Page 64 of Faking It with the Off-Limits Doctor

“You’re welcome, Miss.”

I don’t have to wait on the elevator, and when the doors open, I step inside the mirrored cube and press the button that says “PH.” After an initial jerk and me feeling like my stomach just fell through my feet, I watch in trepidation as it climbs floor after floor.

By the time the doors open, I’m a nervous wreck, and stepping out into the corridor, I look both ways. There’s only one door.

Of course there is. This is the penthouse.

Trying and failing miserably to quiet my thumping heart, I reach the door and lift my hand to the bell.

Here goes nothing.

I hear clipped sounds as he walks across the apartment. Then there’s a lock turning, and eventually, he opens the door.

Alex’s expression is a picture as his eyes fly wide and his jaw falls open like a goldfish. He was expecting Mark, so his utter astonishment comes as no surprise to me.

Mark figured the only way to get me up here was to pretend he was coming to see Alex. When he rang Alex, he put me on hold. When Alex buzzed me in, he put Alex on hold. And now, here I am.

“Hi,” I say, my voice quiet and timid.

This is it. This is make or break time. He’s either going to fly into a rage because I ignored his text, sending me right back to that elevator, or he’s going to let me in.

I’m surprised, if not utterly relieved, when he opens the door a bit wider.

“Come in, Dara,” he says.

I take the step into his apartment, but I’m a little confused. When he sent that text message, he was clearly angry, which is what I’ve been expecting him to be on my entire journey here. But he doesn’t sound angry at all. In fact, if I had to describe it, he looks and sounds kind of sad.

But I don’t want to waste any more time. I need to tell him the reason I’m here before he changes his mind, so hardly giving him a chance to close the door, I turn to him, and everything bursts out.

“I came to apologize. I was wrong. I know that now. You asked me not to tell anyone, and I promised I wouldn’t. It was just such a big decision. It was so hard, so I confided in my closest friend, knowing that she wouldn’t breathe a word. I know you’re mad at me, and you have every right to be. I should have told you. I’m sorry.”

Alex stands there looking at me, and to my utter astonishment, he has a half smile on his face.

I shake my head. “How is this funny?”

“I’m not laughing,” he replies. “In fact, it’s me who needs to apologize to you.”

“What?”

He throws a gesture toward the apartment. “Can we sit down and talk? You standing there makes me think you’re going to run out at any minute.”

Glancing down at myself as though to confirm his deduction, I nod. “Oh, yes. Sure.”

Alex leads me across dark, polished, wooden floors to a huge living area that’s surrounded by glass windows that look out onto the city. I can’t help myself; I walk straight over and look out.

“Wow! You can see everything from up here.”

“Yes,” he says from somewhere behind me. “Sometimes you can see everything and still be blind.”

I cast a glance over my shoulder and see him gazing at me.

“Would you like a drink?”

“Yes please,” I reply.

While he disappears into what I assume is the kitchen, I gaze around his apartment. It’s huge and stunning with modern art hanging on the walls, and strangely shaped sculptures placed in particular places. It’s clean and minimalistic, just like the house back in Riverdale.

Well, before I got my hands on it.

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