He sighed. “Okay.”
Bri mumbled something behind us that sounded very clearly like, “he better pay for it.”
I whirled and glared at her. “Bri!”
Alex coughed nervously. “I’m going to head to the loft.”
He started to reach for Roxy, but I held her close, selfishly using her as an anchor to keep Alex around. Even though I sensed a fight with Bri coming and didn’t want him to be here for that, I also didn’t want him to think he needed to leave.
“Leave her here?” I suggested, hoping he’d understand that I wanted him to come back.
He did, bending to give her another kiss on the head. “Be back soon, Roxygirl.”
As soon as he’d left, I carefully set Roxy in the dog bed. It took a few seconds for her to ease herself down to a comfortable position, but then she rested her head on her paws, perfectly content. I gave her a few quick pats on the back before returning to the kitchen.
“Okay, he is sexy, I’ll give you that,” Bri said over a glass of water.
I couldn’t hold back a smile. “Told you.”
“But what’s his story? I thought you said he was living on the streets.”
“He was, but I don’t really know why yet.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You’re sleeping with him, but you don’t know why he was homeless?” she accused. “That’s really not like you, Vaughn. What if he’s got a record or something?”
“He says he doesn’t.”
“And I can say I’m a millionaire. Doesn’t mean it’s true.”
I ground my teeth together. “Look, I don’t know what you want me to say. I trust him. I don’t know why, but I do. Just because he hasn’t told me everything doesn’t mean he’s a bad person, Bri. He’s… well, not shy, exactly. Just cautious, and I think he has a reason to be.”
Bri didn’t say anything, but her hazel eyes followed me closely as I poured myself a mug of cold coffee and placed it in the microwave. I needed caffeine if we were going to talk about this.
“Okay, but at least with Trinity—”
“Trinity and I are not going to happen,” I snapped. “Is that why you came over? To try to push me in her direction again?”
“Kind of.” She flinched at my scrutiny. “Okay, yes. Look, I know she’s going to be playing guitar at the bar tomorrow night. I thought we could go.”
“I’mnotinterested.”
Thankfully, Bri didn’t try again. We simply stared at each other for a long time in silence. “Well, is it serious with Alex, then? I mean, you just met him.”
“I don’t know. I’d definitely like it to be. But I know Alex is going through some stuff and needs a bit of space to work through it, so I’m trying to give that to him.”
“Yeah, sure looks like you were giving him space when I walked in,” she deadpanned.
I narrowed my eyes, daring her to say something else.
“I’m just having a hard time with it, is all. Why a homeless person? If you wanted to hire someone to help out, why not hire someone who has a credible business? I know you have a big heart, but this is a huge risk, Vaughn. Even for you. People do things when they’re desperate, and you have a lot of valuable stuff in that clinic. Are you really comfortable with him having access to it?”
“It’s not like that,” I said again. “Besides, the loft is closed off from the clinic, you know that.”
“For all you know, he could be planning a break-in or something.”
I was having a hard time keeping my voice level, anger bubbling just beneath the surface, and swallowed it down just enough to keep myself from saying something I’d regret.
Bri sat on the barstool, curling her fingers around the glass. “I’m just saying, I think you need to be a little more careful, and I don’t mean with just the clinic. You and I both know you have a track record of falling fast and hard for the wrong people, and…”
