Page 30 of Captivated

Faintly, Liliana heard Cella saying, “It’s okay, breathe. In and out, slowly. Look at me, Liliana. Me.”

She couldn’t.

She couldn’t find her sister in the swarm of dizziness that had somehow become her mind, never mind the horror that was her anxiety.

A mess.

She felt like a total mess.

And then …

“I don’t know what happened, she was just—”

“It’s all right,” said a soothingly dark, familiar voice. “Liliana, sweetheart … have you ever heard of grounding?”

She didn’t reply verbally.

She might have shook her head.

“Okay,” Joe’s voice echoed back to her, “let’s find five things to see.”

The street. Pavement under my feet. A sky so pretty, and blue. Cella trying to smile. Joe with eyes on only her.

“Why are you here?” Liliana managed to ask.

Joe gave her a crooked smile. “And five things you can hear.”

Liliana listened for sounds even as Joe explained why he was on Fifth Avenue.

“Thought I might do some sightseeing since I am staying in the city for a while,” he said, “and I happened to see both of you from across the road. I wasn’t going to come say hi, but this seemed more important. And five things you can feel, and then we’ll see how you’re doing.”

Liliana thought about how she could feel the thumping in her aching feet even through the soft compression wraps, and the cashmere dress she had thrown on to look presentable before coming out to meet Cella. She could feel the nice breeze, too, and the heat of the sun’s rays on her skin.

But mostly important?

“You,” Liliana murmured. “I feel you.”

Joe grinned, and his hand on her wrist tightened just enough to make her smile, too. “Yeah, I suppose that’s one thing.”

Settled.

Calm.

Present.

The anxiety was there, sure, but not nearly as bad. Her breathing had returned to normal, and all was well again.

At least for the moment.

Liliana was lost in the daze Joe provided her when their gazes locked on one another. She didn’t have to think about anything else, or why she had been thrown into her first anxiety attack in almost a year.

“You okay?” Cella asked.

And the daze was gone.

Liliana nodded quickly, and tried to offer her sister a smile. She didn’t know if it came off as true, or not. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“What happened?”