"Go." I wave my hand as if I'm showing him the direction of the door. "I know where you live."
"You do?" His lips hint at a smile. "How? Have you been following me?"
Biggest ego in Manhattan.
"Don't flatter yourself," I say tightly, not wanting to feed it anymore. The fact that he even has to ask how I know his address irks the hell out of me. Obviously, my pleas to put in a good word with his former fuck buddy, Sigrid, so I could buy the brownstone were so inconsequential to him that he's completely forgotten them. I've been stewing over this for years and it feels like he's left it all behind him. "I saw you going into your building with grocery bags when I was in the neighborhood for work one day."
The work part is a tiny lie, although I did give my business card to Smith's white-suited neighbor. I have a feeling his townhouse may be a blank canvas, so it didn't hurt to offer up my services in case he ever needs a splash of color.
"You should have said hi."
"I'll come by before your curfew." I look at my watch, ignoring his comment. "Say around six?"
His phone chimes again. He mutters a chorus of curse words before he turns toward the door calling back to me. "I have a feeling tomorrow night is going to be one for the record books."
"Oh, it will," I whisper as I watch him disappear behind the door. "It's going to be a night neither of us will ever forget. Until tomorrow, jerk."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Brynn
"You kissed Smith?"Adley's eyes widen. "You're telling me that you made the first move?"
I shake my head. "It wasn't like that, Ad. I kissed him to prove a point."
She grins. "What point? That you like him? That you want to get naked and sweaty with him?"
I can't admit that to her. I haven't fully admitted it to myself yet. That kiss kept me awake all night long. I replayed it in my mind like a lovesick school girl, which is still a part of who I am whenever Smith is within eye shot.
I want to hate him, but my resolve is fading. The kiss has a lot to do with that. The way he treated me afterward did too. He didn't push me in any way even though I could tell that he was thinking about the chip I'm carrying around on my shoulder.
"I tried to kiss him when I was seventeen and kind of drunk," I admit softly. We're in one of the exam rooms at the vet clinic and the walls are paper thin. I brought Pike in for a check-up onthe advice of Dr. Hunt. I was grateful to see Adley's smiling face when I walked into the office.
"We all try and kiss someone when we're seventeen and kind of drunk. If we're lucky, they kiss us back. I take it Smith wasn't into you back then?"
I shrug as I pet Pike's head. "He says he regrets not kissing me eight years ago."
"What was last night's kiss like?"
I brush my fingers over my lips. "I can still feel it in a way. I know that sounds unbelievable, but I can feel his lips on mine. I've never been kissed like that before. It doesn't matter though. It's not like we can ever be together. Too much has happened between us."
"Brynn." Her fingertips tap on my shoulders. "I need to say something, but first I want you to know that I love you."
I pick Pike back up from the exam table and cradle him next to my chest. "Is it about Pike? Did Dr. Hunt tell me to come down here because something's wrong? I know you were still waiting for more tests to come back. Just tell me, Ad. Just say it."
"He's good." She pets that soft spot on his neck. "This is about you and Smith."
"What about us?"
"Dr. Hunt made the entire staff take a course on grief about a year ago. It was tough, but we needed it. We deal with death every day here."
I nod. "I couldn't do what you do. I'd be in tears every single day, all day long."
"I cry sometimes. It's impossible not to when you see people in that raw moment of loss."
I feel tears welling in my eyes as I think about how I'll deal with Pike's death when the time comes. It won't be easy. I don't think I can brace for it, but I'll have Adley to guide me through the grief.
"One of the things I took away from that course is that heartache set its own timetable. One person can grieve for a month, while another takes years to work through their pain." She stops and looks at the floor. "Do you remember my friend Ellie?"
