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“Thanks for waiting,” he said, and I turned back to find him in a black T-shirt, grey joggers and running shoes. I hadn’t seen him dressed like this since he was a teenager, and the sight was more than a little distracting.

I must’ve been staring because Tristan shot me a knowing smirk. “Erin?”

“Huh?”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just … weird seeing you out of a suit.”

His smirk deepened, like he could tell exactly the sort of inappropriate thoughts I was having about him. We walked in quiet for a few minutes and had almost reached my apartment when he finally spoke.

“There was actually something I wanted to talk to you about, if you can spare a few minutes?”

“Sure, what is it?”

His expression softened. “Us, Erin.”

My heart thudded. “I thought you understood that I can’t—”

“I do understand, and I respect your choice. I have no intention of asking you to change your mind about anything, but I would like to continue getting to know you. You aren’t interested in a romantic relationship, and I get that, but I still like you. I enjoy your company and find you interesting. At my age and with the amount of people I meet on a weekly basis, that’s rare. Really rare. So, I would like to be friends.”

Friends? My stomach dipped, and it took me a second to pick apart the emotion. I was disappointed. What on earth was wrong with me? Tristan was being kind and understanding, respecting my boundaries, yet I was completely and thoroughly unmoored by it.

The truth was that I didn’t want to be friends with him. In my heart of hearts, I knew that I wanted so much more than that, but I also knew it wasn’t possible. I could lose all I’d managed to build for myself over the last few years if I let myself have what I really wanted.

Still, I voiced none of this and instead responded, “I could always use a friend.”

His gaze lit, his smile wide and so handsome it stole my breath. “Friends, then.”

We’d reached the entrance to my building, and my fingers fumbled in my bag for my keys. I could not invite him in. If I did, I’d lose the tentative grip on my willpower and do something crazy, like tell him I didn’t want to be friends and invite him into my bedroom. And given that only minutes ago I’d caught a glimpse of his perfect, muscled backside, I couldn’t risk being alone with him in my home.

But then he asked, “Can I come in?” and I lost all coherent thought, lost the ability to form words, to hold onto my will. It was a miracle when I managed to mumble the first excuse that came into my head, “Oh, um, it’s a little messy.”

It wasn’t.

His smile softened. “I won’t judge.”

I exhaled a long breath. He was far too disarming when he looked at me like that, all earnest and hopeful.

“Okay, then.”

I opened the door and led him inside. Fred and Nessa were due back from their cruise tomorrow night, and I was really looking forward to their return. I’d missed them this past month.

Motioning to their door as we passed it, I said, “That’s Fred and Nessa’s place. They bought it after the sale went through for the hotel.”

“You must be close if they wanted to live so nearby,” Tristan commented, and I nodded.

“It’s nice having them in the same building. It means they can look after my cat when I travel.”

“Pretty decent perk.”

We reached my door, and I opened it, feeling his warmth at my back as I stepped inside the entryway. My apartment wasn’t small by any means, but it suddenly felt tiny with Tristan’s large presence filling it up. I’d only ever lived here alone, had never brought a man back, and I was suddenly coming over all peculiar. Maybe all the years abstaining from sex were finally getting to me.

Tristan took in the living area, my L-shaped couch, the few pictures of art on the walls, the photos of Sloane and me on the shelves next to my book and DVD collection, the cat tree by the window, alongside Rua’s various toys. I wondered what he thought of the place.

“If this is messy, then I can’t imagine what it must be like clean,” he said, a knowing glimmer in his eyes.

“I have high standards,” I replied then cleared my throat. “Can I get you anything? Something to eat? You must be hungry after your swim.”