“I don’t think so.” Lifting an arm, he dragged his fingers through his hair. My eyes got hung up on his bicep and the muscles along the side of his chest. I shifted in the chair, surprised that I could be so visibly aroused by a guy scratching his head. He moved to the seat beside me. “I mean, I woke up and you were gone.” He leaned back in the chair, spreading his thighs as he tipped his head toward me. “I was worried when you weren’t there. You okay?”

My lips parted as his words hummed through me. “Yeah, I just woke up and didn’t want to wake you. You couldn’t have been sleeping for that long.”

His broad shoulders rose in a lazy roll. “I don’t really sleep that much. Just a ­couple of hours here and there, especially when I’m working.”

I thought about the night on the couch where it had seemed like a nightmare had shaken him awake. “You have to be so tired, though.”

Casting the heavy-hooded eyes to me, he shrugged again. “It’s the same with you, babe. You work crazy-­ass hours just like me. You manage. I manage.”

“True,” I murmured, looking out over the lawn. “I like this—­the balcony, I mean.” Flushing, I mentally kicked myself. “It’s very private and quiet.”

“I like it, too. Try to come out here at least once a day, drink my coffee.” Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw him raise his arms above his head and stretch. I had to look. I was only human, and goodness gracious, I was so glad I did. His back bowed as bones cracked. The man was pure sin. “It’s a good place to think,” he finished, dropping his arms.

My gaze coasted over the expanse of his chest and taut stomach, down to the fine trail of darker hair that disappeared under the band of his bottoms. “I can . . . um, understand that.”

There was a pause. “I talked to Colton this morning. He’s going to come by soon. I’ll be here while he talks to you.”

A shiver crawled along the nape of my neck, and I pulled the sweater closer. I nodded. “Does he know what happened?”

“Yes.”

I watched a bird flutter past the balcony. “Does he think it’s related to the other stuff?”

“I don’t know. I think he wants to talk to you first before he makes that jump.” He sighed softly. “Seriously, Roxy, you hanging in there?”