Page 33 of You First
“WE’LL TAKE MYcar,” he insisted, pulling on his jacket. It would suck to sit shotgun, but he missed his Acura. The MDX — lunar silver with the graystone leather interior — still had the new car smell, and he hadn’t left the house since Bax’s visit. It would be a shame to let the car rust in the garage while he grew worse.
“Whoa,” Meredith murmured, seeing it, “that’s a nice car.”
“Thanks.” He opened the driver’s side door for her.
She peered inside, her eyes bugging. “This has leather interior,” she said, as though he didn’t know.
Gray suppressed a laugh and nodded. “Yep. I’m glad you like it. Climb in.”
He watched her do just that, and for her, it was a bit of a climb. He was a good eight inches taller, and the SUV fit him like a glove. He watched her adjust the seat, pulling it closer to the steering wheel than he thought it could go.
“Wow,” he muttered. “You’re tiny.”
She glared at him. “Tiny but mighty.”
His laughter echoed through the garage. “No doubt.”
Gray made his way around to the passenger side, and he watched with amusement as she continued adjusting the steering wheel and mirrors. If he had to give up the driver’s seat to someone, there could be worse ways to go. At least this was entertaining… and damned adorable.
She found the garage door remote and tapped it. Then she glanced at his hands and the center console before looking up at him. “Where are the keys?”
“In my pocket.”
She eyed him for a moment. “Well… are you going to give them to me?”
Gray reached down and pushed the ignition, and the car started. “No need.”
She stared at the button, and even in the still dim garage, he saw her blush. “Oh… right. New car.”
Light flooded into the car as the garage door lifted, and Gray took his sunglasses from the visor above Meredith’s head. Their dark lenses and light-blocking temples made him look like he’d just had cataract surgery, but they were necessary. The last thing he wanted was to have a seizure in front of her.
“Bright light is a problem,” he said, shrugging.
Meredith reached over and patted him twice on the arm as though to comfort him. It was nothing. A gesture so small, he should have barely noticed it. But with her one touch, Gray became aware of every part of his body as every part of his body became aware of her. Not just the parts that made him a man, but the soles of his feet, the tip of his nose, his abdomen, the skin between his fingers. His lips.
His elbow spoke to every member of his body and told them about her.
“To Academy?” she asked.
“To Academy,” he echoed, surprised to hear the evenness of his voice.
He slowly put on the sunglasses and went very still, letting himself feel this new discovery, this strange but welcome sensation of his whole body wanting just one thing. To touch her.
Gray tried to understand what had happened. Had he spent too much time alone? Since he’d started feeling bad last fall, he hadn’t gone out — with André, Bax, or on dates. Clubs were out of the question and, with his unpredictable symptoms, taking someone to dinner was a huge gamble. But that meant he didn’t have the sexual thrill of a heaving dance floor or the chance to kiss a woman goodnight at her front door — and follow her inside if she offered.
He hadn’t seriously dated anyone since his first novel. Gray had met Carrie O’Neal while he was writing the first Alex Booth book, and they were together for about six months before his career took off and carried him away on a book tour. At the time, Cecilia’s death had still been so fresh that Gray honestly hadn’t been ready to focus on building a relationship with someone, one that was real and solid. It was easier to throw himself into his books and write a hero who could save the day.
After Carrie, he’d had no time to settle down. He’d dated, but he hadn’t opened himself up to having feelings for anyone or letting them have feelings for him. There would be time for that later.
Or so he’d thought…
Was that why one touch from a beautiful girl had set him spinning? Was there a part of him — the part that knew he could be dead in a matter of months — that wanted to grab hold of some piece of unfulfilled life before life slipped away?
Because nothing like that had happened before. One touch from a woman had never fired through him like an electrical charge.
Especially not someone he absolutely could not pursue. She was far too young. He wasn’t exactly sure of her age, but Bax had said she was a first-year nursing student, so that had to put her at eighteen or nineteen. Plus, she worked for him. It would be wholly inappropriate, and that could lead to a host of other problems he couldn’t possibly handle. Which brought him to the final reason pursuing her was impossible. He was in a life-or-death battle with his body. Getting involved with anyone now would be a huge mistake.
He glanced over at Meredith as they left his neighborhood. Lorde’s “A World Alone” played over the radio, and Meredith sang along so quietly Gray could barely hear her voice under the lyrics. But it was a voice made of sweetness and feeling, and he liked the sound of it in his ear.
