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“She was having a night terror. About her sister. She doesn’t even remember it. She didn’t know I was the one holding her. This has nothing to do with her needing you. She was scared and the trick I learned in high school worked.” In the early days of my insomnia diagnosis, weighted blankets had been my lifeline. The weight of them, feeling surrounded by something and secure under the pressure could be mimicked with body weight. That’s all I’d done for True last night and it worked.

Greyson stared up at me with his brows furrowed. “Her sister? That’s the name she was calling?”

“Yea. She passed last year. I thought you knew that.”

“No.” He gave a subtle shake of his head, disbelief clear on his face. “Ididn’tknow that.”

He looked like he was working through an existential crisis.

Sneaking a glance at Duchess, I smirked at her circling the boxes. She stalked them like she knew the contents were for her.

“I don’t even fucking know her.” Greyson’s tormented voice brought me back to the issue.

He was beating himself up. And as someone who frequented that past time, I wasn’t about to kick him while he was down.

“I love you, Grey.”

He looked at me, his brows raised like he was waiting for thebutat the tip of my tongue.

“But you spend a lot of time observing people instead of actually getting to know them. You only know so much about me because I’ve been talking your head off for twenty years.”

He bit back his smile.

“True is new. If you knew everything about her overnight, it wouldn’t make sense. This shit takes time.”

“But you knew…”

“Because I talk a lot and she never tells me to shut up.” I laughed. “And I guess that makes her feel comfortable talking back.”

His mouth was closed but I could almost hear his mind working overtime.

“She ain’t exactly a closed book. She just gotta know youwannaknow about her.”

“Yea…okay.”

“She said something about breakfast…?”

He threw his head back in shame. “Fuck. I forgot. I was—I’ll go back now.”

“She’s in town with her grandma now. I just dropped her off.”

More guilt crept onto Greyson’s face.

“At least send a text or something if you dip like that again. Her feelings were hurt and she didn’t say it but I could tell she was embarrassed that I knew.”

He didn’t say anything. He simply stared at a singular point on his computer screen, unblinking.

There was nothing else I needed to say right now. I wasn’t sure he would hear me anyway. So, I went to scoop up the cat, letting her nuzzle my chin before I called over my shoulder. “Aye, can you pick up True and Ms. Ruby from the doctor’s office off Main Street? I’m finna take Duchess home so she’ll be adjusted before it’s time for bed.”

I didn’t give Greyson time to respond before I was out in the hall, Duchess cradled to my chest and a million conflicted emotions running through me.

Had I almost kissed Greyson?

Nah.There was no way.

I was just excited. About the cat. That was it.

“Right, Duchess?”