“I don’t regret what happened, either. I enjoyed it. I’m just not sure it should happen again. Everything is so complicated, and my head has already exploded once.”
I scowl at her.
“Right, not funny. Can we just work at being friends right now?”
I fight back the urge to howl. I’m so fucking sick of being this woman’s friend, but how can I say no? She doesn’t trust me anymore, and the only way to change that is to rebuild it.
“Friends, it is.”
“Really?”
“If that’s what you need from me, then that’s what you’ll get. I have to say, though, no men. I’m keen to go at whatever pace you need here, but I can’t handle watching you with another man. Not again.”
“Believe it or not, Kruger, men aren’t exactly lining up at my door.”
“Mostly because you don’t have a door anymore. And if you did, it would probably be surrounded by a crocodile-filled moat.”
She bursts out laughing, and the shrill sound has me freezing. This. This is what will make this tortured friendship bullshit worth it. It’s been a long fucking time since I heard that laugh, and my new mission is to hear it at least once a day.
“Point taken. All I’m saying is, there are no men on my radar.”
“Only me.”
She swallows, tilting her head a little before she concedes. “Only you.”
I’ll take it.
“Does this work both ways, or should I prepare myself to see a parade of women in and out of here?”
“When are you gonna get it, chestnut? The only woman I want is you.”
She looks shocked by my admission, even though I’d said as much to her before.
I need to change the subject quickly before she decides to leave. I remember I still need to tell her about Au. “I need to talk to you about something else.”
“Okay, sounds serious.”
“Not serious, just annoying. The reason why I went out last night was because the alarm was going off at Au, and nobody could get hold of Midas.”
“Fuck. What happened?”
“Just a broken window. Probably kids. Nothing else was damaged, and it doesn’t look like anything was taken either. I boarded the window up, and I have one of my guys coming out to fix the cameras.”
“Of course, the cameras were down. Isn’t that always the way? Though saying that, kids wouldn’t normally take out the cameras, would they?”
“Might not have been the kids who messed with the cameras. It really could be a coincidence.”
“Not sure I believe in those.”
“We’ll keep an eye on the place, and the glass is being replaced tomorrow.”
“Did you get a quote for how much it will cost?”
“Nothing.”
“You can’t pay for this, Kruger. It’s not your problem.”
“It fucking is. If it weren’t for you, that building wouldn’t be standing, and I’d be helping arrange funerals, not for a piece of glass to be fitted.”
