She was about to turn off her phone, which was almost out of battery anyway after sleeping with it all night, when it dinged.

“Mom, please. Leave me alone,” she cried to the empty room. Desperation welled up—what she’d been trying to avoid by coming to Silver Springs—but she couldn’t keep from glancing at the message.

Fortunately, it wasn’t her mother. It was Seth.

Breakfast is ready.

Breakfast? She stared at those three words, trying to decide what to do. If she didn’t go over, he might come get her. But if she did go over, he’d expect her to come without her bandages.

She knew from the freedom she’d experienced last night that he was right. She needed to lower her defenses and be herself with at least one person. And since he was a stranger—one who wasn’t connected to the movie industry or fandom—it was easier with him. But still. Associating with anyone right now was a huge challenge.

It took her so long to decide, he sent another text.

Food’s getting cold.

He was certainly persistent. She had to give him that. I’m coming, she wrote.

While listening for the security system to alert him to Tia’s entry, Seth finished making her omelet, slid it onto a plate and poured fresh-squeezed orange juice into two glasses. This morning, when he’d gone out for a run, he’d noticed several citrus trees laden with oranges on the property, so he’d picked a bagful.

As he went to the stove to get the fried potatoes, he finally heard the mechanical voice he’d been expecting. “Activity at the front door.”

“Morning,” he murmured as footsteps sounded behind him, but he didn’t turn. He’d decided to act as casual as possible, figured that was probably the best way to handle this first encounter after what he’d done at her door yesterday. He wanted to make sure she felt safe, and he couldn’t imagine anyone in her situation would enjoy being the subject of too much attention or even attention that was too highly focused.

“Smells good,” she said, but her voice sounded tentative enough to suggest that she wasn’t convinced she’d made the right decision in coming.

He almost made a joke that it would be her turn to cook next. But he knew it would fall flat. She couldn’t care for anyone right now, even herself. He’d been in her shoes once upon a time, in the months after Shiloh died, so he understood.