Page 18 of Strike Fast

With that parting shot she flounced out and slammed the door shut behind her.

Kai sighed into the sudden quiet, struck by the stark sense of relief washing over him. Things had been great between them for the first few months, but the constant bickering over stupid shit had taken its toll. Nothing he did seemed to make her happy for very long. Seemed to him that she was pissed-off and hurt more often than not these days.

Damn, maybehewas the one who needed the space and not her.

A knock at the door had him biting back a frustrated growl. He didn’t have the patience to deal with this bullshit any more tonight, but if he didn’t she’d just use her key and barge in again.

He yanked it open, ready to tell her to leave him alone, but stopped when he saw his food goddess neighbor standing there instead. “Abby. Hey.”

“Hey,” she said, twisting her head to look down the hallway, her pale blond pixie cut gleaming in the lights. She had on black yoga pants and a snug athletic jacket that hugged her fit, but curvy body. “I thought I heard Shelley’s dulcet tones a minute ago.” She faced him, the top of her head coming to the center of his chest, her vivid blue eyes lit with a trace of wry amusement. “But the door slam confirmed it.”

His face heated and he barely resisted the urge to rub the back of his neck. This was so damn embarrassing. Half the people living on this floor were probably aware of the drama. “Sorry about that,” he muttered.

“Hey, not my deal.” She shrugged and held up the container in her hand. “I’m just off to the gym but I thought I’d drop this off. It’s beef stroganoff over egg noodles.”

He didn’t have to ask whether it was homemade, and his mouth was already watering. “Thanks, you’re an angel,” he said, taking it from her. It was still warm, too. Homemade comfort food like this would so hit the spot right now, and Abby’s cooking was always awesome. It reminded him of his grandma, who had raised him. “Smells amazing.”

Abby leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb, her head tipped back so she could meet his eyes. “Your text said you wanted to talk to me about your schedule?”

“Oh, right.” He’d sent it last night. He gestured over his shoulder. “You wanna come in for a sec?”

“Sure.” She stepped inside and followed him to the kitchen, smelling of the light, clean scent of shampoo and soap instead of perfume. “You going out of town again?”

“Next week for about ten days.” He reached into a drawer for a fork, glanced at her. “You want some?”

“No thanks, already had some and I’ll be eating it for the next week anyway. So, you want me to look after Goliath and grab your mail while you’re gone?”

“That’d be great, if you could.” They helped each other out like that whenever one of them was away.

Although he was gone a whole lot more than she was, so the arrangement was pretty lopsided. Kai tried to help her out whenever he could to make up for it, fixing things around her apartment, dropping off a bag of her favorite coffee or whatever. Actually, she did way more for him than Shelley ever had, and that was a hell of a sad statement about his so-called girlfriend.

“Sure, no problem.”

Abby was always like that, always willing to help without making it a big deal. No guilt trips, never made him feel like he owed her or anything. No drama. God, she was such a breath of fresh air compared to Shelley now that he thought about it. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

Another shrug. “Just text me when you’re on your way home so I don’t accidentally barge in on you.”

He wouldn’t mind if she did. He liked talking with her, because she was so easy to be around. “I will.”

She gestured to the fork in his hand. “I’m waiting for you to take a bite,” she said with a grin.

He was happy to oblige. Sliding a mouthful of tangy sauce-smothered beef, mushrooms and noodles into his mouth, he let out a deep groan of appreciation and gave her an adoring look.

One side of her mouth tipped upward. “Good, right?”

“It’s awesome. I can taste the love.”

“That’s my secret ingredient for every dish.”

“I know it.” He forked up another bite.

Abby glanced around the kitchen/living room to where Goliath swam in the special tank Kai had outfitted over in the corner, then focused on him once more. “So you and Shelley are back together again?”

His hand froze around the fork. “Ah…no, we’re…taking a break.” Actually, he wasn’t sure what the hell they were doing anymore, aside from being miserable most of the time.

She frowned and shook her head a little, concern etched into her face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good. And Shelley’s great,” he said, not even sure why he felt the need to defend her. When things were good, they were awesome. They just weren’t good all that often anymore. “She’s just…tired of me being gone so much.”

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