Page 33 of Break My Fall

“Gray, I don’t want company.” There was no give in her voice. “Thank you for bringing the bag.”

“You’re welcome.” He stepped back. “Good night.”

“Good night.” She closed the door in his face, and he had no choice but to leave her alone in her office.

Crying.

Meredith closed the door completely before she allowed the tears to flow free. She dropped the bag on the floor and lay down on the sofa. It took fifteen minutes for the tears to dry up and take the shards of her broken heart with them.

She’d had such a great night. Gray was easy to talk to. And he made her want to tell him everything she’d thought or noticed in every trip she’d made to Neeson. He somehow made it seem like he really wanted to know her, and that she was worth knowing.

Worth knowing. Yes.

Worth loving? No.

She walked into her private bathroom and splashed water on her face. The woman in the mirror looked so sad, and Meredith knew why.

She’d never believed that people could fall in love at first sight. Still didn’t. But she did believe they could fall in love fast.

She had.

She’d nearly swallowed her tongue the first time she saw Grayson Ward standing in the police station. He was talking to Cal, and it was clear that they were good friends. She hadn’t hesitated to interrupt them, introduce herself, and wish him well on the interviews.

Cal told her that Gray had saved his life. She wasn’t sure if that was literal or figurative. Cal had gone through some hard stuff, and Gray had known him before and after the worst of it.

That fact alone would have made him interesting to Meredith. But then he got the job and moved to Gossamer Falls, and her interest morphed into something that bordered on an unhealthy obsession. She would bump into him—accidentally, of course—at the coffee shop. She’d suddenly feel compelled to work on her arrangements when he was visiting with Cal while Cal worked on his side of their shared shop.

She’d invited him to join them around the firepit and to every family gathering at Papa and Granny Quinn’s. She made sure Cal knew she was fine with Gray joining them when it was supposed to just be her, Cal, and Mo for dinner.

She’d thrown herself in Gray’s path, and all she’d gotten for her efforts was a bruised ego and a shattered heart. When her mom was sick, she’d put all her focus into taking care of her, and until tonight, Meredith had believed that by getting some distance and spending less time around Gray, the hold he had on her had broken.

Nope.

Not even a little bit.

Tonight, she’d accepted his offer to join him for pizza. And then she’d told him she was available this evening. When she realized what she was doing and how tense Gray was, probably because he had this woman throwing herself at him, she’d shut herself down, told him good night, and all but ran to the safety of her office.

How many ways did a man have to make it clear that he wasn’t interested before she would accept it and move on with her life?

Cal had indicated that Gray had some trauma in his past and that in all the years he’d known him, he’d never had a serious girlfriend. That right there should have been enough to send her running. Of course, Mo hadn’t had a girlfriend in years, either, but that was different.

Wasn’t it?

Or was that it? Was there a girl out there somewhere who’d already taken up residence in Gray’s heart? Was his heart claimed by someone she’d never know?

Did it matter?

Yes. It did.

Did it change anything?

No. It did not.

Her phone rang. Again. She’d ignored it three times. This timeshe looked and was unsurprised to see that it was Mo calling. “When I don’t answer, that means I don’t want to talk.”

“Gray called Cal. Told him you were in your office crying and wouldn’t talk to him. What did he do to you?”

“Nothing.”

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