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It upset knowing that I had made him uncomfortable in his own home, so I went back to a paint store and purchased the original colors he had on the wall. As close as I could come, anyway.
Right now, I’m finishing the last wall of one room when the door shuts loudly from the first floor.
I set the paintbrush down, then retract myself from the ladder, but not before Ryan comes to stand in the doorway. He looks around at the walls, a slight frown forming on his face.
“You changed it back?”
I nod, not knowing how to apologize for my intrusion.
His frown only deepens, then he shakes his head and curses. “Why did you do that?”
My eyebrows shoot up, not understanding why he would question me considering he’s made his feelings loud and clear. “Uh, the way you’ve been acting around me since I’ve been here? I didn’t mean to invade your space, it just all felt… too dull.”
He mutters something under his breath that I don’t catch before picking up the paint can, leaving half the wall untouched. I follow closely behind him, unsure what he’s attempting to do right now, and my breath catches in my throat when he tosses the paint into the trash can.
“I love what you’re doing with the place…that’smy problem. Because I shouldn’t,” he admits.
I’m stuck in place, not sure how to respond to his confession. I feel strangely elated at his honesty.
“I’ll hire someone to come change the walls back to your color,” he continues. “You’ve done enough and it’s time for you to get back to work.”
Work. Right. I’ve missed a lot since the night Alex showed up.
“If I promise you a good lunch, will you think about coming in tomorrow? I’m worried about you,” he says softly.
Not wanting to disappoint him and Millie, I give him a short nod and hope that he will let the conversation go.
He starts to walk away, probably to change out of his tux, but turns back toward me. “Also, you don’t have to worry about seeing Alex there… he got fired.”
I open my mouth, wanting to defend him, but close it because he doesn’t deserve my defense. Ryan doesn’t wait another minute for me to respond, only stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking down the hall to his room.
I’ve barely been in my room. I only go there to sleep, and that doesn’t come easy since Alex assaulted me.
If I told Ryan the reason why I barely go in there, he would feel bad. I don’t need to add that to his plate. He’s already been put out by me enough so as it is.
He struts back into the room with a t-shirt that clings to his bulging biceps and sweatpants that hang loosely from his hips.
I’m sure I look like a dog with my tongue hanging out, but I can’t seem to help it. After being here for a week and knowing that he changes into more comfortable clothes as soon as he comes home, I still haven’t gotten over how sexy he looks like this. His hair is stuck up in places, probably from running his hands through it all day and stressing too much. My gaze tracks down the length of his body until I reach his bare feet, and then travels back up until I meet his heated gaze on mine.
“You need to stop looking at me like that,” he says, not taking his eyes off me. He sits his half-filled glass of whiskey on the marble countertop and stalks over to me, only leaving inches between the two of us.
My breaths are ragged, but my eyes dart to his full lips and I lick my own, inviting him to claim them exactly like he did on New Year’s Eve.
He moves an inch closer. Another two inches and he will be up against me. All it would take is him leaning down and me meeting him halfway with my lips parted open for him.
Except, he doesn’t move closer. He backs away from me and shakes his head, leaving me standing in the middle of his living room with my heart beating so rapidly I’m sure it’s about to burst from my chest.
Instead of waiting for him to come back, knowing that he’s most likely not going to, I flop onto the couch and find a movie to watch. Ryan leaves in the meantime, making things feel even more awkward.
Halfway through a rom-com, Ryan leaves the comfort of his room with his hair wet and a change of clothes. He’s changed into a pair of jeans and a nice button-up shirt, and I eye him warily when he comes to stand in front of me.
The hand he holds out looks foreign to me, but I place my hand in his wondering what’s about to happen.
“Go put something pretty on,” he whispers, his lips only centimeters from mine before he’s pulling away from me again.
Shit. He wants me to put something nice on, which means I’m going to have to go into my room and he’ll see me react to it. I know that it’s odd, being that this isn’t the house that everything happened in. It brings me anxiety because I broke down in my room at Millie’s, scared that Alex would come back for me, and that room was also on the right side of the apartment. I know it’s not logical, but my brain won’t listen to me about that.
I take a deep breath and inch closer to the room, taking my time down the hall, and it’s when I feel the warmth of Ryan’s body that I stiffen my posture. He shouldn’t see me like this, it’s not what he signed up for when making this deal. His hand comes to the small of my back, rubbing tiny circles to calm my growing nerves, and it works for a solid minute until I get closer to my door.
