Page 93 of Crave Thy Neighbor

I snap my eyes to Caroline as my heart hammers in my chest.

Eyes wide, she shakes her head, telling me she didn’t say a word.

“I thought you guys were doing that last Sunday and that’s why you couldn’t come hang with us.”

Oh.

I exhale slowly. “We got busy doing other stuff last Sunday and then never got home early enough during the week to go before they closed.”

She nods. “Makes sense. Did you find a couch you both love?”

“Nolanfound a couch he loves. My opinion doesn’t matter because I don’t really live there. I was just there so he didn’t buy something ugly.”

She smacks her forehead “Right, duh. Sometimes I forget you’re not staying in the building.” She sticks her bottom lip out. “Which makes me super sad, by the way. I really love having you and my nephew so close.”

“The new place isn’t that far away.”

“It’s a lot farther than going up a few floors.”

“True, but it’s okay. Speaking of the new place…” I pull my phone from the purse, swiping past the lock screen, then navigating to my email. “I got an email this morning.”

I hand it over to River, who sets her muffin on the counter.

She squeals with delight when she sees the good news. “You get to move in early!”

“What?” Caroline asks, snatching my phone from River’s hands, scanning the email herself. “But what about Nolan?”

“What about him?” River asks. “He’s not going with her.”

“No, I mean what about—” She clamps her lips together, shaking her head, stopping herself from spilling the beans. “Never mind.”

“Oooooh,” River says, bobbing her head. “You mean are they still going to sleep together after Maya moves out?”

“Caroline!” I yell, glowering at her.

“It wasn’t me!” she promises, holding her hands up in innocence.

River cackles loudly, clapping a few times. We stare at her as she slaps her thighs, still carrying on like a maniac.

When she finally calms down, she wipes at her eyes, brushing away the tears that have formed.

Then she pins me with a stare like she didn’t just laugh like a crazed person, her lips falling into a flat line.

“You’re on my shitlist, Maya West.”

I gulp because she means it. “H-How did you find out?”

“You’re kidding, right?” She huffs, rolling her eyes. “You’re my best friend. I’ve known you since we were eight—I know when you’re getting dicked on the regular.” She shrugs. “Plus, I went to knock on your door one day, wanting a girls’ night, and heard you screaming Nolan’s name in a way that told me he was anything but in trouble.”

Heat fills my cheeks because I don’t doubt it for a minute. I’m not exactly quiet in the bedroom when it comes to Nolan unless Sam is home.

“How long have you known?”

“Since…” She taps her chin. “Gosh, probably a couple of days after you guys came down for drinks. I’m assuming it started that night. You two wouldn’t stop staring at each other the whole time.”

“How would you know? You were shit-faced.”

“I wasn’tthatdrunk.”