Page 98 of Receiving His Mercy
Glorious, lovely coffee.
She headed to the coffee pot and poured herself some, adding a large dose of creamer.
“Wish you looked at me like that,” a deep voice said from behind her.
She jumped and nearly let go of the coffee mug.
Travis winced. “Shit. Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you knew I was in here.”
She bit her lip as she saw where he had been hiding.
In her pantry.
Bollocks.
How did she explain the overflowing pantry? It was more food than one person could go through in six months.
He was going to think she was crazy.
Maybe this is for the best. Now, you can really sever that tie. The fact that you walked out on him the other morning obviously wasn’t enough to make him want to stay away from you.
Well, this will likely do it.
“I hoard food,” she blurted out before he could say anything.
Best to just rip off the Band-aid, right?
His eyebrows rose.
Okay, obviously he wasn’t expecting her to just come out and say it like that. But he had to be wondering, right?
“That’s why there is so much food in my pantry. You had to be wondering if I was preparing for the apocalypse or maybe a zombie invasion, right? And in a way I kind of am and I’m kind of not. See, I’m not like this all the time. Just when I get really stressed about stuff. In fact, for years I was good, I could cope without hoarding. I had a therapist, and techniques to use when the demands in my head became overwhelming. But, somehow, that’s all gone out the window and I feel like I’ve gone back to square one and it’s fucking terrifying.”
Shit.
Bloody hell.
Why didn’t she just go ahead and tell him her whole life story? Did she seriously just offload all of that on him? However, when she forced herself to look at him, he didn’t look freaked out. He seemed . . . concerned.
“Oh, baby. All the stress of the exhibition has caused this?” he asked.
“No, not just that. Most of it has to do with my mother, I think. And . . . also . . . well, other stuff.”
Like going back out on assignment. Or maybe never going again. Both options terrified her.
And then there were her feelings for this man that were so tangled up and confused. It was so hard to want someone this much and know they weren’t yours.
No matter how much you wanted them to be.
Obviously, he was attracted to her. But perhaps he didn’t want her because of their past. Maybe he couldn’t get over who she was.
“Other stuff? Am I part of that other stuff?” he asked.
Caren opened her mouth and then closed it. She hadn’t expected him to ask her that.
“I am, aren’t I? What happened the other night has been stressing you out. How much food have you bought since then?”
“I don’t . . . I don’t know.”
