I’m going to kill him. Slowly. Painfully.
“No,” I barely manage.
Rowan leans against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest. The move makes his biceps strain against the sleeves of his T-shirt, and I hate the way my body instantly responds. My inner walls clench, and I have to force my gaze back up to his, which is just as dangerous.
Goddammit.
“Surprise,” he says with a half-smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
“This is a joke, right?” I glance down the hall, half expecting Logan to jump out laughing. “Please tell me this is some kind of sick joke.”
“’Fraid not.” Rowan steps into the hall and strolls over, closing the few feet between us. “I’m here to film a movie, and Logan mentioned Ryder had a place available, so...” He waves a hand at the door behind him and shrugs.
Ro is standing so close I can feel the heat emanating from his body. My senses go haywire as his scent—spicy, citrusy, and something that’s always been a part of him for as long as I canremember—engulfs me, making my knees go weak. I inhale deeply without meaning to, andgod, it takes everything I’ve got not to step into him and smash my face against his neck.
I take an instinctive step back. “For how long?”
“Three months, give or take.”
Three months. Three freaking months of potentially running into my former best friend every single day. Three months of trying to avoid the man who keeps leaving without saying goodbye and breaking my heart.
“Well.” I force a smile that I know comes off more like a grimace. “I’d say welcome to the building, but that would imply I’m happy you’re here.”
His eyes narrow, darkening slightly. “Look, Sun?—”
I cut my hand through the air. “Don’t you dare eventhinkabout calling me that. And don’t for one fucking second think we’ll go back to being friends now that we’re neighbors.”
“Come on, Iz. I’d really like to talk. Explain?—”
“I’m gonna be late for work,” I snarl as I turn on my heel and stomp down the hall.
Just as I reach the private stairwell that leads down to the shop, his deep voice stops me in my tracks.
“I am sorry, you know.”
The sincerity in his tone eases the tightness in my shoulders a bit, but I’m frozen in place, facing away from him as I my head falls back. “For what exactly?” I stare blindly up at the ceiling. “There’s quite a list to choose from.”
“All of it.”
“Good to know.”
I shift to press my hand against the push bar to the stairwell door.
“Can you please give me a chance to explain?”
Something inside me cracks a little. Do I want to give him another chance? The thought alone scares the shit out of me.
It’s not quite the same situation as when we were twelve. Because when he left the last time, he was old enough to know better. One part of me wants more than anything to have my best friend back. The other part? Doesn’t even want to entertain the idea.
“I’ll think about it.”
“That’s all I’m asking.”
I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and head downstairs without looking back.
By the time I reach my station, my hands are trembling with a mix of confusion and heat.
Jax looks up from where he’s sitting at his station next to mine, eyebrows rising when he sees the look on my face.
