My lips twisted. “Don’t presume to understand my history,” I said stiffly, my hand on the doorknob, my back to her. “He brokea lotof promises.”
“If you come to another game, I’ll tell you how I learned about Maxim’s hookup history,” Ida Jane said casually, as if we’d remain friendly.
I shook my head. There wouldn’t be a next time. “Bye.”
* * *
Getting backto my apartment took much longer than I’d expected, and I was exhausted by the time I reached my door. I gasped when I flipped on the lights to my studio and found Jeremy lounging on my bed in the far corner. He’d mussed the red silk duvet that I’d inherited from my father’s mother, his shoes leaving dirty streaks on the fragile material.
He glared at me, and I glared back.
“What are you doing in here?” I asked.
“Waiting for you,” he said.
“How…”
“Your neighbor thinks I’m charming,” he said, flashing a dimpled smile.
Celeste had let Jeremy into my place? Oh, we were having words. She had a key for emergencies—like a catastrophic bathroom flood. Not to let in annoying would-be suitors with an ego problem.
I narrowed my eyes and straightened my spine. “You need to leave. Now.”
He rose, his expression set, inflexible. “No,youneed tolisten.” He stalked closer until he towered over me. “The simulation today didn’t pan out. I’m going to have to re-run it. You’re off the project.”
That was a blow. A big one. A terrible one for my career and my finances. I couldn’t really afford more than a month, maybe six weeks if I was very, very careful.
I clenched my jaw and glared back. “If that’s the case, then youdefinitelyneed to get out of my space and my life.”
Jeremy stared down at me, waiting. I stared back, my jaw set.
“You’re supposed to ask—” He cut himself off. With effort, he wiped his expression and sneered. “Good luck working in aeronautics.”
“Don’t ever—and I meanever—come to my home again.”
Jeremy stormed off, and I collapsed into the chair, staring sightlessly out the window.
Many bridges had burned tonight. In fact, my entire life was in smoldering ruins. But even as I stared outside, a lightness filled my chest, at odds with the whirring of my mind as I struggled to fix my issues.
I’d always thought I wanted the chance to set my own course. But now that the opportunity was here, the idea of finding a job I enjoyed, spending time with Paxton again, and moving to a new city was terrifying. The changes had happened with dizzying speed, and I worried I wouldn’t be able to keep up. Yet, at the same time, anticipation sizzled through me. I might work for NASA.NASA!
And Paxton wanted to help me. We’d just…ended before, so I needed whatever this would turn out to be—whether that was closure or something more. I wanted the more, but that frightened me, too. I’d never had much of a support structure, even when my mother was alive. So I had to be realistic: my leg might well buckle when I took this leap of faith.
Chapter9
Paxton
Iwas going to be indeeptrouble with Coach for missing the flight back with the team, but I couldn’t leave without talking to Hana again. Ida Jane had recommended that I give her time, but after seeing her with the skinny shit earlier today and the way she’d fled after the game, I didn’t have that luxury.
I mean, I did, but I’d already missed years of time with Hana because of my father’s meddling, and I refused to miss even a single additional moment.
That’s how I ended up in the backseat of an Uber, my ear bent by a chatty driver named Herb. His nonstop dissertation seemed to posit that sports, women, and beer were the only necessities in a man’s life.
Sorry, bucko, but we’ll have to disagree on that one.“Thanks for the ride,” I said, slamming the door shut when we finally arrived. He’d been entertaining and seemed like a decent guy, all in all. If I wasn’t concerned about Hana, I’d probably have wanted to take him out for a beer or two.
I climbed the steps to her apartment building, unsurprised when a shadow peeled off the side wall. I eyed the skinny shit as he stalked toward me.
“You can have her.” Skinny Shit sniffed as he strode past. “She’s not worth the effort, and she’s not eventhatgood of an engineer. Good riddance to you both.”
