Instead, she’s at Nate’s doing God knows what.
“What?” Luke looks genuinely confused.
Emory breaks free of his hold and stomps up the stairs with an irritated groan.
“Baby, what did I do?” Luke calls after her. “Where are you going? We’re going to be late for the ultrasound. Is it the hormones again?”
Yikes. Wouldn’t want to be him. I also wouldn’t want to be Allie once I’m done with her.
Nate lives in a luxury condo on the other side of town, but it takes me less than ten minutes to get there. I knock on the door, but no one answers. You have to be kidding me. Is no one going to answer me today?! I don’t know what makes me do it. Obviously, Nate keeps his front door locked. Yet, something inexplicable makes me reach out and press the lever on the handle down, and to my utter shock, it creaks open.
“Hello?” I call out. No response.
I walk deeper into the entryway and gently close the door behind me. That’s when I hear the muffled sounds—like moaning.
Did she seriously call out of work so she could fuck her best friend’s brother?
A chant starts in my head telling me to turn around.Thisisweird, Ashton. Turn around right now. You just broke into someone’s house and now you’re what? Going to walk in on your assistant having sex? Turn. The. Fuck. Around.
I don’t. The anger that pounds at my chest propels me forward as the sounds increase in volume. That’s when I hear their voices.
“C’mon. Give me one more,” Nate rasps.
“Motherfucker,” Allie screams. I honestly can’t tell if it’s in pleasure or pain.
I reach the closed door, and I can hear Allie’s soft pants like she’s coming down from something. I grasp the handle, and it singes my hand like a fire poker.
Don’t do it.
“See, that wasn’t so bad,” Nate says, chuckling.
What the fuck?
What little rational thoughts occupied my mind a second ago have evaporated into thin air, and I turn the handle and swing the door open.
Allie and Nate look up in shock. They are both fully clothed in workout gear. Allie is lying on an exercise mat, while Nate is frozen solid with small weights in his hands, as if he were in the middle of putting them back on the rack next to him. I glance around at the mats, the treadmill, the free weights—his home gym. Relief floods my body at the realization. He was helping her work out.
Allie’s shock melts into anger, and she stands up in a huff.
“What the hell are you doing here, Rich Boy?”
“Alexandra,” I warn.
“What?” Her hands float to her hips, her eyes narrowing into thin slits.
Nate snorts and looks on, wholeheartedly amused, but he has the decency to at least try to hide his smirk. Allie notices it and points a finger at him. “Don’t even start with me.”
“Sorry, man,” I say to Nate. “I tried knocking, but no one answered.”
“You know, normally I would be pissed, but I kind of want tosee where all of this is going.” He twirls his finger around and leans back against the wall, crossing his long legs at the ankles.
“Now is the time you decide not to care?” Allie yells, throwing her hands up. “Mr. Overprotective is all of a sudden going to let it slide that a man is stalking me and broke into his home to find me?”
“It’s just Ashton,” Nate says, shrugging, but that somehow makes Allie even angrier, and she stomps across the room to grab her water bottle. Tiny droplets dribble down her mouth as she chugs it aggressively. She wipes her chin with the back of her hand and slams the bottle down. Sweat glistens on her neck, and the dampness coats the bottom edges of her long, dark brown ponytail. Nate clears his throat, clearly having been watching me watch her.
“Hey, Nate. I know it’s your house and I just barged in here, but do you mind giving us a minute?” I ask.
He nods his head, but as he goes to leave, Allie grabs his bicep.
