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I hadn’t been planning to say anything to Holden about what had happened before I came to visit. But when he pointed out the look on my face, I sloppily confessed everything. Brayden overheard part of that conversation—only about a mystery woman in the building, not that I’d had a one-night stand with her.
Brayden admitted that he’d seen this woman around the building over the past few days, but he had no idea who she was or that she was living in 410. How the hell couldIhave not noticed her? But more than that, who was Devyn? Why was she living in that problematic apartment? Was she, in fact, the nanny? Those two tyrants were too old for a babysitter, weren’t they? Though it would’ve helped to have someone watching over them with the havoc they wreaked.
When I got back to my apartment, I grabbed a beer from the fridge to take the edge off. I downed about half of it before I left it on the counter, grabbed myself by the virtual ball sac, and headed back to 410.
Adrenaline pumped through me as I traveled down the hallway and up in the elevator. For all I knew, Devyn wasn’t even there anymore. Maybe her shift had ended, and she’d gone back home. But I still hadn’t issued the warning I was supposed to, and that needed to happen whether she was there or not.
At least that’s the excuse I’d told myself about why I was going back.
When I made it to 410, I hesitated for a few seconds and psyched myself up to knock. Finally, I forced myself to rap my knuckles against the door.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
A couple of minutes passed with no answer. Maybe no one was home? But my gut told me a certain auburn-haired woman might be intentionally ignoring me from behind the door. I was just about to turn around when the door finally opened.
Devyn’s beautiful eyes looked tired, the carefree glow from the night I’d met her nowhere to be found. I imagined running into each other earlier had rattled her just as much as it had me. And now she seemed just as speechless as I was.
We stood there for probably ten seconds, just looking at each other. But with each moment that passed without her slamming the door in my face again, I felt a little less tense.
That was a win.
“What are you doing here?” she finally asked.
As stressed as she apparently was, Devyn looked so damn beautiful. I wanted to cup her face with my hands, bring her mouth to mine, and taste her again. Instead, I reminded myself that she apparently wanted nothing to do with me anymore.
I crossed my arms. “First, tell me why you slammed the door in my face earlier.”
“How did you even find me?”
“Findyou?”
Oh fuck.
Maybe because my head had been stuck in my damn ass for the past few days, but it had never dawned on me that she might think I wasstalkingher. It kind of offended me a bit, actually.
“I wasn’t looking for you, Devyn. After the way you left the hotel the other night, I got your message loud and clear. Believe me, I’m no stalker.”
“Then what are you doing here?”
“This is my building.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re the owner?”
“Yes. I was coming to issue a noise complaint to the woman who lives here.”
Devyn’s expression softened. “You didn’t know I was here?”
I looked deeply into her beautiful green eyes. “No, I didn’t.”
“I’m…” She shook her head, looking down at her feet. “God, I’m sorry.”
“You know, you say that a lot.”
Devyn looked up. “Say what?”
