Blind Date(32)

I shrug. "All of our friends, we've known forever. All of Raymond's friends, even the few ex's he had, I am familiar with them all. I hardly doubt they'd start tormenting me years after his death. The only ones I think might have even a chance at being that weird are the men I went on blind dates with."

Her eyes widen. "Oh god. I forgot about them. Oh, what if this is my fault?"

I reach over, patting her shoulder. "It isn't, honestly. I had the briefest interactions with them. They didn't even know my full name, let alone how to find me less than a month after dating them. I honestly can't see that being the case. But Ace is looking into them anyway."

"Jacob?" she questions.

I shake my head. "No, Ace did a full background check on him first. He's as clean as a whistle, not even a parking ticket. And honestly, he's been so kind to me."

Taylor rolls her eyes. "Of course he checked him out first."

I laugh softly. "Yeah, that's what I said."

"Bloody males. And you're sure it wasn't Greg or Richard?"

I nod. "Yeah. I don't think Richard has it in him, considering he was so broken up over his ex. That wasn't an act-at least, I don't think it was. And Greg, I guess out of everyone, he might be most likely, because I offended him. But I still don't think he'd go to this extreme, right?"

Taylor purses her lips in thought. "You did really upset him, though. I mean, what do we know about him? How do we know he isn't some stalker? He did lie about his profile, so maybe he felt like getting revenge?"

I contemplate this. Out of everyone, Greg is definitely the most likely to do something like this. I've given Ace his details, so I guess now I have to wait and see what he comes up with.

"Yeah, I did tell Ace about him, and he said he's going to be looking into it." Whoever has done this, has done research. How else would they know the little things?"

She nods, rubbing her chin. "Yeah, you're right. Still, people can find out any information about you if they try hard enough. I mean, it happens all the time."

"Hmmm." I ponder that, and my heart clenches at the thought. "Well, I can only hope that whoever it is, Ace will find them soon. I really, really hope he does."

She shoves another piece of chicken into her mouth. "I hope so, too. It makes me so uneasy."

I nod. "Me too. Believe me. I can't sleep now. I think I'll struggle even knowing someone is here. If we're correct, someone was in my house while I was asleep  …  walking around  …  that makes me feel sick just thinking about what they could have done if they wanted to."

Taylor reaches over, squeezing my knee. "We're going to get this sorted. Until then, I'll stay as many nights as I can, you know that. And you can stay at my house, too, if you really need to."

"You already have a roommate and no extra room. I couldn't do that. It's okay. It'll be fine, I'm sure."

A knock sounds at the door, and both our heads swivel in the general direction it came from. I shoot a look to Taylor, but she's already standing, walking over to the door and calling out, "Who is it?"


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"Ace."

Gruff. Masculine. No missing that voice.

She glances over her shoulder at me, and I nod, giving her the go-ahead to let him in. She unlocks the door and pulls it open. Ace stands in the space, holding a bag in his hands. His eyes flick to Taylor, narrow for a second as he takes her in, and then swing over to me sitting on the couch, a bowl of untouched food in my lap.

"Hey," I say, my voice flat-sounding, even to me.

"I just wanted to check in on you before I went home. I have a couple of things to give you, and some information."

I nod, stretching a hand and encouraging him in. He gives Taylor another glance and then walks in, sitting on the chair across from me, his eyes scanning my face.

His eyes take in all of me, but mostly they focus on my own. I swear, it feels like he can see everything I'm trying to keep inside. Way past any wall I've put up, and right into the most vulnerable parts.

"You good?" he murmurs, that voice low, husky and  …  almost genuine.

"I'm doing as well as I can," I tell him, and that's the truth.

He nods, then puts the bag down in front of me. "It isn't much, but there are a couple of things in there you can use if you  …  need to."

My eyes flash to Taylor's and even those words seem to make her uncomfortable. She shifts slightly, crossing her arms and frowning.