in five and a half hours, by the way.
God, she hated the waiting.
She filled the Krups machine with water and went into the cupboard for the coffee can. It was nearly empty, so she took out her backup supply and the handheld can opener and—
She was not alone.
Mary leaned forward, looking out the window above the sink. With no exterior lights on she couldn't see anything, so she went around to the slider and flipped the switch next to the door.
“Good Lord!”
A massive black shape was on the other side of the glass.
Mary scrambled for the phone, but stopped when she saw the flash of blond hair.
Hal lifted his hand in greeting.
“Hey.” His voice was muffled through the glass.
Mary wrapped her arms around her stomach. “What are you doing here?”
His wide shoulders shrugged. “Wanted to see you.”
"Why? And why now?'
Another shrug. “Seemed like a good idea.”
“Are you deranged?”
“Yes.”
She almost smiled. And then reminded herself that she had no close neighbors and he was practically the size of her house.
“How did you find me?” Maybe Bella had told him where she lived.
“Can I come in? Or maybe you could come out, if you'd feel more comfortable that way?”
“Hal, it's four thirty in the morning.”
“I know. But you're awake and so am I.”
God, he was so big in all that black leather, and with his face mostly in shadow he was more menacing than beautiful.
And she was actually considering opening the door? Clearly she was also deranged.
“Look, Hal, I don't think it's a good idea.”
He stared at her through the glass. “Maybe we can just talk this way, then?”
Mary stared at him, dumbfounded. The guy was willing to hang around, locked out of her house like a criminal, just so they could chat?
“Hal, no offense, but there are about a hundred thousand women in this zip code who would not only let you into their homes, but would take you to bed. Why don't you go find one of them and leave me alone?”
“They aren't you.”
The darkness falling across his face made his eyes impossible to read. But his tone of voice was so damn sincere.
In the long pause that followed, she tried to convince herself not to let him inside.
“Mary, if I wanted to hurt you, I could do it in an instant. You could lock every door and every window and I'd still get inside. All I want is… to talk to you some more.”
She eyed the width of his shoulders. He had a point about the breaking and entering. And she had a feeling that if she told him the best she could do was a closed door between them, he would pull up one of her lawn chairs and sit down on the terrace.
She unlatched the slider, opened it, and stepped back. “Just explain something to me.”
He smiled tightly as he came in. “Shoot.”
“Why aren't you with a woman who wants you?” Hal flinched. “What I mean is, those women tonight at the restaurant, they were all over you. Why aren't you having—”crazy hot sex—“er… fun with one of them?”
“I'd rather be here talking with you than inside one of those females.”
She recoiled a little at his candor, and then realized he wasn't being crude, just bluntly honest.
Well, at least she had one thing right: When he'd walked away after that soft kiss, she'd assumed it was because he hadn't felt any heat. Evidently she'd hit the nail on the head. He wasn't here for sex, and she told herself it was good he didn't lust after her. Almost believed it, too.
“I was about to make some coffee, would you like some?”
He nodded and started wandering around the living room, taking note of her things. Against all of her white furniture and cream walls, his black clothes and heavy build were ominous, but then she looked at his face. He was wearing a silly little grin, as if he were happy just to be inside her house. Kind of like an animal who'd been chained in the yard and finally allowed indoors.
“You want to take off your coat?” she said.
He slid the leather from his shoulders and tossed it over to her sofa. The thing landed with a dull thump, crushing the cushions.
What the hell was in those pockets ? she wondered.
But then she looked at his body and forgot all about the stupid coat. He was wearing a black T-shirt that showed off a powerful set of arms. His chest was wide and well defined, his stomach