Worth It (Forbidden Men #6)(88)

Pick shrugged. “You’ve always had a roommate before. And the last one was male, so—”

“Yeah, a male I was dating. Knox and I aren’t—”

“Hence the two bedrooms,” Pick added.

“But he hates me.” I pointed to the stony-faced man who hadn’t said a word since he’d come into the office.

A muscle in his jaw twitched as he glanced my way with a narrowed gaze. “I told you I didn’t.”

“Oh, so you support this idea? Because last night, you made it perfectly clear you wanted nothing to do with me ever.”

“Fuck, no. I don’t support this idea.” He seared his glare Pick’s way. “What’re you trying to play here, Ryan?”

Pick lifted his hands. “I’m not playing anything. You two already work together, you both need a place to stay fairly quickly, and you’re already familiar with each other. It’s the logical solution. You could split all the bills, and—”

“You need to stop talking right now.” I held up a hand. “Because nothing you’re saying sounds even remotely logical to me.”

“Look, I’m not trying to talk you guys into getting back together or even being friends. I know a lot of roommates who rarely see each other. You both need this place, and finding something to live in by yourselves is going to be nearly impossible…especially during the school year in a college town.”

“Is this because you need me out of your apartment?” Knox asked. “Because I’ll go. I’ll head over there and pack my shit right now—”

“No.” Pick clenched his teeth, beginning to look frustrated. Then he glanced at me. “Can you give us a second alone? Please?”

I gaped at him, my arms crossed tight over my chest. “To discuss my living arrangements? I don’t think so.”

“Felicity, just trust me.”

I let out a disgusted groan and rolled my eyes as I dropped my hands to my sides and then stormed from the office. The last thing I heard was Pick asking Knox to shut the door. Hurrying back to it, I pressed my ear to the wood as soon as it closed, but the damn thing was constructed way too well to hear through.

I frowned, maybe making out my name, the word locker, and then Knox’s deep voice with the words don’t believe tacked in there. Pick answered him, and Knox growled, “Damn it.”

A second later, the door flew open, and I tumbled forward, almost plowing flush into Knox’s chest. He pulled back and scowled at me. Once I’d caught my balance and smoothed down my clothes, he said, “We split every expense fifty-fifty. No exceptions.”

Then he brushed past me and stormed down the hall.

Unable to believe what I’d just heard, I whirled to Pick as I pointed after Knox. “Did he just...agree to live with me?”

Pick sent me a satisfied nod. “Yep.”

“What…how…” I shook my head, totally confused as a small part of me sparked with joy. No matter what the reason was, Knox had agreed to live with me. There really was something in him that didn’t totally hate me.

I swallowed, overcome with emotion. “What the hell did you say to him?”

Pick merely smiled, refusing to tell.





Today was the day. She was back.

Felicity had gone with her family to their summerhouse over two weeks ago, and earlier today, I’d seen their caravan of fancy cars returning home.

So, maybe I’d been staking out their house every day since they’d left, lingering in the woods closer to their backyard than I usually did in the hopes they might return early. I’d missed her more than I thought was humanly possible. It’d been like a constant niggle just under the breastbone, something I couldn’t scratch away or medicate. I swear, a part of me had been physically missing, and the two sections hadn’t reunited until I’d seen about four different cars pull into the Bainbridge property only three hours ago.

This girl had gotten under my skin, into my blood, and controlled all the major organs…probably most of the minor ones too. I needed to see her again, have her in my arms and hold her. Talk to her.

There had been so many times I’d thought of something I’d wanted to tell her. Bentley had reached for a toy, grabbed it, and put it into her mouth for the first time. I’d been all fired to race into the forest and tell Felicity all about it, only to remember she wouldn’t be there. And it had felt as if someone had sliced me opened I missed her so much.

But today, she was back.

So, here I loitered at the docks in the hopes she could get away from all her unpacking to come see me so we could catch up.

If she still wanted to see me.

I sank my top teeth into my bottom lip with a sudden thought. What if she’d gone to the beach and met some other guy? What if all this time away from me had pushed me out of her mind? What if she never came into the woods to visit me again?

Tossing a flat rock I’d picked up from the shore into my palm a few times, I eyed the calm strip pit, trying not to worry, and failing. Hating the uncertainty, I wound back my arm and heaved the rock out over the water. It skipped along the surface about a dozen times before sinking.

From behind me, someone clapped heartily.

I whirled around, afraid I’d find some other Bainbridge family member, but my breath caught as City stepped onto the ramp.