That’s weird.”
“What’s weird?” He lifted his shirt, just enough to holster the weapon.
I should have been checking him out. Instead, I stood in front of my dresser, staring at the closed jewelry box which sat next to the photo of my older brother. “I’m sure I left this open yesterday morning.”
