“Good night, Audra.”
“Good night,” I manage.
I step out of the car still flushed, still very aware of myself—and of him watching until the door to my house closes.
He drives away knowing exactly what he left with me.
Chapter Twenty-One
DEREK
Mark and Alexare already inside when I get home.
Mark’s jacket is draped over the back of a chair like he lives here. Alex is in my kitchen, fridge open, judging me silently.
“You know,” Alex says, “for a man who owns three properties, your snack situation is aggressively depressing.”
“It’s late,” I say, dropping my keys on the counter. “Why are you here?”
Mark glances at me. Doesn’t smile. “You didn’t answer your phone.”
“I was out.”
“No shit,” Alex says, finally shutting the fridge. “You smell like good decisions followed by bad ones.”
I don’t respond. I pour myself a drink instead. The good bottle. That alone makes Mark’s eyebrows lift.
Alex notices too. “Oh. We’re drinking-drinking.”
I take a swallow, let it burn. “She went home.”
That gets their attention.
Mark shifts, arms folding loosely. “Audra?”
“Yes.”
Alex leans back against the counter. “And?”
“And that’s it.”
Alex snorts. “That’s never just it.”
I scrub a hand over my face. “We had dinner. Talked. It was… good.”
Mark watches me carefully. “You don’t look wrecked.”
“I’m not,” I say. Then, after a beat, “Which is the problem.”
Alex tilts his head. “You didn’t sleep with her.”
“No.”
“But,” he prompts.
“But we fooled around,” I say flatly. “In the car.”
Alex’s grin starts automatically—then fades when he sees my expression.
