“No. Not at all. Maybe the sparks between them are real.” She yawns. “I know he’s aone date and it’s overtype of guy. Once he gets bored, he pulls away. Classic Patterson move.”
I exhale. “Can we talk about something else? I really don’t give two fucks about him, and this entire conversation is pissing me off.”
“Of course,” she says. “Sorry. You know how invested I get. Sometimes, I forget you two wish the other didn’t exist. I’m going to let you get some sleep because I know how cranky traveling makes you.”
“I’m sorry,” I say with a stifled laugh. “I’m in amood.”
“I already told you what would solve that. Great D!”
This actually makes me smile. “Maybe I should go find someone to entertain me tonight.”
“I approve,” she tells me. “Lunch when you’re back in the city?”
“Absolutely!”
“Love you, babe,” Addison says.
“Love you too.”
The line goes dead, and I curl my hands into fists.
A light tap on the connecting door makes me jump.
I don’t move because I don’t want to face him right now.
Another knock, softer this time.
“Go away,” I say.
“Open the door, Ken Doll.”
“No.” I cross the room and press my palm flat against the wood. “Talk to me in New York.”
“Open. The. Door.” His voice is low, rough.
I sigh and turn the handle, opening it. “Why?” I try to sound unbothered, but I fail miserably.
He’s standing there in gray sweatpants and nothing else, his hair still damp from a shower, and the look on his face is something between furious and wrecked.
“I heard you,” he says.
“And?”
He steps forward, and I step back, the door swinging wider between our rooms.
“Were you serious?”
“You told me this stays in New York.” I lift my chin. “What I do in Chicago is none of your business.”
“Wrong fucking answer, babe.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting,Pattycakes.”
He keeps advancing until my back hits the wall, and his arms cage me in on either side, but he doesn’t touch me. He’s close enough that I can feel the heat radiating off his bare chest. If I breathed too deeply, my breasts would brush against him through the thin robe.
“You want to make me jealous?” His voice drops. “Is that what this is? I don’t care who you kiss. Or touch. Or flirt with. The moment some other man is inside you … this is so fucking over. Also, didn’t realize you had it in you to lie to your bestie. I’ve underestimated you, Ken Doll.”
“You sure have,” I snap back. “But what would you want me to say?Hey, Addy, funny story. I’ve been fucking your brother senseless for weeks, and I can’t stop even though I know it’s going to destroy everything good in my life?” I shake my head. “That would go over great. She would tell me to dump you. Immediately. And maybe she’d be right.”
