Instead, I find myself standing in front of 3B, dripping onto the welcome mat with roses and wine in my hands, staring at the brass numbers like they might give me the answers to life’s greatest mysteries.The hallway smells like cooking spices and old carpet, and I can hear a television playing somewhere behind one of the other doors.
I press the buzzer before I can talk myself out of it.Footsteps approach the door, quick and light.Then I hear the door unlocking.It swings open, and my breath catches.
Eve is standing there in a white silk robe that comes to her mid-thigh, her hair damp and tousled like she just got out of the shower.She’s rubbing a towel through her hair, and her face is completely makeup-free, making her look younger.Softer.
“How much do I owe you?”she asks, already reaching for something behind the door, probably her purse.
Then she looks up and sees me.The hand rubbing the towel against her hair freezes.We stare at each other for a long moment.Her dark eyes go wide, then narrow into something that looks distinctly hostile.I’m suddenly very aware that I’m standing in her doorway, soaking wet, probably looking like some kind of stalker.
“What,” she says, her voice flat, “are you doing here?”
I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.She looks incredible.The robe is clinging to her curves, and her legs are bare, and I can see the hollow of her throat where water is still beading from her shower.
“I...”I clear my throat and try again, hoping the lie is a little convincing.“My car died.”
She blinks.“Your car died.”
“Yeah.About a block from here.Engine just...gave out.”I gesture vaguely behind me, as if the broken-down car might materialize in the hallway as proof.
Eve crosses her arms, which does interesting things to how the robe sits on her body.“Stay right there,” she says, already moving to close the door.“I’ll call you a taxi.”
“Wait—” I stick my foot in the doorway before she can shut me out completely.“I’m really cold, Eve.And wet.Couldn’t I just?—”
“No.”Her voice is ice-cold.“You can freeze to death for all I care.”
She tries to push the door closed, but my foot is wedged in there pretty good.She shoves harder, and I wince as the door frame bites into my ankle.
“Come on,” I say, putting on my most pitiful expression, the kind that used to work on my mom when I was twelve and wanted to skip school.“I’m soaked to the bone here.I’m probably going to get hypothermia standing in this hallway.”
“Good.Maybe it’ll kill you.”
“Eve—”
“You know,” she interrupts, looking me up and down with obvious suspicion, “for someone whose car supposedly broke down near my apartment, you sure came prepared.”She nods pointedly at what I’m carrying.“What’s next, are you going to tell me you just happened to be wandering around with roses and a bottle of wine?”
I grin at her.I can’t help it.Even pissed off and trying to slam a door on my foot, she’s sharp as hell.“I promise I’ll tell you if you let me in.”
She stares at me for a long moment, her jaw set in that stubborn way that makes me want to kiss her until she forgets whatever she’s angry about.Then she tries to shove my foot out of the doorway with more force.
“Get your foot out of my door, Caleb.”
“Doesn’t your curiosity get the better of you?”I ask, shifting slightly so she can see the wine label.“This is a really good bottle.2018 Barolo.And the roses are from that fancy place on Fifth Avenue?—”
“I don’t care if they’re from the Garden of Eden,” she snaps.“I want you to?—”
“Don’t you want to know how the meeting went?”
The words stop her mid-sentence.She goes very still, her hand frozen on the door.I can see the war playing out across her face—her anger at me for showing up uninvited battling against her professional curiosity about the Rogan meeting.
Professional curiosity wins.
“Five minutes,” she says after a long pause, stepping back from the door reluctantly.
I pull my foot back and step into her apartment, trying not to drip too much on her hardwood floors.She closes the door behind me with a decisive click, and I turn to face her, extending the roses.
“These are for you.”
Eve stares at the flowers like they might be booby-trapped.“Did the rainwater get into your brain?”
