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“Are you all right?” he murmurs, slightly tapping my back.
“Uh-huh.” I nod, but I’m probably as red as a tomato right now.
“So, are we ready to get the hell out of here?” Andrew asks, rubbing his hands together. “I’m dying to surprise my wife and kids.”
“And for us to see our new place,” Karl adds, a beaming smile on his face. I’d forgotten about them, too busy getting sucked into the conversation between these two brothers. But now, reality hits me. I have to take Karl and Kim to their new flat. The one I started moving my stuff into.
We all file out of the terminal and wait by the taxi stand.
“If you give me the keys, we can get settled on our own,” Karl says to me. “You can go back with Wade and Andrew.”
“Oh, nonsense. I came to pick you up, and I’ll take you to your flat. It’s the least I can do. Besides, Wade’s taking Andrew home to see his family. I don’t want to intrude on their reunion. I’ll just catch up with them later.”
A cab rolls in, and Karl tosses their luggage in the trunk. “It was nice to meet you both.” He shakes Andrew’s and Wade’s hands, and Kim waves as she opens the cab door.
“Bye,” I say to Wade and Andrew, trailing behind Karl.
“Wait! You’re not even giving your lady a goodbye kiss?” Andrew hints to Wade. I stop dead in my tracks. Damn it. Why couldn’t he just shut up?
I spin back around and see the same petrified expression on Wade’s face. I try to send him an apology with my eyes, but I’m not sure it’s coming across. He takes a few steps toward me, his hands sliding to my back as my palms press against his shoulders. Our lips brush, and his mouth takes me in softly. It doesn’t feel weird or foreign, like you’d expect when kissing a stranger. It just feels . . . right. Like our lips already know each other. We break apart, and I resist the urge to go back for seconds.
Yup, this man isn’t allowed to be celibate. When you can kiss like that, you’re morally obligated to make use of it. Heat flares to my cheeks as I wheel around to get in the cab.
“Bye.” I wave, closing the car door. Andrew waves back, but Wade isn’t moving. With his hands in his jean pockets, he just stares at me, a blank expression on his face.
“And, here’s the bathroom,” I announce, thus concluding the most excruciating real-estate tour in history.
“Oh, and you even got me some products. How thoughtful,” Kim says, picking up one of the bottles. “Karl’s right, you really are the nicest.”
“My pleasure.” I smile through gritted teeth. At least I pulled my underwear out of the drawer while they weren’t looking.
“Thanks so much, Rox,” Karl says as we’re ambling back to the living room. “You did great. We love it.”
“I’m glad it suits you. Well, I best be going. I have, em, a couple things to do. But I’ll see you guys soon. There’s some champagne in the fridge and chocolate in the top-right cabinet. Welcome back, Karl. And Kim, welcome to London.”
They thank me one more time, squeezing me in an awkward embrace before I can slip away and get the hell out of there.
Once I reach the sidewalk, I don’t even bother to cover my head from the rain. How can the amazing day I’ve been planning for weeks turn into such a nightmare? I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming. How could I have misread everything he’s said these past months?
I know why. Love blinded my judgement. Love blurred my common sense. And now, love broke my heart. I sit down at the bus stop. The fact that I’m not even bothering to guess the stories of the two other people here tells me it’s me who might be broken.
On the bus, I receive a text from Lina.
LINA
Hey! How’s everything going? Did he like the apartment? X
I swallow the bile that’s rising in my throat and shoot a spiteful reply.
ROXY
He and his fiancée loved it.
LINA
What?
Her face pops up on my screen, and I scroll right to answer.
