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Great, now I’m going to worry about her until I see her tomorrow.

I grab another beer, hoping I can find a new distraction, a different distraction, not another woman. “What’d I miss?” I ask, glancing from Conrad to Archer.

Archer grins and takes a long swig from his beer. “Just taking bets on how long until you and Juniper hook up. Unless you already have…”

My jaw hits the floor.

Conrad holds his hands up. “I didn’t participate, but if you are planning on making a move with her, maybe I will throw in a hundred.”

“Seriously? Not you too!”

Zuri wears a sly grin but is doing everything in her power to keep quiet.

Archer glances suspiciously at Zuri. “You’re not getting in on the bet? You totally should.”

“Can’t afford it,” she says and forces a smile.

My mood after the win seems to be winding down with all the discussion on my love life, or lack thereof. “I’m going to take off.”

“You don’t have to leave.” Conrad glances up at me. “But I get it, if you want to make sure your neighbor made it home safe.”

I smack the back of Conrad’s head for even mentioning Juniper. “Gym tomorrow morning?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” Conrad glances at his watch. “Shit. Can we push it back an hour?”

“No.”

Heading inside my building, I’m surprised to find Juniper sitting in the hallway, her back against my door.

“Forget which apartment is yours again?”

“I was waiting to talk to you.”

I retrieve my keys and unlock my front door. “How much have you had to drink?” I ask, knowing about the Long Island but unsure if she had any more after she got home.

“Just the one. You?”

“Two beers.” Usually, I drink a bit more, but I’d been a bit distracted with Juniper on my mind and the guys giving me crap. “All right, come on in.”

I open the door, letting her inside while I flip on the lights. Slowly, she glances around, taking all of it in.

“You have the better view,” she muses. At night, the city sparkles, but it really shines in daylight.

“Yeah, costs extra. How are you able to afford this building?” I shouldn’t ask, but for a college student who is taking money from my brother and asking me for help to rent a building, it seems a bit off.

“My parents cover my rent, at least for the rest of this semester, while I’m in college.” She glances away like she’s embarrassed or something.

“This place isn’t cheap,” I say. I’m a bit surprised that she isn’t living with a roommate on campus.

“Tell me about it. In January, I’m going to have to start covering my own rent, unless I can convince my parents to give me a couple more months to figure out the new job. And I haven’t told them about my plans for opening a bookstore.”

“Oh?” I grab a seat at the breakfast nook, and she sits down beside me.

“I’m sure you don’t care about all that. But I do need something from you if you still want me to be your fake girlfriend,” she says, her eyes fixated on me, and they’re mesmerizing. “Like I mentioned at the bar, I need you to cover the rent for my bookstore, for a year.”

“How much are we talking?”

“A few thousand a month. I plan on moving out of the city, and maybe if I’m lucky, I can find a place that has an apartment above the bookshop.”