Page 103 of Heartstruck at Dawn
Nina and CJ knew the Sjöbergs were my neighbors. But they weren’t aware William lived right next door. Since he was still away and I didn’t know what day he was coming back, I thought it was best not to say anything, mostly to respect William’s privacy.
We were going to eat a special chilly recipe CJ wanted to cook tonight. Juan Pablo was coming over for dinner, and his presence always made me nervous. Something about him didn’t click for me, but I couldn’t identify what it was. And it always made me feel a little guilty for judging him without any real reason. But isn’t our gut supposed to be the best compass? I know mine shrunk whenever I saw his dark eyes directed at me.
Luckily, Nathan was going to join us too. As always, his presence gave me peace and comfort.
Grant was pulling my gloves off when Tobias walked into the gym. “Hey, Tob!”
“Billie!” he said with a huge smile. “Sup, Grant?” He walked up to the mirror and combed his hair with his fingers.
He was always smiling, but this was a different kind of smile—an excited smile. “What’s going on?” I asked.
“I’m just excited,” he quickly replied, as if he were waiting for me to ask. So I did. I asked him why. “A film I worked on a year and a half ago is finally premiering here in New York in a couple of weeks.”
“Oh my God, Tob! I’m so happy for you. What kind of film is it?”
“It’s an action film with a lot of guns and stunts,” he said with a laugh as Grant bandaged his hands.
“And do you have the leading role?”
“Why do you think I’m so excited? It’s my first film as a lead actor.” He honestly couldn’t stop smiling.
“Wow! I’m so proud of you. Good luck with the premiere. You’ll have to tell me all about it,” I said, walking toward the exit.
“Wait, you have to come. You and Nathan, of course.”
“Oh, of course. I’d love to! Besides, I haven’t seen a film on the big screen since I was fourteen, so I guess I’m going to be more excited than you about going,” I said with a subtle laugh.
“Then youdefinitelyhave to come. I’ll fill you in with all the deets in the next few days.”
“Sounds good.”
I said goodbye to Grant and Tobias and walked back to my apartment. I stepped out on the ninth floor while answering a text from Nathan. He wrote to tell me he would get out of the office early today.
Yay!
A delicious and familiar scent caught my attention. I looked up from my phone’s screen and saw William standing outside his apartment door, which was wide open. And he wasn’t alone. He was talking to Nina. Laughing, too. I could feel my blood heating up into a boil.
Breathe.
“Billie! Whyon Earthdidn’t you tell meWilliam Sjöbergwas our next-door neighbor?” she said, leaning her back on the wall beside William. Too close. Wow. Okay. She was getting herself comfortable on that spot, wasn’t she? But wait …our neighbor?
Smile.
“Well, that’s because he’s never around,” I said, walking toward my apartment. I wasn’t planning on making small talk with the two of them.Uh-uh.
William snorted. “I’m around,” he said with his usual and infuriating smirk. “I’m actually going to be around for a while now. I’m taking a well-deserved vacation.”
“Oh, I’m sure you deserve it. You must work like crazy,” Nina said, placing her hand on William’s arm. His white t-shirt revealed his slightly golden skin and corded muscles.
Freaking Viking … Why couldn’t he wear a sweater or a bunch of layers like a normal person? It was thirty-six degrees outside!
But no. No. No. He was wearing a white t-shirt just like the one he made me wear last summer. He must’ve had a ton of them. That was his official uniform, and I wasn’t going to complain, but it left his arms exposed for Nina to fondle them in the hallway.
“Oh, wow! You play the piano?” Nina asked, peering inside his apartment.
I rolled my eyes on the inside and remembered all of a sudden I had lungs and pulled some air into themslowlyto avoid passing out from exasperation.
“I do. Do you want to come in for a drink?” William asked her.WHAT! “Perhaps I can play something for you.”
