Page 29 of Break My Fall

“You’re doing the flowers. You aren’t complicit in any criminal act.”

“You know what I mean.”

Gray looked at her. “As much as you might want to, you can’t fix everyone. Some situations can’t be resolved. Some people can’t be made whole. It isn’t your responsibility to make it happen.”

A buzz coming from the phone on Gray’s desk interrupted whatever else he might have said. Gray pushed a button and spoke. “Ward.”

“Chief.” A voice she didn’t recognize came through the speaker. “Your pizza’s here.”

“Thanks. I’ll come get it.” He turned to her. “Just a minute.”

When he left the room, she dropped her face into her hands and took several slow breaths. She’d told him everything he needed to know. She should leave. Maybe take a few slices for the road. She didn’t need to stay.

But he’d ordered pizza for her. And it would be rude to leave. Wouldn’t it?

She had no idea what was happening tonight. Were they flirting? Was he telling her to stay away? Or was she making this more than it was and it was all about the work and she should just focus on doing what she could?

“You okay?” Gray startled her from her mental rambling.

“Yeah. Why?”

He set the pizza on the small table in the corner of the room and beckoned her to join him. “Because you were moaning?”

Crud. “Sorry.”

“Care to share?”

“Nope.” Decidedly not. No sharing. No way. No how.

He opened the pizza box, and the scent of garlic and tomatoes filled the room. She inhaled deeply. “I love pizza.”

“I know.” His smile was small but real. “I ordered the margherita. Hope that’s okay.”

“Perfect.”

For the next few minutes, they ate and talked about random stuff. Despite her tension, it was easy to talk to Gray. He was interesting and had this way of focusing on her that made her feel like her words were important.

She’d been hungrier than she’d realized, and the pizza was exactly what she needed to settle down. She finished off her second slice and took a sip of water. “So, Gray, I feel like you know everything there is to know about me. But I don’t really know a lot about you before you showed up in Gossamer Falls. Fill me in?”

Why had she said that? She was sliding into date territory with questions like that. But once she voiced it, she couldn’t bring herself to regret it. She wanted to know. Needed to know. Maybe the secret to Grayson Ward was locked in his past.

Gray took a bite of pizza to give him a few moments to order his thoughts. She wanted to know about him, about his past and his family. How could he have this conversation with her?

“I was born in Chicago.”

Meredith took a bite and nodded.

“Never knew my dad. Not even sure if my mom knew my dad.”

“That’s tough.” Meredith said the words as fact, with sympathy but not pity. He had no idea how she managed it, but he appreciated it.

“My mom was ... well ... she tried. She tried hard. She loved me. Loved my sister.”

“You have a sister?” Meredith’s eyes glowed with interest.

“No. I had a sister.” His words extinguished the delight on Meredith’s face.

“I’m so sorry.”

---