Page 34 of Death, Interrupted

I understood and hated that she needed to protecther peace this hard when it should’ve been a normal thing. To have a place to call home without fearing it wouldn’t be safe one day.

“I get that,” I said. “I’m glad you feel safe here.”

She nodded, her smile tightening as her eyes went to my arm resting behind her.

“Is this okay?” I asked. I wasn’t touching her, but we were sitting closer than we ever had. I didn’t want to cross a line and make her uncomfortable.

“Yes, it’s fine. Just don’t touch me.”

It sounded like a threat, but I knew she didn’t mean it in a rude way. She was just being cautious. Without knowing what Joey did to her, I knew her not wanting me to touch her had something to do with it. It wasn’t just about what he might’ve done physically; it was her constant second-guessing, wondering if any small move would piss him off, and so she would ask first to avoid a fallout.Of course, that was all just me guessing, but we had hugged earlier, and even that had come with a question first. She’d asked if she could. That told me everything I needed to know about how to move here: ask first, wait for the answer, follow it.

“Give me your house rules,” I said.

“Rules?” she asked, brows pulling in.

“Yeah. This is your safe place, and you invited me in, so I want to keep it that way. Tell me your house rules and I’ll follow them.”

She stared at me like I’d said something no one hadever offered her. That, again, told me how little Joey truly cared about her boundaries. When it sank in that I was serious, her expression shifted, and a small spark I hadn’t seen before flashed in her eyes.

God, those perfect grey eyes.

“House rules,” she said, thinking it through, letting her eyes wander around the room. “I like everything the way it is. I don’t like change. I have an organized mess. So if something sits somewhere strange, I put it there on purpose.”

“Got it. What else?”

“Shoes off inside the apartment, and no walking barefoot,” she said, looking down at my feet, which were, in fact, not bare. She looked pleased, and it made me smile.

“Done. Next?”

“No surprise visits. Always text first.”

That made me smirk. “So you’d let me come over again?”

“If you behave tonight.”

“I will,” I promised her.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

“Shoot.”

“If you go to the bathroom, you sit down for number one and two.”

“Definitely something I will respect.”

“Good.” Her lips pressed into a thin line as a smile threatened to break out. “Are you hungry?”

I was, because all I had today was coffee and cake. “Yes, you?”

She nodded. “A little. I could cook something. Or we can order in.”

I waved a hand. “You decide.”

“Okay.” She thought about it for a moment, then said, “I don’t think I have enough in the fridge for two people. So let’s order.”

“I got it,” I said, pulling out my phone and opening my most-used app.

“You don’t have to pay.”