Barefoot and dripping, I dart out.
I’m halfway to the linen cabinet, tiptoeing across cold tile in my makeshift bath mat toga… when the front door creaks open.
The moment freezes in slow motion.
The door opens all the way.
A man steps inside.
Tall. Broad shoulders. Sunglasses. Black T-shirt stretched across his chest. Tattooed forearms. And he's carrying coffee and a paper bag of donuts like he owns the place.
Which heabsolutely does not, because this is Liam’s apartment, and I am naked under a glorified dishrag.
He looks up.
I look up.
We collide.
I shriek. He curses. Thedonuts fly. The coffee carrier tips. I stumble backward—and the bath mat slips from my grasp.
Time actually stops.
The mat hits the floor.
I am completely naked.
There is a jelly donut on my foot.
Powdered sugar dusts the air like some kind of culinary smoke bomb.
I shriek again and dive behind the nearest piece of furniture—Liam’s sad little entryway table—and crouch like a war victim, grabbing the bath mat and clutching it to my chest with both arms.
Across the room, the man—this intruder—straightens, completely unfazed. He casually sets the coffee carrier upright, plucks a donut from the chaos, and bites into it like nothing just happened.
I stare at him. He stares back.
I scream, “OH MY GOD WHO ARE YOU?!”
He chews. Swallows. Lowers his sunglasses just enough to peer at me over the frames. “I’m Ash. Who are you and why the fuck are you naked in Liam’s hallway?”
I sputter. “Naked?!You—this—why areyouhere?! Are you—are you a burglar?!”
He arches a brow and gestures to the now-decimated donut bag. “Burglars don’t usually bring pastries.”
My mouth opens. Closes. I blink at him. “That’s not—! That doesn’t make sense! Why are you HERE?!”
Ash replies calmly, like I’m a bit slow. “I have a key. And Liam invited me.”
He pulls said key out of his pocket and dangles it casually between two fingers like this is the most normal Thursday morningof his life.
“I’m Olive,” I hiss, trying to keep the mat pinned over everything critical. “Liam’s sister. I live here now.”
“I know.”
That throws me.
“You—youdo?”
