Page 20 of Rival for Rent
Everything in this place screamed money and taste. I wondered if Kai had bought the house himself or inherited it from his parents. Either way, it must’ve been nice having that kind of safety net. It sure as hell hadn’t been part of my reality growing up.
Kai leaned against the kitchen island with his arms crossed. He wasn’t tall, but he made himself look taller—his slim frame pulled tight, every line of his posture strung like a bow. Ready to snap.
“Well?” he asked, his expression pure impatience.
Annoyance flared up in my chest. I was here to apologize, to check on him, to make sure he was okay after what happened. And the guy still hadn’t shown me the slightest bit of gratitude. Bella nudged my leg with her snout, and I scratched behind her ears, reminding myself he didn’t know why I was here. He hadn’t asked me to come. I had to start from square one.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I owe you an apology. Several, actually. But I wanted to start by saying I didn’t know it was you last night. Dana didn’t either. If we had, I wouldn’t have shown up without warning you.”
“Oh.” Kai’s voice was flat. “How nice. If you’d known, you wouldn’t have come to my door and reminded me of what an asshole you are. You’d have passed my request on to someone else. How considerate.”
I knew he was trying to hurt me with that, and it worked.
“It’s not—it’s not just that,” I stammered. “Last night, you kept telling me to leave, and I wouldn’t go. I’m supposed to say I’m sorry for not listening to you, and I am, but…if I’m being honest, I’m not sorry, because you did need help, and I—”
“You’re supposed to say?” he cut in. “Is this some kind of script? Did you and Dana cook this up?”
“No,” I protested. “I mean, yes, she’s the one who told me to come over. She was worried you’d sue us. But I also wanted to—”
“You’re here to avoid a lawsuit?” His eyes widened. “That’s what this is? You’re not here to apologize, you’re here to make sure I’m not mad enough to sue you?”
“No, you’re not listening. I said Dana wanted me to come, but I wanted to too. I’m not sorry that I followed you last night, and I’m not sorry I was there when someone fucking stabbed you—which, by the way, you’re still way too relaxed about—but I am sorry that taking care of you meant ignoring your wishes.”
Kai’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. He stared at me for a long moment, then shook his head slowly.
“Wow. Just… Wow. That’s actually impressive.”
“What is?” I asked, unsure what landmine I’d stepped on now.
“That has got to be the worst apology I’ve ever received. Maybe the worst one anyone’s ever given. You’re not even sorry for the right thing. You think I’m mad about last night?”
My brows pulled together. “Aren’t you? You seemed pretty pissed that I wouldn’t leave.”
“Yeah, because it’s more of the same bullshit. Six straight years of you pushing into my life, doing whatever you wanted,ignoring how I felt—and now you’re back, doing it again and acting like you’re doing me a favor. Like one night of pretending to care makes up for everything else.”
He clamped his mouth shut, his eyes blazing. The weight of his anger pressed down on me like a physical thing. I’d been in tighter spots before, but right then, I couldn’t remember a single one. I would’ve taken enemy fire over Kai’s judgemental stare.
I sighed. “About that. That’s the other thing I wanted to apologize for.” I held my hands out. “Thing is, Kai, I don’t really remember much of high school. Dana told me I wasn’t the nicest to you, so…I wanted to say sorry.”
“Not the nicest?” he repeated, voice full of acid. “Not the fucking nicest?”
“Like I said, my memories are fuzzy—”
“Oh, that’s perfect,” he snapped. “You’re apologizing for something you can’t even remember doing, because your overblown ego can’t admit you might not have been a stand-up guy back then. God, I should’ve known better than to expect anything real from you. But somehow, you keep surprising me with how low you can go.”
He turned and stalked out of the room, heading through the dining room towards the sliding glass doors. He yanked one open—it hadn’t even been locked—and stepped out onto the back steps.
I hurried after him.
“What are you doing?” I hissed, grabbing his sleeve before he could go any farther. “Someone knifed you last night, and you’rewaltzing out into your backyard like it’s no big deal? What if someone’s out there?”
“Let me go.”
He turned to yank his arm free, then took another step—but he wasn’t looking where he was going. His foot slipped off the edge of the back step and he windmilled his arms, trying to catch his balance. I moved instinctively, sweeping an arm around him before he could go down.
He slammed into my chest with a gasp. I looked down and found his face inches from mine. His eyes were wide, wary. His lips parted, and my throat went dry.
His nostrils flared. Energy crackled between us, and suddenly I was hot all over—like I’d been holding my breath and just realized it.
