Yes & I Love You (Say Everything #1) - Roni Loren Page 0,28

I’m going to teach some classes at WorkAround.”

“On how to trash your coworkers?”

Jasper’s head turned her way again. “Ouch.”

She didn’t look over at him. No way was she apologizing. She needed to remember she was mad, that he’d been a jerk. Not get distracted by his hotness or his struggling-actor state.

“Look, Hollyn,” he said, his voice quiet. “I’m truly sorry. What you saw tonight…that isn’t the spirit of our show.” He paused and took a ragged breath, like the speech was a lot of work. “I made a mistake. The serial-killer thing naturally brought my mind to Andi, and I bet if you asked her, she wouldn’t have taken what I said seriously. When I talked to her, she made fun of her own obsession. She embraces her weirdness.”

“Right,” Hollyn said, jaw tightening. “So I should just be cool with being made fun of. I’m the one who’s too sensitive. Got it.”

“God, no,” he said with frustration. “I’m saying I was a dick to use you in the monologue, and I’m sorry. I didn’t know about your tics. I just thought you were annoyed with me.”

Her grip tightened on the steering wheel as she took the exit for Canal Street, and she inhaled a deep breath. “I’ve grown out of the worst of them but they flare up when I’m…nervous.”

She could feel him watching her, and her fingers tapped more quickly.

“So I made you nervous?” he asked.

“Yes.”

He frowned in her periphery. “Why?”

She rubbed her lips together, not liking this line of questioning at all. Because you were funny and boy beautiful and have the sexiest smirk. “I’m not great with new people.”

He shifted in the seat again. “Good thing I’m not new anymore. You can relax now.”

She glanced over. The guy looked like hell. Flushed and sweating. But his eyes had a little spark of invitation in them.

“You’re still exceptionally new,” she said. “Cellophane-wrapped with the price tag still on.”

“Nope. The seal’s been broken. We’ve texted. You helped me limp off a city street. Hey, we’ve even had our first fight and planned our TV show, Hollyn Darling. I’m no longer new to you.” He winced and gripped his side. “We’re old friends now.”

She stared at him for a moment, part of her wishing it could be true. But who was she kidding? One, how could she trust that any interaction they had wasn’t going to turn into material? And two, she’d been fooling herself when she’d thought they’d been flirting. Jasper was a comedian. Funny quips were his business. Charm was his currency. She’d read the whole situation wrong. “We’re not friends, Jasper.”

He flinched, and this time she knew it had nothing to do with the pain in his side. “Not big on forgiveness, huh?”

She faced the road again. The sign for University Medical Center came into view, and she shook her head, feeling bone-deep tired. “Look, I was rude to you that first day. You were a jerk onstage. We’re even. Let’s just call a truce and be polite to each other at work.”

“But—”

She pulled up to the emergency room entrance. “Go see a doctor, Jasper. Your organs could explode.”

One of the hospital staff stepped up to the car, and Hollyn unlocked the doors.

Jasper gave her one last injured look and then sighed. “Thanks for the ride, Hollyn.”

“Hope you feel better.”

A stocky guy in scrubs helped Jasper out of the car and guided him to an awaiting wheelchair. Jasper looked back once before the guy wheeled him through the open doors. Hollyn sat there for a minute, trying to get her breathing back to normal. She stared at the closed doors, feeling a little guilty for just dumping him at the hospital without going in, but what was she supposed to do? They weren’t friends. If it was something serious, they’d call his family or friends to be there with him. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. She was not going in after him.

Nope. She was not going to do it. This weird night ended here.

She put her car in gear. She needed to get home, get to bed, and forget this night ever happened. But right as she pulled out, something thumped onto the passenger floorboard. She veered the car closer to the curb so she could stop and clicked on the interior light. Sitting on the floor of the passenger side was a silver rectangle—Jasper’s phone.

She closed her eyes. Come on, Universe, give me a freaking break here. With a groan, she turned the