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Taking another sip, I held back from pursing my lips at the sickly sweetness of his coffee and lied, “It’s fine.”
At that moment, soft footsteps padded behind me. I stifled a groan and checked over my shoulder as Nina quietly stepped into the kitchen. She was wearing nothing but one of my sweatshirts. Knowing she smelled like me made my stomach clench with need. While I internally writhed in frustration that Tatum was still here, I couldn’t help smile at seeing her covered in something of mine. That, and the fact that she knew better than to wear that slinky red number in front of Tatum. If that had happened, I’d have no choice but to knock him out cold. Although…my sweatshirt only fell to midthigh, leaving her long, lean legs bare.
Shyly tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, she announced her presence with a soft, hesitant, “Hey.”
I could only imagine how uncomfortable it had been for her to wake up in a strange bed without me there. Then she’d had to roam my apartment until she found me, only to be faced with Tatum. The walk of shame and all that.
Bringing her warm curves into my side, I cajoled, “Good morning, sweetness. Did you sleep well?”
Ducking her head, she averted her eyes and half hid in my chest. I wrapped my arm around her and ordered Tatum to say hello in Romanian, “Salut-o.”
“Hey, Nina, hope we didn’t wake you with our loud arguing. We’re loud and we argue. Might as well get used to it because that’s how Alex and I communicate best.”
“Idiot,” I rumbled out in Romanian.
He gave me a shit-eating grin, the fucker.
Pointing to his coffee cup, I lifted my chin toward the front door. “Why don’t you go back to your own apartment? I’ll meet up with you in a few hours.”
Taking the third cup, he pressed it into Nina’s hand and said, “Good to see you again, Nina.”
He threw me a warning look, one he didn’t bother to hide from Nina. My jaws clenched. She didn’t need his judgment on top of the mess I made of things last night with my equivocal bullshit answers and excuses. She deserved better than that. Better than me, if I was to be perfectly honest with myself. That honest assessment didn’t mean I’d let her go.
Once Tatum was finally out the door, I let out a sigh of relief and braced myself to deal with the nervousness pouring off Nina. Had she overhead me talking to Tatum earlier? Stifling a groan, I hoped not.
