Page 19 of Landlord Wars
In answer, Jack handed her a massive bowl of popcorn and the beer he’d brought over for himself, and then walked into the kitchen and grabbed another.
Elise sank onto the light-beige feather and down sofa, the kind you can’t get up from. Not only because it was super soft, but also, why leave a cloud?
She started munching popcorn. “What are we streaming?”
What was going on? My sister was hanging out with my roommate and Landlord Devil, the man I was trying to escape? And why was it only me Max hated?
“Your date picking you up?” Max’s low voice skated over my skin like a sensual touch.
Damn this man and his beauty. Even though he loathed me, his words sounded like a caress, causing butterflies to riot in my belly against my will.
I pulled my purse higher on my shoulder. “No, I’m meeting him. I’ll see you all later,” I said to the room.
“Have fun!” Elise called, beer and popcorn in hand, sitting in what would have been the space between Max and Jack on the couch. If Max were seated.
Instead, Max just stood there, watching me with a steady gaze, his expression the tiniest bit nervous.
I scurried out the front door and paused to catch my breath. Nerves and something I couldn’t identify thrummed through my veins. This night was weird. Why wasn’t Max making rude comments? Because his friend was there to hear? Because he couldn’t come up with anything cutting?
I pinched my brow. And why was I thinking about Max Burrows when I had a date to meet?
ChapterEight
Sophia
I returnedto my apartment later that night, expecting the house to be quiet, as it was nearing midnight. Instead, my sister, Jack, and Max were still sitting in the living room, and the atmosphere was tense. And this time, the tension wasn’t coming from Landlord Devil.
At first, no one seemed to pay me any attention, and that worked, because I was disappointed in myself and how the date went. But then I caught the dynamic going on in the living room, and I stilled.
Elise was sitting with her back to Max, facing Jack, her jaw shifting back and forth like she was an inch away from exploding, and it took me aback. She wasn’t the type to get riled up unless it was with me. “How can you defend him!” she said. “He was such a jerk.”
Jack scratched the back of his head and stood, his mouth parting in a wide yawn. “The guy had been cheated on and dumped by his fiancée. He had reasons.”
Max caught my eye as I stood near the entrance and scanned me as though to make sure I was all in one piece. He rose and said, “I’m taking off.”
Had he been waiting for me?
I gave my head a mental shake. Max hated me; of course he hadn’t been waiting. He was probably hoping someone would take over babysitting duties for my sister and his best friend.
I set my purse on the counter and watched Max stride to the front door and shoot me one last lingering glance before slipping out like a thief in the night.
“Elise?” I approached the living room. “You okay?”
My sister didn’t acknowledge me. In the next instant, anger filled her expression and she grabbed a pillow from the couch and threw it, nearly hitting Jack in the face. My jaw dropped.
Jack tilted his head to the side. “Did you just hit me?”
Elise glared. “If I had wanted to hit you, I would have.”
I stepped between the two of them. “What’s going on?”
Elise glanced up. “When did you get here?”
“Just now. I said your name, but you were too busy hating on Jack to hear me.”
Elise blinked, then stood. “We’re not fighting.”
Jack snorted, then picked up the dishes and empty beer bottles from the coffee table. He made his way into the kitchen.
