We pull up outside of The Luxe, and a valet appears to take Reed’s car to the garage. As we enter the building, he nods at Henry, who stares at us in open delight as we head for Reed’s private elevator.
In the elevator, Reed turns to me. “You seem anxious,” he observes.
“Well, I am anxious,” I say, with a small, humorless laugh. “Wedidjust spend the evening lying to my parents.”
“I meant what I said in the car. It’s going to be okay.”
I nod, wishing that I could shake the little seed of doubt inside me.
Reed’s hand brushes my arm. The gesture is clearly meant to be comforting, but the second his fingers touch my skin, I feel as though a thousand volts of electricity have gone through me.
For an instant, I lose my balance on my heels. I’ve gotten pretty good at staying stable on my toes, but once the heels are high enough, there’s only so much I can do. I sway sideways, directly into Reed.
He reaches out to catch me, steadying me. I’m practically in his arms, and as I look up to meet his gaze, heat rises to my face.
“Sorry,” he murmurs, but I can tell from the look in his eyes that he’s not sorry. Not at all.
I swallow, recovering quickly and taking a careful step away from him. My gaze is on the floor as I say, “It’s fine. I’m just a klutz.”
“You can take your shoes off,” he points out. “We’re basically home, anyway.”
As if to underscore his words, the elevator bell dings and the doors slide open, giving way to Reed’s penthouse. At this point, it is starting to feel like home. I adjusted much more quickly than I thought I would—or maybe I never really felt at home in my old apartment.
I pull off the heels, stepping onto the cool tile of Reed’s foyer. My body is still buzzing just from our accidental closeness in the elevator, and he seems to know it, too. I can practically feel his smirk from behind me.
But when I turn to face him, his expression is unreadable. Buttoned-up, careful. He’s doing everything he can to make me feel comfortable. And yet…
“This is so hard,” I mutter.
He clicks his tongue, raising a wry eyebrow. “I know what you mean.”
With just a quick glance, I can see that Reed does, in fact, knowexactlywhat I mean.
“We just need to… dispel the tension,” I offer.
His forehead creases in confusion, and he says carefully, “Okay. Now I’m not so sure what you mean.”
I gesture to my room at one end of the long hallway, then back to his at the other. “You know. Maybe we both go back to our rooms and… take the edge off. On our own.”
Understanding dawns on his face, and he chuckles. “If that’s how you want to deal with it,” he says, shooting me a wink. “Whatever makes you the most comfortable.”
Would this be happening if we hadn’t hooked up?I wonder to myself, my face burning in self-consciousness.If Reed had decided to approach me about thisbeforewe had sex?
I have to admit that I’d probably have this problem regardless. Sophie and Riley were worried for a reason, andthey didn’t even know that Reed and I slept together after the engagement party. After all, my feelings for him have existed longer than that, all the way back to childhood.
“Good night,” I say, turning toward my room.
His voice is husky as he replies, “Good night, Olivia.”
I don’t hear his footsteps on the white tiles, but when I glance back over my shoulder, the hallway is empty. We’ve separated for the night, as we always do.
I retreat to my room, pulling the door closed behind me. One final barrier, and then I’m on my own. I flop down onto the bed, a wave of exhaustion crashing over me.
But despite my tiredness, I’m still buzzing from everything that happened today. There’s a tingling in my extremities that doesn’t fade until I drift off to sleep.
When I step outsidemy room the next morning, bright and early at eight, my foot nudges a little box on the floor.
It’s fancy, tied with a gilded silk ribbon, and about the size of my hand. I pick it up, toying with the ribbon. I can hear Reed opening and closing drawers in the kitchen; he must have woken up early to leave me this gift.
