“Hey, I’m out,” Damon stated, interrupting my thoughts. He tapped me on the arm and held out his hand.
I slapped my hand in his and we briefly pulled on another as our usual custom when departing. My gaze flickered between Damon’s retreating back and the fight still happening in the ring, but my mind was still caught up on Kayla Reyes. Something was off about her. I’d noticed it from the first moment I laid eyes on her.
Seven years of separation and my own best efforts hadn’t completely submerged any and all memory of her. What I’d saw earlier that night wasn’t the same Kayla I knew growing up. My mind shifted to the way she’d worn her hair at the fundraiser.
If they don’t like my big hair, they can kiss my ass.
Those had been her exact words one time after an argument she’d gotten in with her mother about straightening her hair. I never understood what the big deal was, but I agreed that her hair looked best loose and curly. At the fundraiser she’d had it straight and pulled back in a bun. Not only that, but her demeanor was … off. As if she’d been unsure of herself. Something didn’t feel right. The one moment it felt like the old Kay was back had been when she was about to hand me my ass for calling her out. But instead, she’d clammed up when Denise interrupted us.
My growing need to find out what had brought such a change about was winning out over the voice in my head that tried to convince me to stay away. In the end, I already knew I wasn’t about to keep my distance. She’d walked back intomycity. Even against my own better judgment, I’d go to the ends of the Earth to pursue what it is I wanted.
Hell, I figured I owed it to Chelsea to at least ensure that the woman who’d been her best friend was okay. After that, I could walk away without another thought. Just as Kayla had done.
Chapter Five
Kayla
This cannot be happening!I threw up my free hand, pacing the carpeted floor of my office, while holding my cell phone to my ear with my other hand.
“Isn’t theresomethingyou could do?” I implored through the phone to Darla, my real estate agent.
“Not if you don’t want to live in a place where the building could collapse on you at any moment.”
I rolled my eyes, lifting my head to the ceiling and pushing out a hard breath. I resisted the urge to tell my agent she was being just alittledramatic. Yeah sure, an appraiser had come in to do an appraisal which resulted in Darla making this phone call. But really, what were the chances of the building actually falling?
“Do you really want to risk it?”
My realtor’s dry voice made me realize I’d stated that question out loud. I pushed out another breath of air.
“I need to get out of my parents’ house,” I mumbled, causing Darla to laugh.
“Listen, Kayla, I know this is a bummer, but I’d rather you have a safe place to live that you had to wait just a little longer to find, than to sell you a place that was unsafe.”
“I know. I know,” I mumbled some more, sounding like a child. “And I appreciate your help.”
“I’ve got to go, but I am emailing over a list of places I think might be a good fit for you. We’ll review them the next time we talk and then start visiting within the next week, okay?”
“Yeah, all right.” I sounded defeated to my own ears. I had loved the spacious two-bedroom condo that I’d put an offer in on the week before. Everything was looking on the up and up, until a second appraiser came in and questioned the building’s structural integrity. Whatever the hell that meant. A new contractor had been brought in and found the same issue, essentially condemning the building, leaving me with no place to live. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. I was still living with my parents, who’d made it abundantly clear I could stay as long as I’d liked. I knew they enjoyed having me around full-time again, but after seven years of living on my own, I’d gotten used to my freedom. And, although my parents weren’t nearly as bad at smothering me as they were when I was a child, I still got knocks on my door at six a.m. from my mother or father asking if I’d taken my medicine yet that morning.
They meant well, I knew they did, but I needed more breathing room. I tutted and tossed my phone on my desk, barely looking over my shoulder when a strange feeling crept up my spine.
“Trouble finding a place to live?”
“Holy shit!” I jumped, startled at the sound of his deep voice. That feeling in my spine intensified and burst in my belly before I even turned around. When I did, I had to stop myself from swallowing my own tongue.Breathe, Kayla,I reminded myself when I started to feel as if I were suffocating. Oh, but why did my next inhale fill my nose with his scent? He smelled the same as he did the other night. And he was still standing at the door, halfway across the room. Not standing really. More like leaning against the doorjamb, his feet crossed at the ankles, looking devilishly delicious in a silver suit that perfectly contoured his muscular frame.
His eyes scanned me from head to toe, the smirk on his face telling of his obvious enjoyment in the fact that he’d startled me.
“You scared the hell out of me.”
His eyes narrowed and my toes curled in the black pumps I wore. Was he reading me?
“The Kayla I remember wasn’t so jumpy.” He lifted an eyebrow, standing up completely.
“A lot has changed.”
“What was that?” He moved farther into my office, looking around.
“Nothing. What are you doing here?”
