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Neighbors who hate each other.

Conrad’s gaze tightens. “You know, Myles is dreading this event that we’re doing for charity. It’s for kids with cancer. You should come.”

“I don’t know,” I say and take a step back, glancing at his phone. It’s still charging, but it’s got a long way to go.

“Come on, kids and cancer? You can’t say no. There’s no way you’re as mean as Myles makes you out to be. You let me into your apartment. You let me charge my phone. You didn’t call management on me for bringing in a dog. You could have gotten me kicked out of the building. Deep down, you’re a really nice person and Myles just hasn’t gotten to see that yet.” He stares up at me with those pleading eyes and I groan.

How is it that I’m becoming friendly with Conrad Sinclair? What the hell is happening to me?

“Come on, think of the kids—with cancer.” It’s that pleading tone that almost has me.

“I’m busy.” I force a smile. “Besides, those gala events cost money. A lot of money, and I don’t have it.”

He stares at me, raising an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”

I gesture around myself. “My parents pay for my apartment. I’m a senior in college. Where do you think I’m getting money from?”

“I’m not saying you’re loaded. I’m saying that you might have gotten a nice payout recently.” Conrad stares at me, like he knows.

How does he know?

My gaze tightens and my nostrils flare inadvertently. “What have you heard?” I seethe.

“A couple of months back, you kissed Archer at the bar.”

I stare at him, pretending I don’t know what he’s talking about. Yes, the kiss was in public, it was at Blue Line where anyone could have seen the two of us. But I want Conrad to explain everything that he knows before I go admitting to any of it. “Did I?”

“Yes, I saw you kissing Myles’s brother. Everyone saw, including Myles.” Conrad glares at me. “Archer wouldn’t tell me anything, so I did a little digging.”

“Why would you do that?” I ask.

“I’m Myles’s friend. Seems weird that the girl who hates Myles has a thing for his older brother. Especially when that girl kisses Archer once, passionately, and never speaks with him again. Don’t get me wrong, Archer makes out with a lot of girls, but seeing the argument between you and Myles, it doesn’t make sense. Unless Archer wanted to make his brother jealous.”

“And your point?” I refuse to acknowledge that he’s right, because that is one hundred percent why Archer insisted on kissing me. He swore up and down that Myles would get off his ass and come over and talk to me.

That wasn’t the only reason.

His first offer I said no.

The second offer, I also declined.

It wasn’t until he offered me ten thousand dollars that I started to listen.

But I still didn’t accept.

I want to open a bookstore when I graduate college, settle down in a small town and run my own small business. But that kind of dream takes money. A lot of money. All the saving that I’ve done since my fourteenth birthday isn’t anywhere close to what I need. And I made that crystal clear to him.

But Archer’s money…

One hundred thousand dollars for a kiss with a little tongue, no more than two minutes long. Apparently, I’m a sellout.

I’d like to think of myself as more of an opportunist.

And it’s not as though Myles and I are dating.

He hates me. I certainly sealed the deal with that kiss.

Archer is cute but definitely not my type.