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What is this?

His casually interested voice disrupted her internal argu cautiously around the bathroo to do that didnt require direct eye contact Brendan was leafing through a notebook holding s He glanced up I assu here with your books

Yeah, its fine She cleared her throat I call thaton the quilt chest at the end of her bed Like her, he was dressed now, having used her iron to make his shirt presentable for a consecutive day Hed even shrugged back into his jacket, though she would have thought it was too warm in the house for it A dditional armor

Happiness book? he prompted

She had to quell an unexpected desire to ask hio She didnt want to share anysecond thoughts about all of it Da?

I used to I like a lot of things I see in stores and catalogs I can get carried aith shopping When he sed a wooden one in return and turned away, going back to thewith the thin wall between thes I liked but couldnt afford Then I found I liked them better that way A s if it was even better to look at it than to have itit lessens the appreciation

So it would see in the quiet rooaze, reached out and took her hand, but it wasnt a gesture to encourage a breakdown of the wall His unreadable expression didnt esture, or the invisible tether of restraint that see him back

Theyd e was, andhed woken up iuess I better get going

I can drive you

No, thats fine That was nice of you to do yesterday, but it will be fine

Goddess, now she was doing it Instead of saying what she was thinking straight out, she was playing the saether in a confusing way toit to construct a barrier that didnt encourage conversation about what really mattered

He nodded, moved into her bathroom to do a quick swipe at his hair now that it was dry She turned, caught his reflection in the ret and frustration there, confir up her tote, she left the house, went and sat out on her front steps Last night, shed never wanted hi the seconds She felt like a puppet on a stage, fake and stiff jointed, in a spotlight she was unable to leave

During one of their long kissing sessions, hed shared some music from his player with her, a Celtic ind selection she loved He knew so much about her, but hed kept himself a closed book Shed let him make it all about her Stupid men

When he ca the boards, she locked her fingers together, hard If you say last night was a ive you

She rose then, turning to meet his expression Her directnessthe knife in deeper A fter a conte the blade, he shook his head Co down to the bottoing her to eye level This time when he tried to take her hands, she pulled away