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She turned to him but couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze. "Do you want to come in for a cup of coffee?"
He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Sure, but I can't have caffeine this late at night. It's already one, and I'll have a ton of paperwork to follow up on tomorrow."
He stepped inside and shut the door.
"But tomorrow is Sunday," she said as she kicked off her heels.
He nodded. "I know. My hours are inconsistent. Some days are super long, some days I don't even go home. Others are just an hour or two in the office, then I'm out."
"Sounds grueling. Why do you do it?" she asked as she opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. She offered it to him, and their fingers grazed. His hands were warm, sending a jolt of awareness through her.
She'd done it. She'd invited a man into her apartment. This was major progress! Taylor would be so proud.
He opened the bottle and leaned against the wall next to the fridge. "I love helping people. I love that there's something different to do every day. It never gets boring. A lot of it's like a puzzle to be unraveled."
"I like puzzles," she murmured, walking to the couch with her own bottle of water and tucking her feet under her.
He nodded and continued as he settled on the other end of the couch, semi-facing her. "Me too. Plus, it's in my blood. Pops was the sheriff in Crimson Creek, you know. When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time in the summers in that building. I watched and learned and knew I wanted to put away bad guys just like him."
Lucy tilted her head and nodded. "I get that. Nana was an English teacher, and my degree is in English too. I used to love reading the summer away at her house."
"Are you going to teach like she did?" he asked before he took a drink.
She shook her head. "No, I'm actually working on a book at the moment. I'll probably continue to do nails and teach yoga while I write. It's a never-ending work in progress."
His brows rose. "Really? That's so creative. What's it about?"
She felt her cheeks heat as she looked away and shook her head. "I can't really say at this point. It's ran the gamut from action adventure to romance to cozy mystery. It's kind of all over the place."
He nodded and took another drink. "Well, you seem like a smart girl. You'll figure it out, I'm sure."
She preened under the praise. "Thanks, I appreciate the support."
He took another drink of his water and looked at his watch. "I'm going to take off now."
She felt her heart race, and she practically leaped to grab his arm. "No wait," she said.
His eyebrows rose in surprise, and she felt her face heat. "I—I mean, it's just that I'm so jittery from tonight. With all the yelling and busting in doors, I don't think I'll sleep a wink. I—I think it'll trigger some nightmares, and I don't really want to be alone right now, and Tay won't be back for a while probably, and—"
He leaned forward and placed a finger on her lips. "Sh, it's ok. It's a normal reaction. The shock is wearing off. Do you want to watch a movie or a show? I can stay."
Hope bloomed in her chest. "Are you sure?"
He nodded, his expression grave and determined. "I'm sure."
She breathed a sigh of relief and felt some of the tension leave her shoulders. She waved to the remote. "The center button is our streaming service. Pick whatever you like. As long as it's not gruesome. Sorry, I can't do Walking Dead or anything tonight."
He chuckled and turned the TV on, then scrolled. She stood up and walked to the door on the other side of the TV.
"I'm going to put some pajamas on, if that's ok." She didn't look back at him to see if it was. She just went into her room and shut the door. She leaned against it and breathed deeply.
She still felt on edge. Before he'd promised to stay, she'd had all kinds of flashbacks running through her head. Now she was thinking about him. Kissing her neck. His finger on her lips. The scent of his aftershave.
It'd been a long time since she'd been this close to a guy. Years and years. God, that made her feel old, much older than twenty-three.
She went to her drawer and changed into some shorts and a tank top. Then she put her hair up in a messy bun and brushed her teeth. She wasn't planning on anything happening, but if it did, she was determined not to turn it down or push away anymore.
It was damn time to ditch her celibacy and get some experience under her belt. She went back out to the living room and found a Lethal Weapon movie on. But Mason already had his head back and mouth open as he snored softly.
