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Why? Why, Jason? I thought about those last few days and what might have made him do it. He’d said he felt like he was ruining my life—so to fix it he’d ruined my life? I scoffed.

Maybe I was too much maintenance. Maybe those weeks I’d been in Ely had shown him how much taking care of me on the road had taken a toll on him. Maybe he’d figured that I was unhappy anyway and he didn’t have the energy for it and letting me believe what I saw was a win-win. He did say he wasn’t in a place to be a boyfriend. I guess he thought he was doing me some kind of favor.

The only thing I knew for sure was this: He didn’t love me. A man who loved me wouldn’t do this. He wouldn’t light a match and set my world on fire.

My phone rang. It was Kristen, probably calling to tell me they were outside. I picked up and she started talking immediately. “Okay, don’t be mad.”

“Oh God, what?” I breathed. I couldn’t deal with Kristen’s shenanigans right now. I couldn’t deal with anything. I didn’t want to go anymore, I didn’t want to stay. God, I hated my life.

“Adrian’s on his way up there alone to get you himself.”

I groaned. “Are you kidding me?”

“Everyone was getting out of the car to come up and he was all like, ‘Stay here,’ in this really deep, very authoritative voice. It was a super alpha male move. Even Josh froze up.”

I could hear Josh laughing in the background.

Someone knocked on my door.

“I’m going to kill you guys,” I hissed, hanging up on her.

I slumped in the middle of my living room with palms to my eyeballs. How was I going to get through tonight? I couldn’t do this.

My hands were shaking. Not because my blind date was standing outside, but because of Jason. I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself.

Adrian knocked again. That playful, musical knock that friends do when they come over.

“Hold on, one second,” I called, hearing the trembling in my voice.

I took another deep breath. I shoved the envelope with the tickets and Zane’s letter into my purse and smoothed down my dress, took one more moment to compose myself, and then I opened the door.

The man standing in my hallway wore a dark-green V-neck sweater with the sleeves rolled up and jeans. He was holding a piñata shaped like a cupcake. “Hi,” he said, giving me a dazzling smile. “I’m Adrian. You must be Sloan.”

Well, Kristen was right. Adrian Copeland was gorgeous. Green eyes, close-clipped beard, a nice body.

I was 100 percent not interested.

He held out the piñata. “I was told to bring this up?” he said, looking amused.

I rolled my eyes. “Of course you were,” I mumbled, taking it and setting it on a table inside the door.

Tucker spilled out into the hallway, jumping excitedly on Adrian’s legs. He crouched down to pet him. “Hey there, little guy.” He smiled up at me while he ruffled my dog.

He was checking me out. Big-time. He wasn’t even trying to hide it. His eyes dropped down my body and came back up with a grin.

A fierce blush roared up my neck.

The letter had me so flustered I couldn’t even think straight. All I could think about was what Zane had said. I wasn’t in the right headspace to deal with what I’d just learned, let alone this stranger who was trying to date me, here in my doorway, shamelessly ogling me and playing with my dog—Jason’s dog—Jason, who was here in my city and hadn’t come to see me because he broke up with me and didn’t want me anymore.

My other eyelid twitched once, just to remind me that today could still get worse.

“I’m sorry,” I said, reaching for Tucker’s collar. “He gets really excited when people come over. Tucker, let’s go.”

“It’s fine,” Adrian said. “I like dogs.” He let Tucker lick his chin.

God.I was two seconds from maniacal cackling.

Tucker finally finished with him and ran back into the apartment and Adrian stood.