“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” I step fully into the doorway now. “How did you find me?”
He jerks his head quickly over his shoulder, and that’s when I see movement. Joe stands halfway down the sidewalk, camera trained on us.
My stomach drops.Of course.
I look back at Alex, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms defensively. “So this is for the cameras then?”
Alex winces at my words. A shadow of embarrassment crosses his face before he speaks. “I told him we were about to get the shot of the season,” he says with a guilty smirk.
I huff out a sound—half scoff, half laugh—because he doesn’t deny it.
“You used him.”
“I used his ambition,” he corrects, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. He still looks a little guilty. “There’s a difference.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“I needed a ride.” His jaw tightens on the confession. “I needed a way to get you since your phone has gone completely out of commission.”
It’s my turn to cringe. That lands somewhere I don’t want it to. I have absolutely been avoiding him, hoping to put this conversation off for as long as possible. Or at least until the weekend when I’d inevitably have to face him in the house.
Joe shifts again down the sidewalk, a little closer now. I can practically feel him waiting for something dramatic.
Alex follows my gaze.
“He’s not coming inside,” he says immediately. “If you let me in, that is.”
The choice sits there between us.
My apartment is my space. Mine. The one place in this entire experience that isn’t under lights or surrounded by producers or mic packs.
He’s never been here.
Whether or not he comes inside is totally up to me.
He stands there holding those battered sunflowers, not sure I’m going to accept them or him, and I feel myself start to soften.
I look down at the bouquet. They’re slightly crooked. One stem leans too far to the left. A few petals are bent at the tips.
But they’re perfect.
“You didn’t get roses,” I say before I can stop myself, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips.
His mouth lifts in response. “Didn’t feel like the right choice for you. Too basic, not enough razzle dazzle.”
Heat creeps up my neck. “Did you just say ‘razzle dazzle’?” I tease, deflecting.
“You’re rubbing off on me,” he says with a casual shrug that doesn’t feel as casual at all. I glance back at Joe, then at Alex again.
“If I let you in, the door closes,” I say pointedly, one eyebrow cocked, daring him to push back.
“It closes.” He agrees without hesitation.
“No hero speech outside, either. I have neighbors.”
“Okay.”
I step back and open the door, clearing the path for him to come inside.
