me to help me move into my new place, and I told them that wasn’t necessary. My ribs really are doing a lot better. It’s just I caught the flu or something.”
He nodded. “Sit down. I’ll get your suitcase and things. Do you want to eat this here so it doesn’t get cold?” he asked, nodding toward the bags he’d left on the floor.
“Um. Okay. I haven’t eaten since last night.”
He frowned but helped ease her back into the bed and then brought the paper bag to her, carefully lifting the soup out of it. He set it on the nightstand as he pulled the covers up around her, clearly noticing that she was still cold.
“Your beard is longer,” she said, looking at him. Grayson looked tanner than when she’d last seen him and had dark circles under his eyes. She wondered how much sleep he’d gotten on whatever mission he’d been on. The man looked exhausted, and here he was taking care of her.
He still looked tempting as hell though—tall, muscular. His hazel eyes warmed as he caught her watching him. “Yep. I haven’t shaved yet. We were there for a week, and it’s better just to let it grow.”
She nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.” Grayson hadn’t told her where he was going of course, but she’d assumed he was back in the Middle East. She had met him in Bagram after all. They looked at each other a moment. “I know you can’t tell me where you were,” she said.
“I can’t,” he said, looking relieved that she understood. He sank down onto the edge of her bed, watching as she carefully took a spoonful of her soup. “We haven’t really talked much about my job, but as you probably know, I won’t ever be able to discuss the details with you. We left more abruptly than usual this time—I didn’t even get to call you, which sucked. But when I do go on missions, I can’t say where I’m going or even how long I’ll be gone.”
“I understand. I mean, shoot, I didn’t even know half of what was going on in my own office. It comes with the territory.”
He nodded, looking at her intently.
“What?”
He shook his head. “It’s nothing. I just can’t believe you’re out here.”
“Yeah, and what a lousy first impression I’m making—sick in bed again.”
His lips quirked. “Nope. The first time I saw you was in your office. And trust me, you made a hell of an impression.”
She laughed, looking at him. “What? Looking intimidated by you and your teammates all coming in? You guys were kind of scary looking,” she admitted.
Grayson stilled. “I’d never hurt you.”
“I know. I didn’t mean it like that.”
He nodded, still watching her. “You’re making me nervous,” she said softly.
“Sorry. I know I can be intense sometimes. I’m just happy as hell that you’re here. I wish you weren’t sick, but damn. I thought it’d be another week or two before I got to see you in person. I was looking forward to calling you today, but this is a hell of a lot better.”
“Surprise,” she said weakly.
He laughed. “You certainly do know how to surprise a man.”
She took another careful bite of her soup. “How’d you get here so fast anyway?”
“I live close by,” he said with a chuckle. “Pretty much just down the street actually. Is your apartment going to be around here?”
She nodded. “I wanted to be close to the beach as long as I was out here. Close to work, too, of course. I’m not interested in sitting in traffic. My apartment’s not right on the water or anything, but close enough.”
“I get it,” he agreed, smiling as he looked down at her. “I love the water, too.”
“Makes sense considering you’re in the Navy,” she said lightly.
“Yep. And speaking of work-related things—I guess you heard your friend is still missing.”
“Yeah,” she said, looking at him with a frown. “It’s been awful not knowing what happened to Kim. I think they searched the destroyed part of the building.”
“They did. Another woman is missing as well.”
Hailey shuddered. “I still can’t believe any of that happened. They interviewed me at the Pentagon a few days ago—I had to give my statement about the incident and my injuries and close out my old job. Just signing papers and whatnot.” He nodded. “They did ask if I’d noticed anything suspicious. I’m not sure what there was to say. People came and went all the time—but it was a secure area. It’s