LEXI

I’m at the apartment complex, banging on the button for the upward elevator when I see him. Bradley Hamilton, traitor extraordinaire.

He parks his car out front, pulls something from the passenger’s seat—a brown paper bag—and begins his trek toward the front of the building.

I take a few steps toward him, stopping only to hold the door open for a fellow tenant with arms full of groceries. The woman thanks me, and I nod and force a smile. By the time I look up, he’s gone.

Bradley Hamilton vanished on me. I jog down the front steps, glance up and down the sidewalk—still nothing. I peep into his car, but he’s not there, either.

His car is still here, though, which obviously means he didn’t drive off somewhere else. The only way to get into the building is the front doors, and he certainly didn’t come through there. I should know. I’d been the one holding the door open.

So where...

I catch a glimpse of a tall figure just before he spins around the edge of the building. Bradley is moving at a fast clip, long legs carrying him so fast I’d need to jog to keep up. Clearly, he doesn’t want to be seen.

A bolt of anger hits me as I realize he’s trying to escape. That’s the only explanation. He saw me holding the door open—which came as a big surprise since I’m supposed to be at work—and he went the other way. Very, very quickly.

His only mistake was not realizing I’d been looking for him.

With this jolt of understanding, I rush around the building, trading in my walk for a jog when I turn the corner. The jerk is using my own secret weapon. The service elevator.

I’m almost sprinting by the time I make it into the corridor, and it’s way too hot to be sprinting. Not only that, I’m in jeans with my Minnie’s t-shirt, and it’s suffocating. I’m not built for running. I’m built for shuffling food to and from the kitchen, and I’m built for eating it.

Which is why my face is probably red, and sweat is likely dripping from my forehead as I burst into the hallway to find the doors to the elevator just starting to close.

I dive between them, feeling more athletic than I’ve ever felt in my life, and do an awkward sort of crumble and roll to land in a ball at Bradley Hamilton’s feet.

It’s not exactly the entrance I was going for, and instead of looking all James Bond cool, I probably looked more like an out of control octopus sliding around, limbs flailing in all directions.

“Jesus, Lexi, are you okay?”

Brad reaches over and extends a hand. I swat it away, and instead haul myself to my feet, grabbing the elevator railing for support. When I stand, I pull a lock of hair out of my face, dismayed to find it’s stringy and gross. This is the reason I hate running.

“No, everything’s not okay,” I tell him. “And obviously you know it, too, skulking away from me like a weasel.”

“What are you talking about?” His voice sounds confident, but his eyes give away a hint of guilt. “I’m not sneaking away from you.”

“Right. You make a habit of always using the elevator in the back of the building that works about half the time?”

“Eighty percent of the time,” he says. “And yes, I use it more than you’d think.”

“Well, it sure as hell looked like you were walking up the front steps until you saw me there.”

“It was supposed to be a surprise!” Brad finally pulls the hand he’s been hiding behind his back and reveals the massive brown paper bag he’d nabbed from the front seat of his car. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t think you’d seen me, and I didn’t think you’d be home yet. Wait a second. Why are you home?”

“You think this is about some stupid surprise?”

“Stupid surprise?” Now, he’s actually starting to look indignant. “Stupid surprise? I’m sorry, I just thought it might be a fun treat. I didn’t know you’d be so offended.”

“A fun treat? Not offended? Really.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The surprise made itself very public at my restaurant this morning.”

“Uh, I think you have the wrong surprise.” Bradley gestures again toward the huge paper bag. “This is the surprise I’m talking about.”

“What is that?”

“I got us a bunch of hamburgers and milkshakes and fries—the works. I was going to surprise you with a candlelight dinner on the balcony. You know, a throwback to the food that brought us together in the first place. It’s almost the four-month anniversary of us getting trapped in the elevator together.”

“You can keep track of that,” I say, attempting to recover from my surprise and hold a steady voice. “But you can’t keep track of telling me important information that might affect, oh, a little thing like my livelihood!?”

“I’m confused. Are these burgers offensive? We can do something nicer tonight if you want.”

“Oh, I don’t think we’ll be doing much of anything tonight. Leo told me everything. You can stop playing dumb.”

It’s now that I realize neither of us ever actually pressed the button to go upward. We’ve been sitting here in a metal box on the main floor which, in retrospect, is lucky. Now, I can leave.

I press the door open button. “You don’t have to set the table for me.”

Brad blocks the entrance physically, jamming the door close button over my back. I duck and dodge, trying to slip out from underneath his limbs, until his arms circle around me and he drops the paper bag on the floor. With his elbow, he hits the button for our floor, and it’s not until the elevator starts to climb that he releases me.

I look up into his eyes, realizing that not long ago, I’d been staring into those chocolate brown gemstones with love. Awe. Amazement that this incredible specimen of a man had picked me to love, to cherish, to savor. He’s spoiled me and held me close, broken down walls that had taken years to build. And because of that, he’s weakened me.

He weakened me to the point where I’d believed this might be the real deal. The love that poems and songs lament about, the love that others looked upon with envy and desire. The sort of love that would last a lifetime.

My eyes prick with tears as I look up at him, at the confusion in his eyes, as I desperately fight the urge to cry. “How could you?”

“What did Leo explain to you?”

“Please, don’t play me for a fool. If it’s business, it’s business. Just... let me go.”

I move to stand behind him so I’ll be ready for an exit when the elevator stops at our level.

Bradley reaches over and, before I can react, hits the emergency stop button.

“What are you thinking?” I turn to find him standing all too close to me, his familiar scent playing games with my emotions. I want to crumble against him, to beg him to make my problems go away. But I can’t, not when he is the problem. “We have no service in here!”

“Good.” Bradley’s disposition changes. His voice is no nonsense, and his eyes are leveled at me. “Because we obviously need to talk.”

If I weren’t already so upset, I might even be scared, or worried that I had this all wrong—doubting myself. But I can’t seem to make sense of anything through my fury at Bradley Hamilton crisscrossing all over my heart in a matter of days.

“What is this about?” Brad takes a step toward me, but I hold up a hand to block his progress. “Did I do something to upset you? And what does Leo have to do with any of this?”

“Why, Brad?” I raise a hand, silently pleading for him to explain. “Why did you ever think I wouldn’t realize that you were trying to take over my business? The building, at least. Expanding? Yeah, I heard all about it.”

“What? How does Leo know?”

I blink. “Excuse me?”

He shakes his head, pinches his forehead. “That sounds bad. I can explain.”

My heart drops like a stone. Whatever tiny part of me that’d been hoping he could explain all of this vanishes entirely. That bit of hope Sasha had instilled in me goes up in flames, and I’m burning now, crashing and crumbling into wispy ashes.

Pretty soon, I won’t have enough energy left to hold my ground, and I’ll blow away in the wind. Or, even worse, I’ll cry.

“You don’t have to explain anything.” I bat around his arms until I reach the elevator call box and hit every button imaginable. Bradley watches, patiently, because we both know none of it will work. “Please just let me out of here.”

“I can’t.”

“Great. We’ll die together. How fitting.”

“Lexi, we’re not going to die. Just let me explain—”

“Fine, then riddle me this.” I move toward him until we’re inches apart, and I pound a finger against his chest. “Why’d you sleep with me? Did you think it would make everything okay when you finally got around to mentioning your gym’s expansion?”

“I’d hoped—”

“Hoped what? That I’d overlook it? All that talk about getting married and having children?!” I’m really on a roll now, and I have no interest in letting Bradley talk at all. I’ve been stewing on this speech for the whole ride over here, and it’s my time in the spotlight. “Did you not think my business was important to me?”

“I really don’t understand what’s happening here. I’m not coming after your building.”

“Huh. Still interested in lying?” I wrinkle my nose. “Let me give you a hint. It’s a very bad choice.”

“Are you done?”

“No, I’m not done. I’m still pissed you led me on long enough that I actually slept with you. I had no intention of sleeping with you until we were pretty sure something could work, and now—”

“Now what?!” Brad’s reached a snapping point, his face darkening and his eyes turning to liquid lava. He reaches for one of my hands and links his fingers through it, backing me into the elevator wall. “These last few months have been the best goddamn months of my life. If you think I’d do anything—fucking anything—to ruin them, you are mistaken.”

He has me pinned against the wall, gently enough that I could wriggle out if I want. He leaves the choice to me. It’s not his arms holding me in place, it’s his eyes. He’s so fiercely stoic that it gives me pause.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy every second of being with me,” he murmurs against my cheek. “We both know that’d be a lie, too. So now that we have that out of the way, let’s discuss business.”

“Business,” I breathe, although my heart is racing against my chest. “That’s exactly what Leo said.”

“I have no idea why Leo came to your restaurant, or what he said to you. The only thing I can figure is he realized I’m onto him.”

“Onto him?”

“Leo has been skimming from me. From our business.” Brad eases his hand out of mine and moves against the opposite elevator wall. “I had a sneaking suspicion somewhere around the time we first ended up stuck in the elevator together. I didn’t have proof until yesterday.”

Even though I’m royally pissed at him, the absence of his hand in mine aches some, as if he’s a part of me that’s attached in a very deep and real sort of way. I struggle with what to do for a moment, and then settle on listening to him.

“I’ve been setting myself up to break ties with him.”

“With Leo? But what about the gym? Your career?” My hands flail with frustration. “We can’t both have our careers ruined! How will we pay rent?”

He pauses for a smile. “Thank you.”

“Thank you?!”

“For adding the we. I’m praying there’s still a chance you’re not going to kick me to the curb.”

“You still have some explaining to do, buddy.”

He continues, and it’s a struggle to listen to what he’s saying. I’m aware I’m caving too easily, but I can’t help it. It’s like my subconscious wants him to be innocent and is grasping onto the slightest bit of hope that there’s a logical explanation for everything.

While I’m pondering this, Bradley has moved on to explain the intricate details of Leo’s plan to skim from the gym, the mathematical figures and facts which are entirely lost on me. The gist of it is that Leo’s pond scum, and he’s stealing from the company.

“You got proof yesterday?” I interrupt, trying to latch on to the highlights. “What does that mean for you and Leo? Are you saying you had nothing to do with him being at the restaurant today?”

The slightest hesitation before his response sets the whole of me to an instant rage.

“Are you kidding me?” I step toward him, about to lose control.

“I can explain!”

“You’ve been saying that for ten minutes, so freaking explain or don’t! Here I am, finally starting to believe you had nothing to do with this. If you lied, Bradley Hamilton—”

“I never lied. The only reason I was sneaking around today was because I wanted to throw my incredible girlfriend a surprise dinner.”

“Then what’s left to explain?”

“When I had a strong hunch Leo was skimming from me, even before I had proof, I decided that I wanted nothing to do with him. He was making these big extravagant purchases and buying fancy new vehicles with no noticeable source of additional income. I didn’t like it.”

“Great.”

“So, I began looking for real estate. A high school buddy of mine—”

“Bill,” I say. “Yeah, we met. I didn’t recognize him until today.”

“Well, we ran into each other and got to talking. He’s in real estate, as you know, so he started showing me some properties. He gave me a call weeks ago saying he’d found this great little place.”

“My little place.”

He gives a slow nod. “The first morning I showed up to your diner.”

A light bulb blinks on. “The morning I offered you a ride and you said no, and then showed up a few minutes later. Yeah, I thought you just were trying to avoid one-on-one time with me.”

“Avoid time alone with you?! I would’ve donated all my savings to charity for a car ride alone with you. But I’d already committed to the business meeting, which is why I declined.”

“Then he brought you there, anyway, and Kitty noticed you trying to slink away and yelled at you.”

“She told you about that?”

“Of course. We tell each other everything.”

“Well, yes. My head was spinning, and I’d meant to tell you that day about the mix up. But then I got to talking with Kitty and Sasha, and watching you work, and the day was just too great to ruin. The next day was better, and the days kept getting better and better.”

“Well, what’d you tell Bill?”

“No!” A look of shock crosses Brad’s face. “I told him no, of course.”

“Don’t of course me. How should I know?”

“Because I would never do that to you.”

“Really? Would you have done it to me if you weren’t trying to get into my pants?”

Brad’s face loses all emotion, and I know I’ve crossed the line. A step too far, and I feel horrible, despite the somewhat valid question.

I’m already standing close to him, but somehow, without even moving, Bradley seems to grow in size, to take up more space. The air turns chilly. “I would never, ever do something like that to you. I’d never do it to an acquaintance, or a friend. Let alone my best friend.”

“I’m sorry, I—”

“I thought I’d been clear. I never stopped liking you, Lex. Loving you. Wanting you. Whatever you feel like calling it—but that’s not the only reason, or even the main reason I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“I know, and—”

“I hoped you’d know my personality better than to assume the worst of me after all this time. I made a mistake, yes. I should’ve come clean right away when Bill took me to Minnie’s.”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t tell you Bill brought me there because I didn’t want to upset you. I made it very clear to him that I never wanted to see your property brought up for sale again because of me, and that’s why I didn’t tell you. Never in a million years did I imagine it would be a problem.”

“Well, it is a problem.”

“Yes. I’ll fix it.”

We both stew in silence, an odd almost-ending to the conversation. It’s not like either of us have any place to go, and even if we wanted to, the elevator has us trapped.

Bradley reaches for the emergency stop button—the button that will let us disappear into our different apartments for how many years before we speak again. But the second his fingers brush against it, I swipe his hand away.

“We’re not doing this again,” I tell him, my voice mysteriously low. “You are not running away from this.”

“I think we’re done.”

“No, Bradley Hamilton, we are not done.”

“What would you like me to say? You thought I was capable of crippling your business on purpose.”

“No, I reacted emotionally, and I apologized. We’ve both made mistakes here.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t do this!” My voice echoes off the walls, and Brad looks slightly alarmed. “You can fight with me, Brad. You can yell and scream, or you can explain and be patient. You can curse or you can whisper, I don’t really care. But what you cannot do is run away from this—from me.”

He’s stunned into silence, and I can’t say that I blame him. I’ve never bursted so passionately all over anyone, but it’s not as if I have a choice. I need him, and I need him to explain. I need him to understand. I need him to face me this time, and not retreat into himself.

“If we’re going to be in a relationship, we can’t have a misunderstanding and not talk for three years,” I say. “We have to figure these things out. By talking. Or fighting. Or something. Just don’t pull away.”

“I don’t want to fight with you.”

“I’d rather be fighting with you than silent without you.”

The words are pouring out by this point, and I have absolutely no filter left. My chest heaves with the weight of everything, the distance between us. A distance that slips away the second Bradley reaches for my cheek and cradles it with his palm.

The next second, his lips are on mine, hot and angry and possessive. My arms loop around his neck and we tumble back against the wall, a mess of hurt and frustration linked by friendship and love.

When we pull away, we’re both puffing like Olympic swimmers coming up for air.

“Fine,” he says. “How do you want to do this?”

“Do what?”

“Fight!”

I watch him for a moment, struggling to see if he’s serious. Under my intent stare, a slice of awkwardness creeps into his gaze, and I realize he’s serious. He’s trying, really trying.

“Let’s not fight. I don’t want to fight.” I reach out and tug on his shirt before sliding down so I’m seated against the wall. “Come here.”

He scoots next to me until my entire left side is linked with his right one.

“I know you didn’t want to cripple my business, and I know you’d never do that. Just like you know how much I care about you, and I said the wrong things earlier,” I start with a shaky breath. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too.”

“So, what’s happening?”

“Leo, the asshole,” Bradley says. “He must have somehow figured out that I was onto him.”

“Bill,” we both say at once.

“I should’ve known he’d rat me out to the highest bidder.” Bradley gives a shake of his head, his fingers trembling against my knee with rage. “I must’ve pushed Bill too far when I told him I didn’t want to see your place again, and he realized it meant something to me. That you meant something to me.”

“So, he took the offer you refused and brought it to Leo.” I fill in the gaps. “And Leo put two and two together. He realized you were looking at other properties. Bill ratted you out to Leo in hopes Leo would pursue the offer.”

“Leo likely figured I’d have proof sooner or later, so he wanted to act first. Preemptive revenge.”

“They were taking the offer to Chris,” I say, suddenly resigned. “Who, if he’s halfway intelligent and wants to retire, should take it. If I were in his shoes, I would.”

Brad winces. “I am so sorry, Lexi. This is all my fault. Inadvertently, but I still screwed everything up.”

“No, you didn’t know. You were doing the right thing getting away from your sleazy business partner, and you enlisted the wrong person to help you. It’s not your fault.”

“Sure as hell feels like it.”

“It’s not.”

“Doesn’t change the fact they’re still trying to get you booted out.”

I’m silent because really, there’s nothing else to say.

“Unless they haven’t signed the deal yet,” he says, grasping at straws. “Maybe we could...”

I reach a hand out, circle it around his wrist. “Relax. It will be okay.”

An eyebrow raises as he glances at me. “But—”

“Look, it sucks. But businesses have recovered from worse. I’ll get through it.”

“We’ll get through it. You’re not going to lose Minnie’s.”

“Oh, yeah? You’ve got something up your sleeve that I don’t know about?”

“I’ll fix this.”

“Brad.” I turn to him, his eyes kaleidoscopes glittering back. “I don’t blame you for what happened.”

He leans over and presses a kiss to my forehead. “I’m going to fix this.”

“First...” I glance over at the elevator doors. “Can you fix this?”