Luka checks emails. I watch the floors climb. And Scottie… fidgets like the walls are closing in.
“Are you nervous?” I ask before I can stop myself.
He startles. “What? No, I mean—maybe. Are you?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” He straightens. “Well, that’s… oddly comforting.”
My lips twitch. He catches it instantly.
“Was that almost a smile?” he asks.
“No.”
“It was,” Luka snorts. “She smiled.”
“I did not.”
Scottie grins, big and bright and infuriating. “We’re bonding.”
“We are not bonding,” I say, trying not to like the way he smiles at me.
“Give it a week,” he nods, as if it’s inevitable.
I clear my throat and ignore the idea of bonding with the man I’m about to marry. “You don’t have anything to worry about, by the way. Our father won’t put a hit out on you. He can’t afford that kind of attention. There are a lot of people who want an excuse to put him away for life. You’re too high profile and, again, our grandmother won’t allow it. If he wants me, he’ll find another way to drag me home. My grandmother is the only protection I have… and being married to you.”
“I’ll try to let that make me feel a little better,” he says sarcastically. Then Scottie pipes up. “Wait, we just passed my floor.” He looks at Luka with confusion.
“I know. I rented the penthouse suite from Coach Haynes. He and Juliet bought a house in the gated community that everyone else has been buying houses in. He’s subleasing it to me.”
“But the penthouse? Is that necessary?” he asks.
“My sister is used to a certain lifestyle, and we need this to look believable. If my grandmother ever comes to visit, she’ll expect to see Kat living in some level of luxury.”
“You think she’ll come?” I ask, the thought is a little terrifying. I love my grandmother, and I wouldn’t mind seeing her, but there’s something about her. Something that makes it impossible to lie to her face. I’ve never been able to. She’s like a human lie-detector.
“I’m not sure, but that’s what the penthouse is for. She won’t believe it if you’re living in a one-bedroom apartment on the fifth floor.”
“Hey,” Scottie objects as if it were an insult.
“Besides…” Luka looks at Scottie. “There won’t be any one-bedroom situation going on here. Got it?” he says, and I know a threat when I see one.
Scottie puts up his hands as if he had no intention of touching me.
And maybe for a moment, I’m relieved. Maybe I won’t have to confess to being a virgin. After all, Scottie’s probably used to a certain kind of woman. One open to one-night stands, experienced in bed. I’m not that girl. He’d be disappointed in me anyway.
No physical contact is best for everyone.
“Luka, I’ve been living in a studio apartment with two other people… I don’t need this.” I say.
The doors open onto a hallway with three doors. Three penthouses on this level.
“It’s already done. Coach Haynes says we can sublease it for the next year; that’s what he has left on the contract. I’ll take care of the rent,” Luka says as he inputs the code to unlock the door to the left.
“No, you won’t,” Scottie says, following in after me. “I can pay the rent, just tell me what it costs.”
“This doesn’t have to be your problem.”
