He studied me and then cocked his head to the side. “Well, for one thing, if I slept with you, I wouldn’t ignore you the next day.”
His low, rumbly declaration sent heat through me, but then indignation took over. “I didn’tsleepwith him.” The words came out too fast, too defensive, and I immediately regretted blurting that out to Landon when he’d been nothing but kind.
“I didn’t... we just...” I trailed off.
Now he was probably going to look at me with pity, like I was some lovesick girl making a big deal over nothing. I half expected him to say something like, if you didn’t sleep with him, what’s the big deal?
But he didn’t say that. Instead, he patted my hand gently. “I apologize on behalf of whatever he did. The way you looked at me earlier when you thought I was him—before you came to the conclusion he was ignoring you—well, let’s just say that if someone looked at me that way, I wouldn’t blow them off.”
I stared at him, confused. I wanted to tell him itdidn’t mean anything yesterday. That I hadn’t fallen for Kai.
But sitting here with Landon, I was half-convinced I was falling for him instead. He was Kai’s opposite in all the ways that mattered. He was clearly kind, thoughtful, gentle, but he still the same incredible appearance that had gotten me into trouble yesterday.
“I... I wouldn’t...” I couldn’t finish the thought.
Landon just waited, giving me space to say what I needed to.
But then there was noise from the door. Kai and Asher came in together, laughing, joking around like old friends.
My first reaction was frustration at the interruption. Then anger at the real Kai. But then I got distracted watching the way he and Asher were talking. It was easy and relaxed. I’d never seen Asher act like that. Around me, he always seemed to have a stick up his ass.
Asher spotted us first. “The gang’s all here,” he said dryly, his demeanor changing all at once.
Kai’s eyes gleamed when he greeted me. “Hey!”
He dropped onto the sofa on my other side, then leaned across me to pluck his Landon’s beer out of his hand. He drained it in one long pull, then set the empty bottle on the coffee table and squeezed my thigh.
“There you are, gorgeous. Ready for another workout?”
I jerked away from his touch. Landon immediatelyscooted over, giving me space to move away from Kai. But instead, I stood up.
“That’s a hard no,” I said. Turning to Landon, I said goodnight, making it pretty obvious I was only talking to him, not the other two.
Asher and Kai exchanged a look before I could turn away. Then when I was almost to the hallway, I heard Kai ask, “What’d I do?”
I didn’t bother to answer.
And I was grateful when Landon didn’t either.
10
ZOE
I hadto be up by eight the next morning.Theydidn’t.
I stared at the ceiling of my room, listening to the muffled sounds of laughter and conversation filtering through the wall. It had to be well past midnight.
In the morning, I’d be an absolute zombie if this continued.
I rolled over, punched my pillow into a different shape, and tried to will myself to fall asleep. But every time I started to drift off, another burst of loud, masculine laughter would jolt me awake.
Finally, I gave up and padded down the hall to the bathroom. On the way back, I couldn’t help peering into the common area.
All three of them were there. Kai and Asher sat on the sofa, leaning back with beers in hand, grinning atsomething one of them had said. Landon was in the armchair set slightly apart, holding his own drink but looking like he was listening more than participating.
They looked comfortable. Relaxed. Like they belonged here, unlike me. I slipped back into my room before any of them noticed me.
Great. I was sleepy, annoyed, and frustrated. And half tempted to go out there and give them a piece of my mind. But I didn’t, since we all had to coexist here. At least that’s what I told myself. But there was a small voice in the back of my mind that worried I might grab a beer, kick my feet up and join them. It would be nice to hang out by the fire and pretend I didn’t have any responsibilities.
