And what hadIdone?
I'd told her to fuck off.
Shit. Maybe Iwasan idiot.
Barely a beat had passed since she'd said those four little words, but it felt like a lifetime before I answered. "Sure. Come in." I stepped aside, giving her plenty of room to pass.
She didn't budge. "That won't be necessary."
I didn't get it. "But you just said – "
"I can talk from here."
Fuck.
This was bad."Maisie…"
Her mouth thinned."Montgomery."She said it like a curse, her voice low and sharp, like the name had curdled on her tongue.
I froze.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
She smirked. "So it's true?"
I wasn't one to stall. And yet, I heard myself ask, "Which part?"
She threw up her hands. "You tell me."
"Tell you what?" I winced.Damn it.I sounded like a kid bullshitting a cop. I tried again. "Come on in. We'll talk, alright?" I forced a smile. "You can have the chair."
She didn't smile back. Now, even the smirk was gone. "Keep it."
I kept my own smile fixed in place. "Can I at least get dressed?" Okay, maybe Iwasstalling, but only because I didn't know what to say. Hell, I didn't even know what Maisie had learned.
But let's say she'd learned everything, was it really so bad?
Not the wayIsaw it.
My smile slipped as I added, "Unless youwantme standing here in a towel."
"Fine."
Hoping to break the tension, I went for a joke. "So you're fine with the towel?"
She eyed me like I'd just offered her a drink from the toilet. "No," she stiffly replied. "I mean, fine, if you want to get dressed, I'll wait."
"Great, I'll be right back." Any other day, I wouldn't have thought twice about getting dressed in front of her. But from the look in her eyes now, the last thing she wanted was to see more ofme.
And hey, I wasn't one to push – at least not when it came to that.
I hitched my towel tighter and strode toward the bathroom, where I'd already laid out some clean clothes. As I moved, I called over my shoulder, "You wanna wait on the balcony?"
She gave a loud scoff. "Why would I do that? I already said I'm not coming in."
At the bathroom door, I turned around to face her. "Yeah, but the balcony's more out than in." I glanced toward the balcony door. "And trust me, the air's a lot fresher than where you're standing now."
She practically snorted. "Trustyou?" But then, she marched into the apartment, anyway, leaving the door wide open behind her – as if she didn't plan on staying long enough to make shutting anything worth her while.
