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“No.”
Both men wore similar scowls, and she half expected them to charge each other like a pair of wild bucks.
Shaking her hand free, she stepped between them. “I didn’t know he was coming over this morning, Trevor. But we do have a few details to work out from last night. It shouldn’t take us long if you want to stay and wait. Right, Derek?”
Derek came to stand next to her, his hand brushing against her skin as he crossed his arms. “Wrong. We’ve got a lot to talk about, and we don’t need company.”
She’d noticed years ago how Derek could be polite to even the biggest jerk on the planet. She’d never once seen him talk to anyone the way he spoke to Trevor now. What’s his problem? The next time they were alone, she’d let him know what she thought of his little performance this morning.
“You don’t have to leave, Trevor.” She tilted her head in Derek’s direction. “Our conversation won’t take long. Five, ten minutes tops.”
The tiny lines around Trevor’s eyes deepened as he glared in Derek’s direction. “I wish I could. Katelyn woke up with a fever. I need to go pick her up.” He put his smartphone into his shorts’ pocket. Then he crossed the gap separating them and stopped next to her, despite the murderous expression Derek directed at him. “I’ll call you soon.”
She expected the peck on the cheek he normally gave her. Instead, he pressed a light kiss against her mouth. Something sounding suspiciously like a growl came from next to her.
“I know my way out.”
Walking a guest to the door was proper etiquette, but today annoyance toward both men had her watching Trevor leave on his own.
Once she heard the door close, she turned on Derek, primed and ready to give him an earful. “What’s your problem this morning? Did you forget this is my apartment, not yours? You acted like a jerk.”
He relaxed his arms but his frown remained. “Sorry. You know I don’t like the guy.”
“How can you not like him? You don’t know him.” Brooklyn yanked the elastic from her hair and redid her ponytail. “I can’t believe you talked to him like that.”
“Fine. You’re right. I don’t like him with you. Is that better? What was he doing here anyway? Did you invite him over?”
“No. I intended to spend today alone. As in by myself.” She hoped he heard the annoyance in her voice because she wasn’t thrilled about his surprise visit either. “He showed up with breakfast a little while ago. I guess he forgot how to call first, kind of like you.” She poked him in the shoulder for added emphasis.
“I told you last night we needed to talk.”
“And I….” She stopped and threw her hands up in defeat. Bickering back and forth wouldn’t get him out of her apartment any faster. “Never mind. Whatever. You’re here. I’ll grab my calendar and we can get the silly dates arranged.” Once they got those things out of the way, he’d leave and she could climb back under the blankets. If anyone else rang her doorbell today, she’d leave them standing in the hall.
Hell. This visit was not going how he’d planned. Derek blamed Trevor. Seeing the guy sitting in Brooklyn’s kitchen eating breakfast had triggered his temper.
“We’ve got more than dates to discuss.”
“Right. Before you leave, I’ll get your bank information so I can have the money I didn’t use transferred back to you.”
He wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. “I don’t care about the money or the dates. Those things can wait.”
“If it can wait, why in the world are you here? You better not be planning to ask me for another favor, because if you are, my answer is no. As in absolutely not.”
Maybe he deserved that. Asking for her assistance had caused her a lot of hassle, but it’d done something else too.
“To talk about us.”
“You’ve lost me.” Her eyebrows furrowed together, and she shook her head. “Really, Derek, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Last night. Us. Our kiss.”
Brooklyn’s cheeks turned pink, and she moved her gaze toward something over his shoulder. “Oh.” She pushed at the glasses that weren’t perched on her nose. “I expected it since all the other couples shared a kiss. I know you did it because the photographer was standing there.”
Damn it. Either the woman had become suddenly dense or she was intentionally avoiding what they’d experienced.
“If you’re worried I’m mad at you or something, I’m not. I know it was all part of the charade. If you hadn’t done it, someone would’ve noticed.”
“I didn’t do….” He stopped himself. “Maybe I started the kiss because the photographer was standing there, but….” The correct words failed him.
