Page 82 of Break My Fall

“Okay. I’ll pick you up at six forty-five.”

“That’s silly. If we’re eating at your place, I can drive.”

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t say yes to that even if there was no danger at all. But given that you are in danger, that’s not just a no. That’s a no way, under no circumstances, absolutely not.”

Well, that was ... firm. “Okay. What can I bring?”

“Yourself.”

“I can do that.”

“Great.”

“So, I should go.”

“Yeah.”

But she didn’t move. They stood there. Bodies almost touching. Hands held between them. Eyes locked on each other.

The intercom buzzed again.

“I swear I’m going to throw that thing out a window.” Meredith laughed as he answered, “Yes, Glenda?”

“Sorry to bother you, sir, but I thought you should know that Lucy called and is holding.” Glenda’s exasperation was evident. “She said she can see Dr. Quinn’s patient waiting outside the office. I believe she’s running down the sidewalk.”

“Please tell Lucy that Dr. Quinn is on her way.”

“Thank you, sir.”

As he’d spoken to Glenda, Meredith had backed up until she was at his door. “Tonight.”

“Tonight.” Meredith had no idea how she managed to get out of Gray’s office. Or out of the building. She walked down the street in a fog. It was a miracle she didn’t get run over. When she entered her office, she was extra thankful that she had a back entrance and didn’t have to walk in through the lobby. She landed in her office chair and dropped her head on the desk.

What had just happened?

She slid her phone from her pocket and texted Bronwyn.

I have a date with Gray tonight.

Bronwyn wasn’t known for her lightning-fast responses to text messages, but the three dots began dancing almost as soon as Meredith hit send. Then they stopped, and her phone rang.

“Hello.”

“Details. Now. Spill. Fast.” Bronwyn’s rapid-fire commands held concern and also a heavy dose of hope.

Meredith filled her in. “I don’t understand him at all. I was so mean. And he’s all, ‘I want to go to Iceland with you.’”

“Oh, sweetie, you don’t get it at all. But I think I do.”

“Explain it to me. Please. Fast.”

“Meredith, you’re so gentle and loving that you don’t lose your temper often. And the only time you’re truly angry is when you’ve been hurt badly. He figured out that the reason you reacted the way you did isn’t because you don’t love him. It’s because you do.”

“That’s messed up. I don’t want to be mean to people I love.”

“That’s not what I meant. You don’t bother getting angry about things that don’t matter. You’re angry with him because he does matter. And he’s realized that. So now he has hope that he can fix things. And he’s not wrong. I mean, really, of all of us, the only person who is worse at holding grudges than you are is Cassie. She can’t stay mad to save her life. Literally.”

“I love Cassie.”

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