“What is it?” Eagle asked as soon as she clicked off the phone.
“That was the agent for one of my authors. I proofread a book last year that ended up on the bestseller list for a few weeks in a row. The author lives in Bloomington and works at Indiana University. The school is hosting a special awards ceremony for her, and she wanted to invite everyone who had anything to do with her book. Her agent, editors, and me, her proofreader.”
“That’s great, Tay,” Eagle said, happy she was getting some recognition for her hard work. “When is it?”
She bit her lip. “Next weekend. I know it’s really short notice, and the agent apologized, but she figured since I’m so close, I could just drive down. But with everything going on, I’m not sure—”
“Accept the invitation,” Eagle interrupted.
“But—”
He walked over to her. “You should go. You work really hard, and it’ll be nice to get out of Indy for a while. Leave all the stress behind.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
She looked up at him uncertainly. “Um . . . I can bring a guest. I’m not sure it’s really your cup of tea, but I’d love to have you with me. I can ask Skylar if you don’t want to go, though, it’s just—”
“Of course I want to go,” Eagle told her, shocked that she’d think for even one second he didn’t want to be by her side.
“Oh, okay.”
“Taylor,” Eagle said quietly, “I don’t know what you think is happening between us, but this isn’t casual for me. I was already going to invite myself to go along with you but didn’t want to be presumptuous. I’m proud as hell of you, and I want to support your career any way I can. And you being invited to an awards ceremony for one of your clients is definitely something I want to be involved in.”
“I’m not getting the award,” she said wryly.
“Doesn’t matter,” Eagle said. “You’re invited because you had a hand in someone else’s success. That’s awesome.”
She stared up at him for a long moment, then said, “Sometimes I lie awake at night and wonder why in the world you’re with me. It makes no sense. I’m the girl who never had a family, never had a true friend, and now you’ve given me both. Your friends are like your family, and they’ve invited me into their world without a second thought. It’s crazy.”
“It’s because you were made for me,” Eagle said seriously. “We balance each other out. I can recognize everyone, and you can’t recognize anyone. Together, we’re the perfect couple.”
He saw her swallow hard and bite her lip. He hated to see her cry, even if she was happy, so Eagle quickly asked, “Can you get a list of people who might be there? I can study it, find pictures of the big players, and give you a heads-up about who everyone is when we’re at the shindig.”
She blinked at him. “You’d do that?”
“Flower, I’d do anything for you,” Eagle said without hesitation.
“I can ask the agent who will be there and show you their headshots when we get home.”
Home. He liked the sound of that. “Great.”
Taylor threw herself into his arms, and Eagle chuckled and went back on one foot as he hugged her tightly. “Are you happy?” he asked.
“Yes. So much so, I’m afraid everything’s gonna go to hell if I admit it.”
“Nothing’s going to hell,” Eagle said firmly.
Taylor pulled back. “But what about that maintenance guy? We don’t know anything about him or what his motivation is.”
“We’re going to find him,” Eagle said confidently.
“How?”
“If he is truly obsessed with you, I have a feeling he’ll reach out again. Want to make contact. You’re more aware of the people around you now, and you’re more careful. If anything unusual happens, you’re going to take note.”
“I don’t understand why, though,” Taylor said. “I’m nobody. I’m just me!”
“You’re not nobody,” Eagle said. “You’re Taylor Cardin, and you’re amazing.”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Are you at a good stopping point? Want to go up and grab some lunch?”
Taylor fiddled with the name tag on his chest that he’d put on when he’d walked into Silverstone Towing. None of the employees had batted an eye at having to wear them, and in fact, most had been very interested in learning more about prosopagnosia.
“Yes, and yes. I’ll call the agent back later. I don’t want to look too eager and call her back two minutes after I hung up.”
Eagle chuckled. “Come on, then, let’s go feed you.”
“Feed me? You know you’re the one champing at the bit to see what Shawn made for lunch today.”
“True. You got me.”
As he walked up the stairs, Taylor’s hand tucked into his, Eagle made a mental vow once again to do whatever it took to make her feel safe, even if that meant Taylor eventually wanted to go back to her own apartment. He loved having her in his space, but he wouldn’t rush her into moving in. He’d rather she be there because they’d both decided it was what they wanted, not because she was scared and felt as if she had no choice.
Taylor couldn’t keep her eyes open. After a large delicious lunch, and after calling the agent back to tell her she’d be in Bloomington the following weekend with Eagle as her guest, and after reading the same paragraph in the manuscript three times and not seeing a word of it, she realized she needed a break.
She could go upstairs into one of the rooms with a bed and take a nap, but she really wanted some time to herself. Taylor was an introvert. She liked her alone time. Had learned over the years that she was comfortable with her solitary life. And for the last week, she’d had very little private time.
She loved being with Eagle. The man was the epitome of a gracious host. But she wanted to sit in silence and just be by herself for a moment.
But she didn’t want to go back to her apartment. She didn’t really feel safe there anymore, which sucked.
“Eagle?”
“Yeah?” he asked, looking up from the computer he’d been on since after lunch. Taylor knew he and his friends were doing their best to figure out who the mystery man in her apartment was, and dealing with whatever research they were doing for Silverstone. Eagle had been intently clicking away and staring at his computer screen as she’d worked.
“I think I want to go back to your apartment.”
Without hesitation, Eagle closed his laptop and started to stand.
“No . . . I mean . . . I’d appreciate if you gave me a ride, but I need some alone time.”
He stared at her intently.
“It’s not that I don’t like being with you. Of course I do. I just . . . I’m used to being by myself a lot. And while the last week has been wonderful, I could use a few hours on my own. I won’t go anywhere, promise. I might take a short nap, then I’ll make a pot of coffee and work some more.”
Eagle came over to where she was sitting at the small table and leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “You don’t have to explain, Taylor. I get it.”