if I had to. I hoped it didn’t come to that, but I’d survive.
Probably.
Most likely.
Despite the ungodly hour, we weren’t alone on the sidewalks. I couldn’t remember ever being alone in New York. This wasn’t the city to go to for solitude—which was part of why I loved it.
An hour into my walk, we ended up at my apartment building. I was near hypothermia, so I decided to take a chance and run up for warmer clothing.
After parking the stroller just inside my door, I darted into my microscopic bedroom, leaping over piles of clean, folded laundry on the floor, and stumbled into my almost-walk-in closet. My favorite hoodie was front and center, and I wondered how I could have left home without it. I’d possibly been attempting to look respectable while staying at Mo’s fancy-ass building in my cashmere cardigan instead of my decade-old skater hoodie, but I’d take warmth over class any day of the week.
Simone was whimpering by the time I got back to the stroller. I wished I had time to make coffee, but it looked like I needed to get moving. We tiptoed into the hall, trying not to wake the neighbors—especially the one who lived directly across from me and was most certainly my brother’s spy. The frequency in which my one-night stands and bad decisions seemed to get back to Mo pretty much confirmed it.
Butterflies in my stomach, I pressed the elevator button. Then I smashed it. The elevator couldn’t come quick enough. The hallway was eerily quiet, putting me on edge.
Simone made a noise of discontent, so I rocked the stroller back and forth a few times. “It’s okay, honey girl. We’ll be back outside in a minute. Shhh.”
The air around me shifted, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I knew that feeling all too well—and the culprit even better. Then, smooth as silk, the voice I’d been dreading was right beside my ear.
“Where are you going so early on this fine morning, cool girl?”
If I could have pulled my hood over my head without looking like a scaredy cat, I would have. I had no use for Alex Murray’s voice in my ear at six-thirty in the morning.
Or ever.
“Out.” Succinct and to the point. The point being he could go take a hike—and not with me.
“What a coincidence, so am I.” He bent over Simone’s stroller and rubbed his wide palm across her middle. “Ah, you brought an angel with you,” he whispered.
“Yep.” One-word answers were all I had the energy for.
He straightened to his full height, which never failed to take my breath away. Being a pretty tall girl, it was rare for men to truly tower over me, but Alex did. Tall and lean, red hair haphazardly thrown into a man bun, a bushy beard, and freckles across the bridge of his nose, he shouldn’t have been attractive, but he made it work. Probably because he didn’t give one single shit if he was attractive.
The elevator doors finally slid open, and before I could stop him, Alex gripped the stroller handle and pushed it inside. I had no choice but to follow, and though I wanted to cram myself into the corner to stay as far from him as possible, I controlled myself and stood a respectable two feet away.
I felt his eyes on me, but that was nothing new. He played lead guitar in Unrequited, and since I traveled with them more often than not, I saw him quite a bit—and he was a starer. Years ago, I’d decided he did it to get on my nerves, and it worked, but I’d gotten adept at ignoring him.
Everyone liked Alex Murray, but I did not. It always came as a surprise to people when they found that out. They often said things like: “But Murray is so likable,” or “Murray’s that loveable goofball on lead guitar, right? He rocks!” My favorite was: “Murray’s so sweet. Sure, he fucked me, then left me alone and naked in bed, but he was really sweet about never calling me again!” Okay, no one had ever said that one, but I was certain there were plenty of girls out there who would given the chance.
The thing that rankled me about the whole situation was people usually assumed I was the cause of my falling out with Alex. Yes, I was difficult and held a grudge until the end of time, but I had done nothing to deserve