“My sister and mom did it.”
Ah. That makes sense. This wasn’t done by him, but he has no problem living in a space as warm as this. The loft is homier than most I’ve been in, with a few walls painted in the blackest black and deep greens.
“It’s beautiful.”
The furniture is in rich wood tones, with leatherand light-colored boucle fabrics. It’s a place I could live in and nest forever.You’re getting ahead of yourself, Iris.
I step into the expansive place, my eyes drifting around as I try my best to soak everything in.
Brax moves toward the large kitchen area with the longest kitchen island I’ve ever seen outside of a commercial kitchen. “Want something to drink?”
“Yes,” I say as I spin around, and my eyes catch on the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a lit-up downtown.
“I bought this place because of that view.”
I’m seriously impressed. Not only because of the decorating, but also because he bought it. I’ve only been able to rent. The city is ridiculously expensive, and the longer I wait to buy, the higher the prices seem to go.
I can’t take my eyes off the city, watching the lights twinkle like the stars in the sky above. “I would’ve too. I have a stunning view of my neighbor’s brick exterior.”
Brax hands me a glass filled with soda as he comes to stand next to me, but he’s not looking at the view in front of us. I can feel the heat in his eyes without looking at him.
“How long have you been here?” I ask, suddenly nervous to be alone with him.
But I’m not nervous because I fear him. I’m scared of what this could lead to and the constantworry that he could break my heart the same way Lucas did.
“A few years,” he says. His voice is soft and warm, sliding over my skin like a caress.
“The snow is getting heavier,” I say, trying to make small talk. From the seventh floor of his building, the city looks so peaceful with the flakes fluttering through the air and falling to the ground below.
I hadn’t planned on coming to his place after the bar, but the snow started coming down at such a rapid clip, we both decided it was the safest and closest place for me tonight.
Damn winter.
My phone rings in my purse, causing me to jump. I thought I had the damn thing on silent because Mikayla and Sandy had been blowing it up on my way to the bar.
“Sorry.” I stalk toward my purse, which I left with my coat and boots near the door.
“It’s okay. Get it.”
“No. No. It’s okay,” I tell him as my fingers find the cool metal in the bottom of my purse. But whatever I was going to say dies on my tongue as I see the name on my phone. “Son of a…”
“Something wrong?” Brax asks.
I peer up at him, trying to keep my face impassive. “No one important.” I hit the send to voice mailbutton on the screen, not wanting to talk to Lucas now or ever.
But as I start to throw my phone back into my purse, it rings again. Before it makes it to the second ring, I send it to voice mail again.
“You sure you don’t need to get it?”
“Need?” I laugh sardonically. “No. I don’t need to get it. They’re not important.”
“Lemme guess. The ex?” Brax says, like he’s reading my mind.
My face must have given me away. “Yeah,” I whisper.
“Want me to answer?”
My breath catches in my lungs as I think about Brax’s deep voice being the one to greet Lucas. “No. I can talk to him another time, but I really don’t want to hear from him.”
