Page 23 of From Air

I bite my lower lip and pivot, retracing my steps to the exit.Best I’ve ever had,I mouth as I peek over my shoulder.

After work, I grab a workout at the twenty-four-hour fitness center that I joined a few weeks ago. Then I pick up a pizza to make up for my burned calories.

When I don’t see Fitz’s truck in the driveway, a pang of disappointment hits me, and I quickly reprimand myself for having that sentiment. Maren’s home. She and Will are my favorites anyway. Or so I tell myself.

“Ugh! You’re killing me.” Maren slams the fridge door when I enter the house. “I’m starving. I need to buy groceries, and you brought pizza I have to smell?”

I toe off my boots and set the box on the counter. “Good thing I’m thoughtful and like to share.” I open the lid, releasing that woodsy, tangy, sweet oregano aroma. “Help yourself. But if the guys show up, hide the box. I think they eat ten thousand calories a day.”

She gathers her wavy hair and pulls it over one shoulder with a grin before nabbing a slice of pizza. “Jaymes, you’re my favorite person.”

“How was your trip?” I ask, washing my hands.

“Boring.” She tugs at the neck of her white hoodie.

“How’s your inheritance looking?”

Maren laughs. “Not you too.”

“Just kidding.”

She plucks a mushroom off the pizza and pops it in her mouth. “How was your day?”

“Never boring.” I lean my hip against the counter and take a bite of pizza. It’s still hot andsogood.

“How have things been around here? Have you seen theboysmuch?”

I laugh at her reference. “I don’t see Will that often, but I see Fitz in the evenings when he’s in town. He’s ...”

“Fitz?”

I nod. “He’s so intense.”

“Mmm ...” She sets her slice onto the box lid and takes a swig of her Razz-Cranberry LaCroix. “That’s just him. He likes his space. Spends a lot of time alone. He’s a voracious reader. Antisocial. Laser focused on things that are important to him. Controlling. And yes, intense.”

“His job. That’s what’s important to him. He’s a total Capricorn.” I take another bite of pizza and chew it slowly. “I respect that.”

Maren fists her hand at her mouth for a few seconds and swallows. “Yes, well, I don’t know much about zodiac signs. But he loves his job.”

“And he’s never been married?”

“Fitz?” She coughs a laugh. “No. That would require him to pursue a woman beyond”—Maren’s lips twist while she contemplatively gazes at the ceiling—“the bedroom. He can get women to sleep with him. I mean, look at him.” Maren grins. “But he either has no desire for anything beyond that, or he’s emotionally dead, because I’ve never met a single woman in his life. I suspect he’s not a virgin since he sometimes doesn’t come home at night. But who knows? Maybe he is.” She tosses the last bite of crust into her mouth.

“He’s never brought anyone here for the night?”

She shakes her head, bending the tab of her LaCroix can. “Have you seenLars and the Real Girlwith Ryan Gosling?”

“No.” I tear off a paper towel to wipe my hands.

“Well, he plays a character in love with a life-size doll named Bianca. Will’s waiting to meet Fitz’s Bianca doll.”

I snort into my napkin. “Stop ...” I shake my head. “Poor Fitz. I think you and Will are awfully hard on him.”

“No. No. No. There is no ‘poor Fitz.’ In case you haven’t figured it out yet, he can give it just as good as he can take it.”

“Oh, I’m aware. We’re currently in the middle of something he started over a month ago. I’m waiting for the perfect moment to get revenge, but if I’m being honest, I feel like the revenge is the torture he’s experiencing waiting for me to get my payback.”

Maren holds up a finger. “Watch your back. Fitz is ruthless.”

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