“There’s always a few, but even if they figured out where I live, they’d probably just punch holes in the walls or drop an upper decker in the bathroom.”
Joe shot her a look. “I can’t believe you know what that is.”
“I teach middle school. You should be more surprised if Ididn’tknow what that is.”
Fiona’s phone chimed again. She glanced at the screen and saw a notification for another message from Dennis. Knowing him, he was upset over her lack of response to his first message. Not ready to deal with him, at least not yet, she switched off her phone and stuffed it into her back pocket.
“You might want to look for cameras.” Liz licked a glob of maple frosting off her thumb. “For all you know, they could have hidden one in the bathroom vent so they can watch you shower.”
Everything inside Fiona recoiled. “They can do that?”
Joe frowned, which she interpreted as confirmation. “I’ll ask Hatch to search the apartment for hidden electronic devices. If there are any, he’ll find and remove them.”
The confidence in his voice convinced her stomach to unclench. It was nice having a fake boyfriend who knew a thing or two about home security. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He glanced down at his watch and the frown returned. “I hate to do this, but I’ve got to go to work. Feel free to stay here as long as you like. I left a spare set of keys and a remote for the security system on the hook by the door. The button on the right arms the system; the one on the left shuts it off.”
She nodded. A part of her wanted to ask him to stay, but it wasn’t fair for him to miss work because of her insecurities. “Got it; thanks.”
“No problem.” Joe watched her for a few long moments, his gaze lingering on her mouth before drifting up to her eyes. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Call me if you need anything.”
She watched him leave, enjoying the rear view almost as much as the front.
“So,” Liz said the instant they were alone. She picked up the donut box and offered it to Fiona. “You spent the night at Hot Guy’s place. Joe—I know,” she quickly added. “But he will forever be Hot Guy in my heart. Now I want to hear every sordid, sweaty detail, and don’t you dare leave anything out.”
Fiona stared at the box, her resolve crumbling faster than a stale cookie. Oh, what the hell. This was a special occasion. It wasn’t every day her apartment got broken into.
She peered into the box and selected a chocolate glazed. Before taking a bite, she said, “Nothing happened.”
Liz stared at her as though she’d just tried to sell her swampland in the Everglades. “And here I thought we were friends.”
“It’s the truth,” she insisted around a mouthful of donut. “I slept in the bedroom, and he slept on the couch.”
“You could have invited him in. You know, so you’d feel safer.”
“You know where that would have led.” A few possibilities sprang to mind and sent a rush of heat through her body.
“Of course I do.” Liz flashed a grin. “So why on earth didn’t you travel down that dark, delicious path?”
“Well, let’s see.” Rocking back on her heels, Fiona held up her free hand and started ticking off reasons. “He’s a friend, he’s my neighbor, he doesn’t think of me like that, and even if he did, I’m not ready to jump back into the dating pool.”
The look on Liz’s face said she didn’t buy any of those reasons. “Friends and neighbors hook up all the time.”
“And if things go wrong, which they usually do, it gets really uncomfortable.”
“That’s a rather glass-half-empty assumption to make.”
“After Dennis, can you blame me?”
“No, but not all guys are scum like Dennis.” Liz crossed to the kitchen, picked up the mug Joe left on the counter for her, and filled it with coffee. She doctored it with milk and sugar, and sat across from Fiona. “For the record, Hot Guy definitely thinks of you like that. It’s obvious by the way he looks at you.”
Fiona’s pulse quickened. “And how’s that?”
“Like he wanted to eat you instead of that donut.” Liz’s expression softened. “Honey, I get it. Officer Douchebag did a number on you. You deserve a good guy, a decent guy, and I think Hot Guy’s one of them.”
In her heart, she wanted to believe that, but it was hard to get past the mountain of mental baggage in her head. “How can you be so sure?”
Liz paused to sip her coffee. “Did he make a move on you last night when you were all freaked out and vulnerable?”
