A week and a half later

Fuck my life.

I just couldn’t quit screwing up no matter how goddamn hard I tried. My life was one huge bad decision after another, and I couldn’t seem to break the cycle.

My cell phone chose that moment to ring, yanking me from my self-flagellation.

Without bothering to take my eyes off the bland beige ceiling of the hotel room, I reached down, patting around on the floor for my jeans. Once located, I pulled the phone from the back pocket, and engaged the call.

“Yeah.”

“Mr. Forrester?”

“You got him. Who’s this?”

“Mr. Forrester, this is Jill Eisenhower.” At the sound of the real estate agent’s name, I instantly perked up. “I’m calling in regards to the condo you inquired about. The owners have accepted your offer.”

Of course they did. I’d offered the couple living in that place twenty percent over what they’d paid. They’d have been stupid to turn it down, even if they hadn’t been in the market to sell when I had my agent contact them about buying their apartment. That amount of money would’ve incentivized anyone to pack up their lives and move to some five-star tropical resort.

I found myself grinning in spite of my shitty mood. “Perfect. I expect the paperwork to be drawn up as soon as possible. I want to move no later than Wednesday.”

“Mr. Forrester, that’s only two days away. Closing’s usually—”

“I don’t give a fuck. Make it happen. I’m moving in two days.”

“But we haven’t even listed your current house yet.”

“Don’t worry about that,” I advised. “I’m not concerned with selling it right now. Two days, Jill. Make it happen.”

I disconnected the call and tossed the cell onto the mattress beside me just as the bathroom door creaked open.

“Who were you talking to?”

Lifting my head off the pillow, I glanced at my latest mistake, a chick whose name I couldn’t even remember. I’d picked her up at a bar the night before after having way too much to drink and throwing myself a pity party over Tatum, and brought her to the hotel I typically used for my hookups. I refused to go to a woman’s house to get laid, and no way in hell was I bringing a groupie back to mine, so the hotel was my only option when I wanted to get my dick wet.

She placed her knee on the mattress and started crawling, naked as the day she was born, in my direction.

“None of your concern.” Blowing out a frustrated breath, I laid back down and said, “Playtime’s over, sweet cheeks. Time for you to go.”

Her hand landed on my thigh and started trailing its way toward my cock. The damn thing didn’t even twitch. “I thought we could go for a second round,” she said seductively.

The woman had been one of the most boring, frigid lays I’d ever had, so damn lifeless I thought I’d been fucking a corpse. Going for a second round was out of the goddamn question.

“Pass. But if you leave your number, I’ll be sure to call.” I definitely wouldn’t call.

I felt her stop, and seconds later she asked hesitantly, “What? Why?”

It took an unbelievable amount of effort not to roll my eyes. I should’ve known the bitch would turn into a clinger the second she got herself some rock star dick. “Because I’m done with you. Now get out.”

She grumbled under her breath, calling me some less-than-creative names as she jumped from the bed and started gathering her clothes. It wasn’t until she was gone that I threw my legs over the side of the bed and sat up.

There wasn’t any time to be a lazy asshole. I had some packing to do.

* * *

Tatum

Three days later

“That goes in the kitchen. Thanks,” I instructed, pointing one of the movers in that direction. I couldn’t believe I was here, that I’d agreed to do this. Clearly, I’d lost my freaking mind.

That was the only explanation I could think of for why I’d picked up my life in San Francisco and moved to Seattle, away from everyone I loved. All for a job I had no damn clue how to do, working with a man I despised with every breath in my body, but still couldn’t stop thinking about.

Needless to say, my father had been pissed. Mom had cried and worried. It had taken the full two weeks from that meeting in the Four Seasons until my move to talk my folks around, but I wouldn’t have been able to leave without their blessing.

“Ma’am.” I spun around to find another mover carrying two boxes marked ‘bedroom.’ “Where do these go?”

I lifted my hand toward the hallway. “Third door on the left.”

“Yo. Babycakes. You still there?”

I’d forgotten all about the phone in my hand as I directed movers around my new home, and the fact that Camden had been waiting the whole time. “Shit, sorry, babe. It’s kind of chaotic around here at the moment.”

“I wish I was there to help you, sweetheart.”

Pouting through the line, I grumbled, “I wish you were here too. But you’re the jerk who was too busy and left me to the wolves.”

Camden’s sigh was clear as a bell as it came through the speaker. “Tate, you know it’s not like that. I’m not leaving you to the wolves.”

“Really?” I scoffed. “Sure felt that way when we were standing in that room and you teamed up with them to get me to take this stupid job in the first damn place.”

“I pushed for you to take that job because it’s what you deserve. You’ve been waiting fucking tables for ten years. You have too much talent. I’ve been saying it for years. You refused to let me help, so I saw a chance to give you better and I took it. So sue me.”

“How considerate of you,” I deadpanned.

“Look, it’s just a few festivals. A couple months, tops. After my last show, my ass’ll be on a plane for Seattle. I’ll be there before you know it. If I hadn’t already committed to these shows, I’d be with you now, you know that.”

I did. I knew he’d be there with me if he could. Unfortunately, for the second time in my life, I’d become best friends with a man whose aspirations of stardom had taken him to such great heights that I sometimes came in second.

“Yeah,” I finally sighed. “I know. Just a few month.”

“Just a few months, babycakes. Then I’ll be there. I swear.”

Glass shattering from the kitchen area caught my attention. “Shit. Okay, honey. I’ll hold you to that, but I have to go.”

We quickly said our goodbyes and I hung up, a headache slowly beginning to pound inside me skull.

It took several more hours, and only one broken drinking glass, but by the time the sun set over my killer view of the Puget Sound, I was officially moved in to my new, totally swank, unbelievably gorgeous apartment that the guys set me up in. I’d managed to find a place for almost everything, leaving only a few boxes against the far wall in the living room that needed to be unpacked, but that would have to wait. I had wine to drink, and pizza on the way.

Having changed into a comfortable pair of yoga pants and a slouchy shirt, I padded into my fancy kitchen with top-of-the-line everything and pulled my favorite cheap red blend from the wine fridge that had been built into the big kitchen island. That’s right, my apartment had a wine fridge!

I’d just taken the first glorious sip when a knock sounded on the front door.

“Who is it?” I called out as I got closer.

“Pizza delivery.”

My mouth started to water at the thought of all that melted cheese and spicy pepperoni. It wasn’t until that very moment that I realized the day had gotten so crazy, the only thing I’d put in my stomach was copious amounts of coffee. I was starving.

“Just a sec.” Placing my wineglass on the entryway table, I pulled my wallet from my purse and opened the door. “Thank God you’re here,” I started, pulling money out. “I’m so hungry I could eat a—Declan? What the hell are you doing here?”

“Evening, neighbor. You gonna invite me in or what? This box is pretty damn hot.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” I repeated, my head suddenly feeling like it was about to explode.

One corner of his mouth hooked up in a playful smirk. “Well, I’d planned to bring you a cup of sugar, but then, as luck would have it, I just so happened to be coming up from the gym when your pizza delivery guy was checking in at the front desk. Even paid for it and everything. You’re welcome.”

I narrowed my eyes into tight slits. “You actually want me to thank you for hijacking my dinner so you could force your way into my apartment?”

His smirk fell, but humor still danced behind those storm cloud eyes. “Well when you put it like that, I don’t really sound altruistic at all.”

“That’s because you don’t have a single freaking altruistic bone in your body!” I cried, throwing my hands up. “Why are you here, Deck? The real reason.”

“Honestly, Tate, all I wanted to do was welcome you to the building, that’s it.”

“Wait.” I closed my eyes for a moment and massaged my temples. “You live here? That’s what you meant by neighbor?”

A shit-eating grin spread across his face, and I had the overwhelming urge to smack it right the hell off. “Not only in the building, but right next door. What a coincidence, right?”

I was going to kill him. No doubt about it, Declan Forrester was not long for this world. “Coincidence, my ass,” I grumbled. “When I came to check this place out a couple weeks ago, there was a nice older couple living next door.”

“Yeah well, they said something about wanting to retire to the Caribbean. Guess it was always a dream of theirs. Figured I’d jump in and snatch the place up so you didn’t risk getting some creepy psycho as a neighbor.”

“Too late,” I muttered under my breath. Then, having had enough of Declan for the night, I snatched my pizza from his hands and slammed the door in his face.

“Just let me know if you need that cup of sugar,” he called out. “You know where to find me.”

It was official; I was in hell.