Page 7 of Falling For My Best Friend's Brother

“Room.”

Blinking, she snapped out of it and her throat worked as she pointed left. “First room on your left.”

Nodding, I headed to the room, pulled the door open, walked in, and shut it behind me before letting out a breath. Truthfully, when Lindsay mentioned an empty room in her apartment, I was relieved.

I couldn’t keep sleeping at hotels. It was draining me financially. Mentally too. I didn’t exactly buy into the idea of unknown people traipsing in and out every day, cleaning and asking stupid questions I didn’t have the strength to answer.

I was between a rock and a hard place. The company was going through some tough times, and if we didn’t get a big break soon, we were going under. It was bad enough that we’d already lost the Spencer deal. If I could fix it, I would. Sean,my communications manager and closest friend, assured me I couldn’t.

So, yeah. My life has been a mess lately. I had my mom and sister to think about, and people who depended on me for their livelihood. The thought of letting any of them down was inconceivable. I already failed one person, and it cost me a lot.

No more,I thought as I approached the bed and sat on the edge, pulling out the documents for the new project we were working on, along with my laptop. I couldn’t disappoint anyone again.

Which brought me back to my current predicament. Living in a hotel was eating through my savings, but it hadn’t even been thirty minutes and living with Nina was already proving to be a pain in my ass.

Thankfully, I wasn’t staying for free. I offered to cover the next two months' rent so I wouldn’t feel like a freeloader. It was cheaper than a full month of living in a hotel, anyway.

As I worked, my mind drifted away from me, and I wondered when Nina had grown up. The baby fat from her teenage years had given way and now she looked like a young woman. With the curves and those full breasts, my God. She hadn’t been wearing a bra either, and her nipples protruded from her shirt.

Now that I was thinking about it, her hair had been shorter back then, and she always wore it in a ponytail. This morning, though, her mane fell down her back in long copper waves. She’d evengotten bangs. Full, peach colored lips, perfectly framed by an oval face and the deepest green eyes I’d ever seen.

Jesus. If she wasn’t so childish and so damn young, then maybe…

I snapped out of it, frowning.Maybe what?I huffed out a breath, massaging the back of my neck with one hand.You’re losing it, Knox. Step away from those nasty thoughts before you hurt yourself.

Cracking my neck, I glanced at my wristwatch. I’d been working for two hours. Shit. My stomach chose that moment to grumble, reminding me I’d eaten nothing since last night.

Maybe you should have just taken those eggs when you had the chance.

I snorted, getting up and heading for the door. I’d sooner undergo surgery without anesthesia than eat anything Nina cooked.

However, the second I opened the door, I was hit with a pungent smell, very akin to something burning.

“What the fuck?” I coughed, heading for the source of the smell. As I approached the kitchen, I noticed that the smell was, in fact, slowly dying down and now mixed with the scent of the house, creating a distasteful odor that caused my nose to itch.

How long has it been happening?

I stepped into the spacious kitchen to see Nina sitting on a stool and her iPad perched on the counter as a movie played. A plate of what I assumed were pancakes sat in front of her, though I couldn’t be sure. I’d never seen black pancakes before. Matter of fact, I’d never seenanyfoodthatshade of black my entire life.

Nina poured maple syrup over the abominable-looking dish and chewed like it was the most normal thing in the world while her eyes remained glued to the iPad.

When she let out a giggle, I clenched my jaw and forced myself to stay calm. My eyes traveled to the stove, then back to her. I couldn’t believe Lindsay had done this to me. I thought we were fine.

Nina’s head snapped up, spying, and I expected her to start rambling about whatever happened here, but she only gave me a weird look and went back to her charred pancakes and chick flick.

It took me a painful second to realize that she’d just ignored me. Now that was fucking weird. Well, not weird that she was ignoring someone, but weird that it was me.

Why did that piss me off so much?

I should’ve just turned around and walked away because she was only doing what I asked her to.Think twice about speaking tome,those were my exact words. But I do not want to be ignored. There were things that needed to be addressed.

“In the future—” I began, but she cut me off.

“Don’t speak to you if I can help it. Wasn’t that what you said? So why the hell are you speaking to me? Or areyouthe only one allowed to make demands?”

I stopped mid-sentence, genuinely gobsmacked.

I couldn’t help it. I scoffed bitterly, pinching the bridge of my nose. “You’re such a fucking child.”

---