Wound Up(84)

                Ageless eyes peered at him, the sheen of tears she wasn’t quite done shedding reflecting in the lamplight. “I could get used to that.”

                He gave a short nod. “I want you to wait here. I’ll be back in just a second, okay?”

                “Okay.”

                “Don’t leave.” He had this fear her first instinct would be to run the minute he was gone. “Please.”

                “I promise I’ll wait.” Her gaze dropped to her hands twisting in her lap. “Sorry I fell apart. I normally handle life better than this.”

                “Hey. No one can take years of verbal abuse and come out unscathed. You should know that, Grace.”

                “Right. I just...” She bit the inside of her cheek. “I thought I had more control over it until she blew up at me tonight.”

                “You haven’t lived at home while you were in school, right?”

                She shook her head. “No. I wouldn’t have survived. I lived with my friend, Meg, at a place she co-opted from a guy, a doctor, who’d been working abroad. The guy came home early, no notice, so we were in the apartment one night and out the next. My mom’s place was the cheapest option, and I figured I could manage it for two weeks.”

                One statement stuck out blatantly. “You say you wouldn’t have survived. Why?”

                “No therapy, okay?”

                He reached over and took her hands in his, giving them a gentle squeeze. “No therapy. I’m just trying to put the pieces together.”

                “My mom has a house on Aurora Boulevard, commonly known as Drive-By Boulevard.”

                His stomach pitched, and he squeezed her hands a little too hard before realizing what he was doing. Relaxing his grip, he lifted her fingers to his mouth and kissed each knuckle. “I’m sorry you had to grow up in such a bad environment.”

                Grace shifted to rest her cheek against his chest and over his heart. “That’s a nice way to say, ‘Hey, sorry you grew up in the slums.’”

                Justin held her, let her breathe for a few minutes as he ran his fingers through her hair and laid small kisses to any part of her he could reach without moving her. Finally, when her breathing calmed, he took her shoulders and helped her sit up. “I have to get Cass’s keys back to her. I’ll drop them off and call a cab, okay?”

                “The bus would be cheaper.”

                “It would, but a cab is far more private. You’ve been crying and people are rudely curious. They’d stare. It’s also why I’m asking you to stay out here while I go inside. I don’t want anyone asking you questions you don’t want to answer.”

                Wrapping a hand around the back of his neck, she pulled him in for the sweetest kiss. “Thank you. I never knew my knight in shining armor would show up not on a horse but in a black and yellow.”

                Justin smiled. “There’s the woman I...recognize.” Fighting to regain his equilibrium, he hopped off the tailgate. “Sit tight.”

                It took every ounce of control not to sprint into the bar. He compromised by jogging. Quickly.

                Once inside, he found Eric and Cass at the table. “Where’s Levi?”