Page 25

CHAPTER 24

EMERY

Alexei doesn’t try to corner me—or kiss me—again for the rest of the day.

He and his father spend the afternoon moving everything of his parents’ downstairs to the basement apartment, which I have to admit is better for them—it has a walk-out side door, which is easier for Maria to go to her follow-up appointments. She has a calendar full of them. Next week she will start an outpatient rehab program that will last for months.

Alexei’s parents need quiet, and stability, and I need to get over myself.

I move into their old bedroom upstairs, which has a bigger bed than the daybed in the library, and a proper dresser and closet, both of which were emptied for me to use.

It will be easier to be this close to Inessa, I can see that.

I make dinner for everyone, then Alexei tells me he has bedtime covered, and the rest of the night is my own.

I take the opportunity to escape up to the third floor and get a long workout in, exhausting my body in an effort to ignore my racing mind.

Just as I’m making some notes in my fitness app, a text message from my brother flashes at the top of the screen.

Then again.

And again.

I swipe out of the app and groan, because Forrest has started a new group chat with me and Alexei, and he’s named it My Hamilton Fam.

Forrest

Dinner tomorrow, yeah?

I guess we need to include Mom and Dad, too

Em Bear, can you cook? Is that imposing too much? We can order in, but I’m guessing you guys don’t want to take Inessa to a restaurant.

Full disclosure, I arrived at that conclusion because I’m banging this single mom

TMI

Oh no.

I can’t decide if I want to scream or laugh.

Another buzz.

I’m starting to think I’m the only one in this conversation

Bueller? Bueller?

I push to my feet and check the time—it’s almost ten. Inessa is probably asleep, but Alexei might be trapped next to her.

Emery

Hey, lay off the mass texting, some people are putting toddlers to sleep

Did the hot single mom not teach you about bedtime?

Forrest

Her kids are almost my age

Wow

It’s amazing

Save it for the brothers only group chat, you weirdo (compliment)

Fine fine but what about dinner?

Alexei’s putting Inessa to bed, so try to be patient

Not my strong suit

I wince as I imagine Alexei watching all of this, trying to keep his phone silent while lying next to Inessa.

Or maybe he knows better and he’s got Forrest on auto-mute.

I tidy up the workout space, then turn the light off and quietly head back down to the second floor.

As soon as I step into the hallway, I hear my name called, low and soft, from Alexei’s bedroom.

I turn and look through the open door. He’s changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt that clings to his thick shoulders, and he’s standing at the foot of his bed, folding clothes from one laundry basket and putting them in another.

Was it only this morning that our positions were reversed? That I came out of his room and saw him standing at the top of the stairs?

Now it’s him who stares at me, who drags his gaze down my body as he finishes pairing up two socks.

I’m barefoot, because I left my shoes upstairs, and my cropped tank top and tiny shorts are soaked with sweat, but Alexei’s gaze suggests he sees something different.

He slowly strides to the doorway.

I back up a little.

His searching gaze follows me, lingering on my bare legs again, sending a bolt of heat through me. When he finally finds my face once more, he’s wrapped his hand around the doorframe, his knuckles turning white as he grips the wood.

“I saw the texts,” he says, his voice low and unreadable.

“I’m sorry that my family is so much.”

He shrugs. “How do you feel about dinner?”

That’s not the question I expected. “What do you mean?”

“Will you be comfortable having them here?” There’s an unexpected hesitancy in his expression.

I don’t know how to read that. “That’s your decision to make.”

His brows snap together, fast. “I don’t like that.”

I cross my arms, suddenly cold despite the heat lingering on my skin from the workout. “Like what?”

“You sacrificing your comfort for your family’s preferences.”

I laugh. “That’s my entire life.”

The words come out sharper than I mean them to.

“It’s your house,” I add quietly. “You’re allowed to decide who’s in it.”

He doesn’t flinch, but his jaw tightens like I’ve said something wrong. “You live here, too.”

“Temporarily.”

Alexei shifts, stepping into the hallway’s dim light, his gaze dipping—again—to the hem of my shorts. His throat bobs as he swallows. “You think that’s all this is?”

I freeze. “What else would it be?”

He doesn’t answer.

He just looks at me, eyes dark and steady, and it feels like my heart is sprinting in place. I want to look away. I don’t.

Inside, everything is tight. Twisting. My body wants to lean into him, wants to feel that heat again.

I can’t let that happen.

I clear my throat. “It’s just dinner. We can do dinner.”

He snorts, and the tension breaks just enough to breathe. “If it gets awkward, we’ll just ask Forrest about his new friend.”

A smile tugs at my mouth. “Do you know anything about her?”

He shakes his head. “We don’t talk about women.”

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

He shrugs. “ I don’t talk about women. He says stuff sometimes, but those messages tonight were for you. To get a rise out of you.”

I groan. “I walked right into it, too.”

“But he gave you a good tool to use against him tomorrow.” Alexei’s gaze slides again, like he can’t stop looking at me.

I shift my weight, suddenly aware of just how little I’m wearing. His gaze flicks back up to my face, trying to be respectful—but it’s too late. I see it. And deep in my belly, I feel it.

I need out of this moment before I do something stupid. “I should shower.”

“Okay.” A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth.

I make it halfway down the hallway before I glance back.

His eyes are locked on my ass. Slowly, unashamedly, he drags them up to meet my gaze. “Goodnight, Emery.”

He steps back into his bedroom.

I race into my own room, and close the door before I lean back against it and close my eyes.

This thin door is all that between us now. I’m no longer two floors away from him in a suite that is separate from the rest of the house.

There’s a lot to be said for me living up here, close to Inessa. That will be easier.

But now he’s going to hear me go into the bathroom for my shower. Hear the water turn on, and know that I’m peeling off my workout clothes and standing under the hot spray, rinsing off the day and trying hard not to think about how good his gaze feels on my skin.

That part… That’s going to be so much harder.