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“You lost something.” His hand dives into the front pocket of his pants. “I came to return it.”
I had no idea that my pride could fit in his pocket because I feel as though I lost that at dinner when I was sitting across from him, and he blatantly ignored me.
My hand darts out, palm side up. “Give it to me.”
“I will if you let me in,” he tries to bargain with me.
With a shake of my head, I start to close the door. “Whatever it is, I don’t need it.”
His foot moves to stop the door in its path. “Let me in, Ava. If you’re not busy, I’d like to talk to you for a minute.”
I catch the way he gazes past my shoulder into my apartment.
“Two minutes,” I warn him. “You have two minutes, and then I’m heading to bed.”
I didn’t factor having to grab him a glass of water into the two minutes I granted him, but I couldn’t refuse when he requested it.
He’s flushed, and a light sheen of sweat is noticeable on his forehead.
“Did you walk here?” I ask as I hand him the water.
“Part way,” he says before he swallows it quickly, shoving the glass back at me. “I took the subway, then walked.”
I set the glass on the table next to the couch and take a seat as far away from him as possible. It’s not that I don’t want to be cozied up next to him, but all of my senses are in overdrive at the moment, and I’m worried I won’t keep my wits about me.
“What did I lose?” I play along with his excuse to gain entry into my home.
I suspect it was a ploy to get a foot in the door, so he can explain why he stopped whatever was happening between us the other night. Maybe he couldn’t find the words at Sean’s apartment, or perhaps he wanted to wait until we were alone.
For all I know, he’s here to warn me to stay away from Ryden.
He shifts his ass so he can reach a hand into one of the front pockets of his pants. He tugs it out in a fist and then opens it. “This.”
My gaze lands on his palm and the small silver charm sitting there. It’s a crown. My eyes dart to my bracelet. I twist it around, searching for the charm I have that is identical to the one in his hand.
Of course, it’s missing.
“That’s mine,” I point out the obvious. “Where did you find it?”
He moves to drop it on the coffee table. “In the hallway at Sean’s apartment. It must have broken off.”
That charm shouldn’t mean as much to me as it does, but it was a gift from my dad. He sent it to me in a small blue box with a note addressed to his ‘Piano Princess’. I received it on the last day of my first semester at the Royal Academy of Music. It had meant everything to me. I cried when I had it attached it to my bracelet at a jeweler in London.
I’ve always felt closer to him when I notice it on my bracelet.
“I’ll need to get it fixed,” I mutter.
“I can do that for you,” Harry offers. “I can drop it off at a jeweler in the morning and have it back to you by noon.”
It’s a lovely gesture, but I shake my head. “Decky got me a gift card for a jeweler in SoHo. I’ll go there and see if they can fix it and pick out a new charm too.”
He didn’t need to know all of that but judging by the grin on his face, he’s glad I told him.
I push to my feet. “Thanks for dropping it off, Harry.”
He doesn’t move a muscle. “Sit, Ava. We need to talk.”
I take a step toward the door. “We don’t. You went out of your way to return the charm, and I appreciate that, but it’s late, and I’m…”
“Trying to get rid of me,” he interrupts.
Honesty is always the route to take, so I nod. “I am, yes.”
He laughs. “I want to say something to you about the other night.”
I don’t want to hear him explain again why we can’t be more than friends if we’re even considered that. We shared a brief moment, but it passed, and it’s behind us now.
“There’s no need.” I edge closer to the door. “Let’s forget it ever happened.”
“I can’t, Ava,” he rasps. “I can’t stop thinking about that kiss; about you, and I don’t know what the fuck I’m supposed to do with that.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Harrison
Well, fuck.
That was not supposed to come out of me. I had no intention of confessing that to Ava, but now that it’s out there, I need to own it.
I move to stand, and when I turn, I find her staring at me. She doesn’t say a word, but the shock on her face does the talking for her.
