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Her mouth opened as her mind reached back, trying to grab onto the memory. But there was nothing there. It felt as if he’d always been around, in the background of her life, ever since she’d moved to LA. She couldn’t pinpoint the moment when she first saw him.
“I’ll give you a hint,” he said. “You yelled at me.”
“Of course I did.” She shook her head, laughing. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to narrow it down a little more.”
He rolled onto his back, and she scooted over to snuggle up against his chest. “It was the day after you moved into the building,” he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “I’d seen the movers bringing your stuff up, and I must have watched you walk back and forth past my window at least a dozen times.” He smiled at the memory. “I thought you were beautiful.”
She felt her cheeks heat. “Shut up.”
“I did! So the next day, I was sitting out on my balcony when I saw your car pull in below. And I grabbed my keys and sprinted downstairs, so I could ‘accidentally’ bump into you and introduce myself.”
“That’s adorable.” She wished she could remember it, but she was still drawing a blank.
“I got to my car as you were unloading your groceries, and I unlocked it like I was going out.” He played idly with her hand as he talked, running his thumb over her knuckles. “And when you looked up, I said, ‘Hi, my name is Jonathan. I live next door to you in six.’ And you said, ‘You’re supposed to park your car between the lines, not on them.’”
Esther burst out laughing. “Oh my god! I didn’t!” She buried her face in his chest, mortified.
“You did.”
“I’m the worst! How could you possibly like me after that?”
He laid a hand on her hair and kissed the top of her head. “I couldn’t help myself. I think it actually made me like you more.”
She lifted her head to look at him. “That’s twisted. You know that, right?”
He shrugged. “I remember thinking, Well, I blew it. She hates me now. She’ll never agree to go out with me.”
“And look how wrong you were.” She kissed his chest and laid her head back down. His heartbeat fluttered against her cheek. “I didn’t hate you though.”
“Liar. I know you did. You didn’t even try to hide it.”
Her fingers played with the light trail of hair leading down his abdomen. “That’s because—and you may know this about me already—I can sometimes be too blunt. Aggressive, even.”
He chuckled, pulling her closer and nuzzling his nose against her head.
“I didn’t hate you,” she said, smiling into his skin. “I just…disliked you.”
“Oh, okay. That’s so much better.” He rolled her onto her back so he could kiss her.
“I didn’t know you. Once I got to know you, you were irresistible.”
“Yeah, right.” He dipped his head to kiss her neck.
“It’s true.” Her fingers curled into his hair. She loved his hair. She loved that she could run her fingers through it whenever she pleased. “I didn’t want to like you, but I couldn’t help myself. You make me helpless.”
He tilted his head, gazing up at her through his long lashes. “I can’t imagine you ever being helpless about anything.”
“I am when it comes to you. You wouldn’t believe how I pined over you. Me. I don’t pine. Ever. But I did over you.”
His mouth curled into a smirk. That infuriating, sexy, irresistible smirk. God, she loved it. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. It was pathetic.”
He kissed the tip of her nose and flopped onto his back again, tugging her into his arms. “Is it wrong that I like the idea of you pining for me?”
She rested her head in the perfect cradle of his shoulder. “No, I don’t think it’s wrong.”
His arms tightened around her. “I was pining for you too, you know.”
