“Very annoying. At the time. Like most younger brothers, Dillon improved with age.”
So had Jae—from skinny kid to absolute stunner.
CHAPTERFIVE
JAE
After eating, we went to the tube station to take the Hammersmith and City line. I had no idea you had to walk so far underground to get to the train platforms. It felt like we were walking along tunnels and going down escalators for hours. I was also shocked by how busy it was, even though it was gone nine at night, and how impatient everyone was. Xander knew where to stand on the platform so we could ride in the least crowded carriage. He ushered me to a seat while he stood and guarded my luggage.
Eventually, we got off at West Ham and had to find our way to the Jubilee Line. Xander knew precisely where to go, showing how frequently he made the journey. We got off at Canning Town and made our way to the surface.
“It’s a two-minute walk,” Xander said as he pulled my suitcase along. “My apartment overlooks the river.”
“The river? You mean the Thames?”
He had a gorgeous laugh. “Yes.”
“You can afford an apartment that overlooks the Thames?”
“Yes. It’s opposite the O2 Arena.”
I opened and closed my mouth a few times. “Are you kidding me right now?”
“No. Come on.”
Two minutes wasn’t a bad estimation, but I must have walked slower than Xander was used to because it took us three.
“This is it.”
Xander stopped outside a red brick complex overlooking the river and, as promised, the O2 Arena. The buildings looked modern and trendy, with tall black-framed windows, steel accents, and a bistro restaurant on the ground floor.
“This is where you live?”
“Yes. In a loft apartment at the top of the building.”
“At the—” My head was spinning.
We went into the lobby, where a concierge greeted Xander by name.
“There’s a gym and swimming pool you can use while you’re here,” Xander said as he led me to the lift. “And a private cinema.”
I couldn’t speak.
We rode the lift to the top floor, and Xander let me into his apartment.
“There’s not much to see here,” Xander said. “Let’s go upstairs.”
“Upstairs?” For one dizzying moment, I thought he was taking me straight to the bedroom.
“Yes. We’ll leave your things here for now. I’ll bring them up later.”
I followed him up a wrought-iron staircase into the most stunning open-plan living space I’d ever seen.
“Wow.” My jaw dropped. “You live here?”
“No. I pickpocketed the key off some sap when I was on my way to meet you. Of course I live here.”
The flooring was pale wood. There was a dining area and a kitchen to the right of the stairs. The kitchen cabinets were a vivid shade of cobalt blue, and I was convinced the worktops were marble because they oozed sophistication. The solid wood dining table was big enough to seat six. Did Xander do a lot of entertaining?
