She stopped.
“You should try to sleep. Jean’s contact will get back to him, and we’ll have more information tomorrow. We can’t do anything about it tonight.”
She scrubbed her hands over her face and let her shoulders fall. “I know.”
I pulled back the thick duvet on the bed and waved her in. “Get some sleep.”
“What about you?” she asked as she got in, sliding her legs under the covers. “Where are you sleeping? Not on the couch again?”
“Yes, on the couch in the main room.”
“You’ve barely slept in days, Garrett.” She settled her hands in her lap. “Why don’t you stay in here?”
“I don’t sleep well in chairs.”
“The bed’s big enough for two people.” It was a standard double, maybe. Enough room for two people who didn’t mind being close. “I trust you.”
“I’ll sleep well enough on the couch.” More likely, I’d spend another night dozing in fifteen- to thirty-minute intervals, thencheck the locks, look out the windows, and open my laptop. I was on a job, not touring Europe for fun.
“You’re too tall for that couch, too.” Goddamn, the innocence in her face. The flush on her cheeks.
Iwantedto cave in to everything she offered, but if I lay down next to her, she’d feel how my body wanted something other than sleep.And you can’t do that, Garrett. Be Galahad, for once.“I’ve slept in worse places, Grace. I’ll be fine.”
For a moment, I thought she’d argue or push back the way she so often did. But she let her shoulders soften again.Hadit been an invitation for more? No. She was sweet and kind. She was thoughtful and positive. She offered her heart and soul to the people around her, and that’s all this was. She wanted me to sleep and would sacrifice her own to ensure it happened.
I moved toward the door. “Good night.”
“Garrett?”
I stopped.
“Can you just... stay? Until I fall asleep?” She pulled the duvet up to her waist, still sitting. “I don’t want to be alone with my head right now.”
I should have said no. Should have walked out, put a door between us, and found the couch. But I crossed to the lamp on the nightstand and switched it off. Moonlight spilled through the window, turning everything to silver and shadow. I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the wall.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
We sat in silence for a while, the patterns on the bed shifting as clouds covered the moon. What was I doing? I was letting her in, which was dangerous. But she’d discovered so much tonight; her world had been completely shaken. She was safe here, which meant I could offer her the comfort she needed.
“Lie down,” I whispered. “You can’t sleep sitting up.”
She slid her legs further down the bed and put her head on the pillow. Like the last two nights, she curled up on her right side, facing me. Her voice was soft in the darkness. “You never talk about your family. Do you have any?”
“Nothing to talk about. Parents are gone. No siblings.”
“I’m sorry.”
I shrugged, though she probably couldn’t see it. “It was a long time ago.”
“Were you close with them?”
“My mother.”
“What was she like?”
The question landed hard inside my chest. I should have left. Should have sat on the other side of the bed at least, so she wasn’t looking at me, even though my face was in shadow.
“I bet she was beautiful.”
