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Yes, she is. You’re the poor little rich girl. Of course she wants to befriend you.
I do my best to ignore the voice and act normal. “Thanks. I’m glad to be here.”
“Come on in, Erin,” Jason says as he waves her inside. He leans out the open doorway and glances down the hall. “Where’s Mack?”
“He’s coming,” the brunette says. “He ran into Liam and Miguel on their way out, and they got to talking.”
Erin looks to be about my age. Her straight dark hair is cut in a sleek chin-length bob, and her eyes are a startling blue. I see faint freckles dotting the bridge of her nose and cheeks.
“Erin’s a good friend,” Jason explains. “Her boyfriend, Mack Donovan, works for the same security company I do. In fact, almost everyone on this floor works for McIntyre Security.”
“And I work at Clancy’s,” Erin says. “You know, the bookstore downtown.”
My face lights up at the mention of books. “I love that place.”
“You should come visit us there sometime. I work for Beth—you know, Shane’s wife.” She points up toward the ceiling. “They live upstairs in the penthouse apartment. Beth owns the bookstore.”
“Layla hasn’t met Shane and Beth yet,” Jason says.
Erin grins. “We definitely need to rectify that.” She winks at me. “Beth is dying to meet you. She’s Tyler’s sister. You two are practically family now. And by the way, don’t be surprised if you get a lot of drop-in visitors this weekend. Everyone’s anxious to meet you.”
“Meet me? Really?” I’m confused as to why anyone would even know I was here, let alone want to meet me.
Because you’re a freak. They’re curious.
Jason shrugs. “Word gets around fast. This building is full of McIntyre Security employees, and I might have told a couple of friends.”
“There you are,” says an unfamiliar deep male voice from behind me. I turn to see a huge man standing in the open doorway. He has dark hair and eyes, and he’s so tall he fills the doorway. He practically has to duck to come inside. “Hey, babe,” he says to Erin as he joins her.
Erin slips her arm around the big man’s waist and leans into him. “This is Mack. Honey, this is Layla Alexander, Ian’s sister.”
Mack nods to me in greeting. “Nice to meet you, Layla.” Then he looks to Jason. “Welcome back, buddy. We’ve missed you around here.”
“Thanks. It’s nice to be back. We’re just here for the weekend.”
There’s a commotion in the hall, and we look to the open doorway as two guys pop their heads in, both of them grinning. One of them I know—Miguel Rodriguez. But the other one, ash-blond hair and brown eyes, I’ve never seen before.
“Heard you were back, man,” the blond says to Jason. He’s talking to Jason, but his curious gaze is mostly on me.
“Hey, Layla,” Miguel says, waving. “It’s good to see you.” He nods to the blond beside him. “This is Liam.”
“Liam McIntyre,” Jason clarifies. “My boss’s youngest brother.”
“And the most handsome,” Liam says as he winks at me. “Welcome to the building.”
Erin glances down at our bags. “Come on, guys. We should let them get settled in.” She herds them all out into the hallway. “Let’s get together soon, Layla, okay? We girls are seriously outnumbered in this building. I could use an ally.”
“I’d love that.” It would be nice to have a female friend to talk to. And since she works in a bookstore, I like her already.
Once we’re alone, Jason closes the apartment door and pulls me into his arms. “I hope you didn’t mind the welcoming committee.”
“Of course not. I didn’t realize you had so many friends here.”
“Most of the people I know from work live in this building. That has its ups and downs. There’s always someone around if you want company, but if you want to be alone, you’re probably going to get a lot of folks knocking on your door whether you like it or not.” He kisses my forehead. “Ready to unpack?”
Jason hauls our luggage down the hall, stopping first at his bedroom. He tosses his duffle bag onto his king-size bed. Then he wheels my suitcase to the smaller bedroom at the end of the hall—to theguestbedroom.
He doesn’t want you in his bedroom.
