“Jeez, girl, I just wanted to show you something.” His face grew more irritated, angry. It scared me to see him like that.

“You know there are a mass of reporters right out that door?” But even I could hear that the threat was lame. He could get down the steps and grab me in a second.

“I’m about to leave,” he said. “But I told you I have to show you something first.”

Pound, pound, pound. He came down the steps, growing closer to me. My heart thumped even louder against my ribs.

“Stop,” I said, holding up my hand. “Just stop. What do you want to show me?”

He reached into the breast pocket of his jacket.

My breath stopped. What was he doing?

He pulled something from the jacket. It was square. Blue.

“It’s my passport,” he said. “It says I was in Mexico on Monday, just like I told you.” He bent down and tossed the passport. It bounced and skidded to a step above me.

I picked it up, looked at his photo-admittedly adorable, a sexy twist to his mouth. I flipped through the pages. And there it was-an entry stamp for Mexico on Monday. An exit stamp for yesterday.

I looked up at him, my brain reeling with the surreal of him, of this situation. For a second, I craved the calm familiarity that I used to have with Sam, missed the days when we were together, when he understood every notion my mind seemed to register, every little twinge my body felt and I understood his.

Theo sat down on a step and put his arms on his knees. He seemed to realize that my thoughts and my emotions were spinning, whirling, that they were having a very hard time landing.

“I was going to tell you, you know,” he said.

“Tell me what?”

“About Jane. And me. Izzy, I’ve only known you for a week.” He no longer looked anxious or irritated but rather wistful and compassionate and something else I couldn’t read. He tucked a lock of hair behind his ears. “But it feels like I’ve known you longer.” He took a breath, then exhaled loud. “Look, inside my head, I’m older than twenty-one. But I’m still learning things-about relationships, about sex, about work. I’m changing all the time. And I’m different now than I was when I was with Jane. I’m into you in a whole different way.” He seemed earnest. He seemed as if he was telling me the truth. But it was obvious to me I had absolutely no fricking clue what the truth was anymore.

“And yet the only reason you hit on me,” I said, “the only reason you slept with me, was to get back at Jane. Because you were in love with her.”

“No, I’m over Jane. I have been for a while, and I hadn’t seen her in forever before that night. When I ran into you guys, and she introduced us, I was just playing at first, hitting on you to try to make her crazy, but she didn’t care, and then I realized I did. About you. There’s just something about you.”

I looked at his passport again, and thought about everything I’d learned about Theo in that week. He had never lied to me, I realized. He had omitted information, certainly, but I understood what he was saying. We’d only known each other such a short time, just a weekend, really. When I thought about it, he had never really done anything wrong, not that I could tell. And his passport proved that he couldn’t have killed Jane.

“I’m sorry I accused you,” I said.

He smiled. “You didn’t accuse. You asked.”

“I guess I was surprised. To hear about the Jane thing. And I think I felt stupid.”

He nodded. “That’s not fun.”

I shrugged. “It wasn’t. But it’s also not fun to be accused. I know that. So I’m…I’m sorry I accused you.”

He gazed at me. “What can I do? I want to help you.” He was so big physically, and there was also the presence of him, which took up so much space. Yet right now, he looked helpless. And young.

The stairwell was growing warm, stifling almost. Outside I could hear muted chatter from the media.

“C’mere,” Theo said, standing.

I stood, silent. Finally, I took a step up, then another and another until I was one above him and our faces were even, until I could breathe in that Theo scent that had made me crazy all last weekend. And it still worked. The human, sexual part of me that couldn’t be turned off was turned on. But my brain wouldn’t let me go there.

“What can I do?” he said again. His voice was soft. I stared at his cushioned lips. “What can I do?” He put his hands on my waist.

“Theo, I can’t,” I said, pulling back a little.

“Shh,” he said. “We’re not…We’re just…” Slowly, his hands still on my waist, he drew me closer; slowly he wrapped his big arms around me, pulling me into him, curling me against his body, stroking my hair, holding me.

I shuddered with comfort. And finally, I clung to him.

We stayed like that for minutes. Five, maybe, then time stretched. It must have been ten minutes and then fifteen. Neither of us moved. Something about being there soothed me, restored me, almost.

But then the calm of the moment was shattered by a banging sound, then a buzzing noise, then loud knocking. I could hear the buzzer reverberate upstairs in my apartment.

“Do you want to answer it?” Theo asked.

I shook my head. “It’s just the press.” I curled myself into him for another moment. But the banging got louder, and the buzzing didn’t let up. Every few seconds or so, buzz, buzz, buzz. And then finally, whoever it was started laying on the buzzer, so that a long screech filled the stairwell.

Theo stood straighter. “I’ll get rid of them.”

“No, don’t. Don’t do anything.”

More pounding, more buzzing.

“Look, Theo,” I said, trying to ignore it. “You asked what you could do, and I think the only thing you can really do right now is stay away from me.” I thought of Maggie’s comments. “It doesn’t look good that you dated Jane and then me, and then Jane ended up dead, and I ended up with her job. And really, I’m in no shape to spend time with anyone.”

He shrugged. “I want you however you are. Wherever you are.” He touched my jaw with the fingers of his left hand. He pulled my face toward him. He kissed me with those lips, that tongue. And for that moment, the world was vaporized, gone, nothing lingering except us.

But then more banging, the buzzing. Whoever it was, they weren’t going to stop.

I groaned, blinked a few times, pulled my face away. “I should get that. And you should go. Maybe when this is over…” I trailed off, struck with fear that it might never be over. But I shook that fear away. Enough with the fear, I thought. It would get me absolutely nowhere.

Once more, his fingers on my jaw; once more, a kiss, this one quick. Too quick. “When this is over,” he said, nodding, as if he was very sure of something.

Thumping, buzzing from the front door.

I groaned. I turned and stormed down the stairs. “Who is it?” I shouted through the door.

“Detective Vaughn.”

I looked up at Theo, heard Maggie’s words-this doesn’t look good. Should I take him up to my apartment and leave down the back stairs? But that would look like I was hiding something. And I had nothing to hide.

“McNeil,” I heard Vaughn yell, “I have a warrant.”