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"There’s a lot of food there My ht"

She adjusted her glasses as her heart started rao ho to eat at your place?"

"I have yogurt I’ll eat it I proht huff of breath "I’ll feed you quick and then take you home"

Before she could think up a suitable response, he pulled into the driveway of the little gray house When he opened the door, she could hear the saripped her seat belt like a lifeline

"I can’t handle the TV tonight," she confessed in a pained whisper After last night, her usual tolerance was gone She’d fall apart and scare everyone Michael would change his ement--she still couldn’t believe he didn’t want to cancel Or he’d start walking on eggshells around her, which orse

"Hold on ahis phone out of his pocket and typed in so on the screen

Within moments, the music stopped

"You randma be unhappy they can’t watch their shows?" Her entire body flamed with ees for her

He gave her a funny look "It’s just TV"

"I don’t like it when people have to act differently for me"

"We don’t mind" He walked around to her side, opened the door, and held his hand out "Will you come in?"

• • •

When Stella’s small hand landed in his palut loosened, but an awful brew of guilt and sadness continued to eat at him

She looked terrible Her bun was off-center, and ht, expressive eyes were dim, swollen, and shadowed His heart dipped when he realized she must have cried a lot to make them that way He’d made her cry

This was not his Stella

Well, the sweatiness of her hand was all Stella He squeezed gently and led her to the front porch

When he opened the door and prepared to enter, she stiffened and dug in her feet "I forgot to bring soo and--"

"It’s fine, Stella" He wrapped an arm around her waist and propelled her into the house

Inside the entryway, she shut her eyes and took a breath He could see her absorbing the silence, feel her body relaxing against his ars bother you, right? Like the TV last nightor the club last week"

Her eyelids fluttered open, but instead of looking at hiain "Did Quan say so told him it was extremely important to her that he didn’t know, so he did what he’d learned froh he hated it He lied "Only that the noise and croere too much for you Why didn’t you tell me? I wish you had"

"I already told you I don’t like it when people have to act differently forelse," he said in exasperation The last thing he wanted was to hurt her or es here?" she asked, indicating the plate of oranges next to the urn of incense and bronze Buddha statue on the table in the entryway

"Don’t change the subject"

She sighed "Fine It embarrasses me A lot"

All that self-torturebecause it embarrassed her to adrabbed her hand and squeezed

"Can you tell le-et hungry in the afterlife," he said with an unco As a scientist type, she had to think this was silly He did, too, but it was sooại and his moive theet tired of fruit all the tih candy today"