Page 35

“Brittney.” It was Laurent calling my name. I pulled my face away from the window and the vista of drab colors and turned around.

“Go see Carmen.” He nodded his head in the direction of what I assumed was their bedroom. “She explained your situation and we will assist you until you get yourself settled here.”

As I headed toward my friend, I replied, “Thank you, I appreciate all of this.”

Carmen stood in front of an open closet, digging through piles of clothing and shoes and she tossed me a pair of boots I promptly put on.

Her room was neat and orderly, but it looked like she held her wardrobe to a different standard. Stuff was everywhere, in there.

None of it was my preferred color but I said, “You have some nice stuff.”

She did. It just wasn’t anything I would pick out at a store. Nothing looked loose or comfortable, and all I saw were scraps of fabric, straps, belts, and patent leather. I was a big fan of hoodies, leggings, and flowy dresses—not whatever constricting nightmare this was bulging out of her closet.

“Thanks,” she muttered, straightening and tossing a few pieces on the bed. “Laurent likes this crap, not me. He pays the bills and bought me the coffee shop so whatever he says, goes.”

If I did find a sponsor he better not even dream of this shit because nope. “Ahh, I see.”

“Yeah. Fun is.” She shut the door and started picking through the pile she’d tossed on the comforter.

“I heard that.”

Carmen and I glanced at each other and she smiled at me. “He knows how I feel about it, he’s just giving me a hard time.”

I wanted to paw through the offerings myself, but I felt weird about it, since it wasn’t my stuff. Relief filled me when she said, “Go ahead and look through. Everything here is good and you won’t stand out.”

Rifling through the pile, I grabbed the loosest skirt I could find along with a tank top that may or may not strangle me. “Okay, I’m going to go get changed.”

“Me, too,” Carmen said. “Come back here after and we’ll fix our make-up.”

I paused in the doorway. “You don’t mind if I take a shower, right?”

“Oh God, no. Go right ahead. There’s clean towels in the linen closet in there.”

Relieved, I hurried from the room, ducking my head when I felt Laurent watching me. Stupid, but I still did it and quickly felt like a freak. I made it across the living room but before opening the bathroom door, I turned and gave him a tight-lipped smile with a jaunty little wave. The floor really should have swallowed me whole because I was an absolute moron.

My hands slid down my face as I groaned over how weird I was acting. What the hell was wrong with me?

Oh yeah, I was in hell—literally.

The shower was refreshing, and the bathroom was spacious, clean, and modern. Everything I needed was in here, and I even found a brand-new toothbrush to use. After I blow-dried my hair, my hand lingered over the door latch. What if he was still out there?

It made no sense, my discomfort. It wasn’t like he’d been anything but nice to me. Christ, he was letting me stay in his house.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I took a deep breath and gripped the knob a little tighter. The guy had probably already forgotten about the freakshow in his bathroom.

“Here goes nothing,” I muttered under my breath.

Swinging the door open, I straightened my back and held my head high and began the journey back to Carmen’s room. Sure enough, there he was. He smirked and laughed when he saw me. The air caught in my lungs, stopping me in my tracks as he threw his head back, laughing louder.

“Asshole,” I grumbled, picking up my pace.

He was in front of me in a split second. “I’m not going to do anything to you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

A door opened behind him, and I glanced past his side. “Leave her alone, Laurent,” Carmen yelled at him.

“He’s just fucking with you,” she reassured, slamming the door behind us.

“Mm,” I hummed. “He’s fine, I was the one acting strange, not him.”