Inside, the only light hung above the desk. It cast a pale gleam over the middle of the room but didn’t reach all the way to the edges. Obviously, Seth wasn’t working. She could see large covered objects and uncovered canvases and tables with paints and brushes and chisels and sanders scattered about, but she couldn’t see any of it in any detail, and she didn’t spot Seth until she’d wandered to the back of the room. Then she could make out a large, lanky body draped over a couch.

Her heart jumped into her throat—until she touched him and found him warm and breathing.

When he stirred, she said, “Thank goodness,” and sagged in relief.

His eyes opened, and he stared up at her with the same hollow expression she’d seen him wear as he’d slowly climbed the stairs after Lois stormed off.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “You scared me.”

He didn’t answer.

“Lois, or whatever her name is, was completely wrong about you,” she whispered. “You can’t believe her.”

“I wish things could’ve been different—from the beginning,” he finally said. “But more for Shiloh’s sake.”

What about him? After a childhood like his, he was probably used to being shunned, probably thought he must deserve it in some way. “From what I heard, they’re just blind.”

“No, Lois was right. I did try to rob a bank.”

She’d guessed it was true; he hadn’t tried to deny it. “At thirteen? What made you do it?”

“I was stupid.”

“Did you use a gun?”

“No. I didn’t even go in. I was driving the getaway car for a friend’s older brother and his buddy. I honestly didn’t care about the money. I was just...so self-destructive at that age, I guess.”

He said it as though he didn’t understand why he would be. But Tia guessed he’d been crying out for help, trying to make someone care. From what she’d learned so far, no one had given a damn about him until Aiyana came along. “We all do stupid stuff when we’re hurting,” she said and, probably because kissing him was all she could think about, lowered her mouth to his.

She meant only to give him a soft kiss to convince him of her sincerity. She didn’t think he’d accept anything more than that, so she was more than a little surprised when his hands came up right away, his fingers slid into her hair and he not only returned the kiss, he deepened it so quickly and so hungrily she got the impression he’d been starving for exactly this.