The crash of the mug on the slate floor brought the man striding into the kitchen, and he stopped when he saw her, his expression cycling through shock, surprise and then recognition.

Nicole clocked the exact moment it dawned on him who she was. She’d been through this scenario a thousand times in her life. It happened in restaurants or when she was walking down the street. People would glance at her, and then the glance would turn into a stare, and there was a moment of doubt: Is it her? Curiosity was usually followed by either a request for a selfie or an autograph or both.

She should tell him that Milly wasn’t here. She should tell him to go, but she couldn’t get her breathing steady enough to talk, and she saw his gaze go from her face to the knife.

“Okay.” He raised a hand. “I can see I scared you badly. I’m sorry. I was looking for Milly. You’re fine. Everything is fine. You should put the knife down.”

Her heart was beating frantically, and she felt a swirl of dizziness engulf her.

“I’m Joel.” His voice was calm and quiet. “I work here. I came to see Milly, that’s all. I’m a friend of Milly’s. I didn’t know you were here. Everything is fine.”

The words penetrated the cloud of panic in her head.

Joel. Milly had mentioned a Joel. The guy who built this place?

He wasn’t a stranger who had broken into her house. He wasn’t a photographer or a crazed fan.

He was Joel the everything guy.

She repeated his name in her head, trying to calm herself, but she felt as if she was having a heart attack, her breathing coming in frantic gulps no matter how hard she tried to slow it.

She looked at him, terrified, and he nodded.

“You’re having a panic attack. And given that I’m the cause of it, I should probably leave, but I can’t leave you like this so I’ll call Milly—”

“No.” She pushed the word out and shook her head. “No.”

She closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe slowly, as she’d been taught.

“You’re safe.” Joel’s voice was slow and steady. “You’re completely safe. I’m going to take that knife from you, and then we’re going to get that burn under cold water.”

She felt him ease the knife from her trembling fingers, talking the whole time.