"No, I don't." I stared down at her, frowning when she looked a little hurt but I was too damn tired to care to much that she hated my answer. "I'm tired. I just wanna crash."
The elevator bell sounded and I waved Willow in, tired but not a complete ass, and she slipped inside, automatically pressing the buttons for both our floors. The ride up was slow, but then it always was. Mickey didn't invest too much money in maintenance to anything in the building and the elevator was no exception. It was always getting stuck or stopping in the middle of different floors or, if it had been a really long time since it had been serviced, it would take a solid three minutes to move between floors. By how slowly we moved, I figured the ancient elevator was due for an update.
"I've been meaning to talk to you." Her voice was slightly breathless. I wanted to ask her about it, urge her on, but couldn't take the risk.
"Thought you did that the other night."
She moved next to me, flinging her hair over her shoulder and I caught a whiff of her shampoo. It reminded me of honeysuckle and sweet pea flowers, something I hadn't been around since I was a kid back in the south.
"You know that wasn't planned." She looked down at the end of her loose braid as she raked her fingers through it, unraveling her hard work. "I'm … sorry if I was pushy the other night." She glanced at me, holding my gaze for a minute longer than I'd intended. "I was, wasn't I? Pushy, I mean."
Something in my brain told me to give her something that would take the worry from her eyes, but I was nothing if not stubborn and even though Roan had promised I'd regret being all alone with my money and success, wasn't ready to give up on that American Dream quite yet. I had to play cool, let her know that I wasn't interested. But, damn it was hard.
"You were fine. It was late."
"Nash … " I recognized the tone in her voice. It went all soft and sweet and Willow's hand touched the back of my arm, standing closer than she should, but not close enough for what I wanted, dammit. I closed my eyes, wincing a little when she grabbed my hand. "I think I figured out what … "
But Willow didn't get a chance to finish her sentence. The door slid open, and I stepped through with her right at my heels, trailing behind me, intending no doubt to continue the conversation in my place. But leaning against my door was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was thinner than when I'd seen her last and when she saw me, her smile went megawatt and I sort of forgot about Willow for a second.
"Hey," she said, glancing between me and Willow, her smile never dimming.
My crazy neighbor dropped my hand like my fingers stung her, and I could feel the tension snap as she stepped away from me. I could have explained. It would have been the decent thing to do, but my jealous ego was still smarting from Willow being chatted up by that flirty Puerto Rican down in the lobby.
I played the prick and decided to take advantage of the situation.
"Hey!" I said in my warmest, most delighted voice, and leaned in to plant a kiss on my visitor's cheek as I moved to unlock my door. "I'll see you later," I tossed over my shoulder to Willow, resisting the temptation to catch her reflection in the hallway mirror next to my door. "Come inside, sweetness … " I trailed off, and ushered the woman inside, not looking back, too much of a coward to watch the look of hurt on Willow's face.
Nash
"I've seen you do some shitty things before, but I gotta say, that was the shittiest."
Natalie followed me around the living room, her voice lifting as I discarded my keys and wallet on the coffee table. "Ah, Sis, it was perfect timing. It's better that she think I'm taken."
"Damn, Nash, is this you pulling that 'I'm too busy and important' nonsense? Because, if it is, I gotta say, little brother, that it's played out as hell. You aren't the G that you think you are."
"Nat … "
"I come here to see you because you've ignored my phone calls and texts for weeks and here I find you blowing off some pretty young thing that clearly is into you." I tried to play off the quick jerk of my gaze at my sister, trying to divert that stupid hopeful look I knew was in my eyes, knowing I looked a little too encouraged, a lot too pathetic. "Oh … so I'm right? You want her to be into you?"
I slumped in my recliner, leaning back with my hands covering my face. Natalie sat next to me on the sofa arm rest, waiting. I hated when she did that, like she was so damn convinced I'd unload all my issues on her and wait for her to fix my problem. I didn't feel like hearing her nag at me, I'd had enough of that for one night from Roan. Instead, I shot for deflection.