And for good reason! I’d pulled a few strings and found out Elise had been living in that apartment for an entire week. A week in that shit-heap… It was enough to put me in a rage.
I squeezed my forehead and motioned Elise into the apartment. “Make yourself at home.”
She walked past me and looked around. “It’s exactly the same.”
“You expected something else?”
Her face sank a touch. “No, it’s nice. You have a comfortable place, Jack.”
My chest tightened. There was danger in inviting Elise to live with me. She wasn’t materialistic. She was down-to-earth and feisty. If I wanted a relationship, she was the type of woman I’d choose. But nothing had changed in that department. Ididn’twant a serious relationship. Not ever. Shallow relationships were all I could handle.
She picked at the pilled and faded sweatshirt she wore as though she were uncomfortable, then unwound the scarf from around her neck.
I reached for her scarf. “I’ll take your clothes.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
That hadn’t come out right. I cleared my throat. “I’ll have them dry-cleaned.”
Her disbelief grew. “You’ll have my sweatshirt and moth-eaten wool scarf dry-cleaned?”
My mouth twisted. “Right. Laundered, then.”
A touch of fire lit behind her eyes. “Are you calling me contaminated?”
“One hundred percent.”
She frowned.
“We should wash everything after you lived in that apartment.” Her frown deepened, and I squeezed the back of my neck. “I’ll buy you new stuff, okay?”
She crossed her arms. “Not okay. I don’t need you to buy me clothes.”
Said no woman ever. “Then grab some of mine.” My voice rose, and I reminded myself to calm the fuck down.
I took a deep breath. No one riled me up like Elise. She was beautiful and stubborn. Or maybe just proud. Either way… A. Pain. In. The. Ass.
“You know that place you found wasn’t safe. Why are you even arguing with me?”
She looked away. “Whatever. Can I use your shower?”
“You can useyourshower.”
Her face brightened. “That’s right. I have my own now. I always liked Sophia’s bathroom. Max put in all that pretty marble.”
“He has good taste,” I said absently. “Now, about the clothes…”
“Fine.” She pulled off the scarf and dropped it on the hardwood floor. “I willborrowa few things until I get my clothes back.”
She wasn’t getting her clothes back because I was going to have them incinerated so no one would be exposed to the shit in her last apartment. But I wasn’t about to tell her that. “We’ll talk about it later. Go shower.”
Her eyes narrowed at the command, but she turned and walked down the hallway toward the bedrooms. She paused in front of mine before heading inside her own.
Thinking about the night we set the sheets on fire? Or maybe that was wishful thinking on my part.
I’d lied my ass off and told her I didn’t think about that night, but I thought about it. A lot. Was having a hard timenotthinking about it.
I rubbed my forehead. What was I doing? Elise’s moving in was a shitshow waiting to happen, but the alternative and her staying in her apartment had been unacceptable. I wasn’t kidding about Sophia killing me if I hadn’t gotten Elise out of there. Of course, that was only half the reason.
