She hustles down the street, and I stand there like an idiot watching her go.
It takes all of ten seconds for my brain to catch up.
“Maya! Wait!”
She swivels around, and I jog the short distance to her.
“Yeah?”
I shove my hands in my pockets, feeling nervous standing in front of her as she stares at me with questioning eyes.
“You, uh, you never called.”
Her brows pinch together again.
“About the rooms,” I remind her. “You haven’t called.”
“Oh.” She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip. “I…I’m still not sure it’s the best idea.”
I’m not certain if it’s relief or disappointment settling into my chest.
“It’s not you,” she rushes out. “It’s just…”
She trails off, but I get what she’s meaning.
I get it. It’s a weird situation to be in.
“You don’t need to explain. Just wanted you to know—”
“The offer still stands.” She gives me a small smile, the first one I’ve gotten. “I know. Thank you.”
“Of course.” I nod. “I guess I’ll see you around.”
“You too…Romeo.”
She turns, leaving me standing there staring at her for the second time.
“Who was that?” Jake asks as soon as I enter the diner and join him in line.
“Nobody.”
“Can’t remember the last time I looked at a nobody like that.” He chortles, then claps me on the back.
Me either.
With a heavy sigh, I lean against the back wall of the elevator. I cross my arms over my chest and close my eyes as I relax into the space.
It’s five thirty PM, and I’ve been up since five this morning.
After a shit night of sleep and a full day on the jobsite, I’m fucking beat.
“Hold the door!”
I don’t move to press the button.
Not because I’m being a dick, but because I’m that tired.
A hand slips between the twin doors just as they’re about to close.
Dean slides into the elevator car with a hard stare directed my way.
“Hey, fucker. I said hold the door.” He shakes his head, taking up a post next to me. He leans one foot against the wall and tilts his head back, looking up at the ceiling. “How come nobody in this damn apartment building can hold the door for people?”
“Probably because nobody wants to share an elevator with you.”
“You kidding? They only wish they could be so lucky. You look like shit, by the way.”
I loll my head his way. “Careful, Dean. You keep sweet-talking like that and I might start to suspect you’re crushing on me.”
He huffs. “Only in your wildest dreams.”
“See you’re wearing your work purse. You just get off?”
“It’s a briefcase.” He side-eyes me. “And yes.”
“Kinda late, no? You’re not fucking around on River, are you?”
He barks out a laugh. “Please. Like I could find anyone better than her.” His words are so sweet they almost make me queasy. “Post-season football shit.”
“Sorry you guys sucked ass this year. But just so you know, that’s entirely your fault, Coach.”
“Fuck you very much,” he mutters. “You hear from Maya about the rooms yet?”
I stiffen at the mention of her.
The crew wouldn’t shut up about her for the first thirty minutes of lunch, grilling me about how I knew her and if I was “tapping that shit.”
Jake finally steered the conversation in another direction after I snapped at the new kid when he mentioned how great Maya’s ass looked in her jeans.
I mean, shit. He wasn’t wrong, but he didn’t need to bring it up in conjunction with the half-chub he got from staring at it.
I shake my head. “Not yet.”
“She’ll come around.”
I grunt.
Given my reaction to seeing her today, I’m not sure I want her to come around.
He turns to me. “What’s that look for?”
“Nothing.”
“Right. Like that same nothing that was happening at the bar?”
“Yep. Just like that.”
He scoffs, settling back against the wall. “Gonna take a stab and guess you two met before we got there, and I bet you flirted your ass off because it’s who you are. Then I’m going to guess you realized who she is and how off limits she is to you, huh?”
Fuck.
I kind of hate how well he knows me sometimes.
But I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing whether he’s right or wrong.
When I don’t react, a slow, smug smile forms. “That’s what I thought. Which makes this situation even better because you won’t be trying to fuck her.”
I ignore that part. “Thanks for that, by the way—putting us both on the spot, making me feel cornered into offering her a place.”
He snorts. “Please. I’ve known you nearly all my life, Nolan. If I hadn’t brought it up, you would have by the end of the night.”
“Oh, I would have, huh?”
“Yep. Because as much as you try to act like a big grump who’s all cold and closed off, not willing to do attachments, you’re a secret softy.”
I tip my chin up, rising to my full height. “Am not.”
He laughs. “Right.”
“I might be tired, but I’m not too tired to kick your ass.”
He pushes off the wall as the elevator moves closer to his floor.
He doesn’t seem the least bit afraid.
Really, he doesn’t have a reason to.
We’ve been in a few scraps together over the years. Never anything major, just dumb shit, nothing a good punch or two couldn’t fix. He might look like a goody-goody buttoned-up teacher during the day, but he can definitely hold his own.
“Go ahead and hit me, man. But just know you’ll be the one having to explain to River why I came home with a black eye. She’s the one you need to be afraid of.”
He’s not lying there.
The elevator dings, signaling it’s reached his floor.
“Wanna come down for dinner?” he asks as the doors slide open. “We’re doing pizza.”
Pizza sounds a hell of a lot better than having the sandwich I skipped at lunch.
“Let me grab a shower first?”
“Please fucking do.” He steps out and into the hall. “See you in a bit, soft serve.”
I swear I hear him chuckle as the doors close.
5
Maya
“Are you shitting me?”
I glare down at my phone, my heart plummeting to the floor.
“What? What’s wrong?” River asks, peering up from the box of Caroline’s latest masterpieces as they go through them, sorting them out by collection.
It’s crazy to see how far Caroline has come with her designs in the last few months alone. She started here as a sales associate back when I was married and volunteering my time to River to get out of the house. As soon as River and I discovered she had a hidden talent of creating super cute, one-of-a-kind designs, we knew we had to persuade her to let us sell them. We finally wore her down after the success of our pop-up at the Harristown Jubilee late last year.