Chapter 7

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I whispered.

“I was waiting for you to talk to me.”

“How did you know?”

“You looked at me like I’d hung the moon. And also like you wanted to eat me.”

I snorted. “You noticed that, huh?”

“It was really hard to miss.” The smile spreading across his face chased the tension lines away, and I wanted to touch him. To reach out and see if the stubble was as scratchy as it looked. To follow along the sharp edge of his jawline.

Instead, I fisted my hand. “Do you live here?”

“Yes.”

“Alone?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

“Where do you live, Cory?”

“New York. Still.”

“Are you happy there?”

I shook my head. My hatred of the city had started the minute I’d set foot in it. I’d blamed it for taking me away from Asher, never really giving it a chance. The loss of my best friend had been worse than losing a limb to my teenage self and had made it hard for me to make new friends.