Page 69 of Her Captivated Hero

“Aiden did. But Honey, the Asperger’s isn’t an issue. You know it isn’t.”

This totally didn’t make sense. She blew out a stream of air. “Aiden? Aiden O’Malley?”

Gray’s eyes grew stormy. “It was a clusterfuck. Miranda said something to Griff who talked to Aiden. They were just trying to make sure you felt comfortable. They wanted to make sure everyone was kind of laid-back.”

Riya thought back to when she started at TAID. She’d been up front with Miranda that she was on the high-functioning end of the autism scale, that she basically had Asperger’s. She explained that it shouldn’t be a problem with her work, but that sometimes she was slow to clue in to some social situations. Miranda had been great in helping her out.

After six months she’d told Riya that she thought that a lot of times when she had trouble dealing with situations she thought it was her lack of work experience, not the Asperger’s, and she should cut herself some slack. She could tell that Miranda had studied up on the diagnosis and worked hard to assist her on the job. Riya had been overjoyed to find such a great mentor.

“Why is it a clusterfuck if they were just trying to be nice?” She had to be missing something. “It’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

“They had the best intentions. My friends have great hearts, I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“Is that why you’re up in the middle of the night?”

“Partly. I was also checking up on some things from our last mission.”

She studied his face, trying to get a read on him, at the same time trying to figure out how she felt that people had to be told to make her feel comfortable.

“How awkward was it for your friends?”

“Huh?” Gray twined his fingers between hers so that their palms met. “Oh. Shit, Riya. Jack, one of our former teammates who wasn’t there today, damn near called a team meeting to tell us how to behave before we met Beth. He thought she needed to be handled like spun-glass.”

“Did she?”

“Maybe in the beginning,” Gray admitted. “I think Griff only told Aiden. who more than likely told Evie about you.”

Riya thought through the day’s events. “Dalton. They told Dalton. He was really calm and gentle.”

Gray gave a wistful smile. “Dalton has his own story, so no, that’s just the way he is.”

“Then I don’t understand. Why are you so upset if the host and hostess were told I needed to be eased into a social situation? I know some people are bothered by this, but they didn’t seem to be. I mean, I can explain it to you. It’s really a lot more common than you’d think. Wait, I have a book on it, let me go get it.” She tried to pull her hands out of his grip, but he wouldn’t let go.

“Calm down, I don’t need a book.”

A book? Had I really offered a book? What a dumbass. Wait a minute…

“Are you weirded out, now that you know?”

He reared back and looked at her askance. “Are you seriously asking me that question?”

She looked at him and relaxed. “I guess I shouldn’t have worried.”

“Damn right you shouldn’t. I love you. I love every single thing about you, even your wrapping paper fetish.”

She tightened her fingers on his. “I’ll handle time with your friends better as I get to know them.”

“Hell yeah you will. I’ve watched you handle everything. Hell, you even managed to conquer Drake Avery at the end.”

She snorted. “It was easy as soon as he got around his wife, then he got all gooey.”

Gray let go of her hands, draping his arms around her neck and rubbed his nose against hers. “And me? When do I get all gooey?”

“My man? He doesn’t get gooey, he gets hard.”

Nothing was better than Gray Tyler’s laughter.

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