That movie had seriously rattled me.

He took the pan from my shaking hands, setting it down on top of his dresser. “It would be really hard for a stalker to get past one of the doormen.”

I nodded. This made perfect logical sense. But my body was still feeling totally illogical. “I just . . . I feel really freaked out. I’m having a hard time catching my breath.”

“Hey. Come here.”

Next thing I knew, I was being enveloped in a warm, giant hug. It was like coming in from the cold to a roaring fire and a mug of hot cocoa. I leaned into him, wrapping my arms around his waist, letting him press me firm against him.

His hand ran up and down my back. “It’s okay. Everything is okay.”

I believed him. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so safe. Protected. I didn’t trust many people but right here? Right now? I trusted Tyler.

As my breathing calmed, I realized that I’d been so scatterbrained that I hadn’t even registered the fact that Tyler must have been getting ready for bed, as he wasn’t wearing a shirt. It certainly registered now as my hands curled against his strong back, the side of my face pressed against his warm chest. I turned my head slightly and my lips were now touching his skin and it was almost like I was kissing him.

Almost.

Now that I was much more aware of my surroundings, I felt bad that I was enjoying this hug so much. That my blood pounded slowly through my limbs while my pulse frantically throbbed. It felt like he rested his cheek against the top of my head, and my lower abdomen tightened in response.

Nothing about this was very friend zone–ish.

I should have released him. Stepped back and put some distance between us. Not enjoyed his warmth and wanted to snuggle closer. Because this was, quite possibly, one of the best things that had ever happened to me and I didn’t want it to end.

Where I’d been oblivious only a few seconds ago, now I was painfully aware of how smooth his skin was, of the sexy way his back muscles strained against my palms as he continued to move his right hand up and down my back to console me. Since he was just being nice, I probably shouldn’t have been finding all this super hot. I was either extraordinarily lucky or desperately pathetic.

I pulled in a deep whiff of his naturally attractive and enticing scent. His particular brand of pheromone would a hundred percent make me fly to my death by getting caught in his web. I was definitely leaning toward pathetic. Which made me feel like I had to justify my behavior.

“I’m sorry,” I finally said, my words going directly into his chest. “I watched a scary movie tonight and then you said you wouldn’t be back until tomorrow morning and my mind just went weird places.”

Which it was still doing.

“It is tomorrow morning,” he reminded me, and I loved how his words rumbled their way out of his chest.

“Yeah, but I thought you meant morning as in a decent hour . . .” I lifted my head to look at him and suddenly realized just how close our lips were. Like if I leaned forward just a micro-fraction of an inch, we’d be kissing.

My breath caught and then sped up. My head started to swim, making me a little dizzy. Which was the only way to explain what I saw next—it looked like he was checking me out, his gaze hot as one side of his mouth lifted, as if he liked what he saw.

Which reminded me of how little clothing I was actually wearing.

Was he breathing a little harder, too? And whose heartbeat felt so fast—mine or his?

“Madison . . .”

The way he said my name sent shivers through me. Low and seductive, almost as if he were asking a question.

And the answer to that question was always yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Fortunately, I managed to keep that inside, although it took great effort.

Was he going to kiss me?

While I wanted to wait and see if it had just been my imagination or if something was about to happen, I remembered his rules. And that I was completely broke and still needed a place to live. I didn’t want to jeopardize our friendship or our living arrangement.

“Thanks,” I said as I extracted myself, willing my heartbeat to return to normal. I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m glad you got home safe and I will see you in the morning.”

Not waiting to hear his response, I practically sprinted back to my room and shut the door.

I got into bed and Pigeon lifted her head lazily. I realized that the reason she hadn’t been worried earlier was because she’d known that Tyler was the one in the apartment.

“You’re a terrible guard dog,” I told her. She licked my face in response before laying her head back down.

And I was terrible at remembering that I was only supposed to be Tyler’s friend.

I hoped I hadn’t screwed anything up between us.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I didn’t exactly fall asleep after that. Instead I kept reliving every moment of what was an innocent and kind gesture on his part and turning it into something it was not. I worried about having to face him over breakfast, but his door was shut and he didn’t come into the kitchen.

Which left me the rest of the day to think about what I’d say to him the next time I saw him. I refrained from sharing the story with Delia and Shay since I already knew what they’d tell me. Shay would have lectured me about not taking advantage and pulling him onto his bed while Delia would have reminded me to just be true to myself.

Pigeon greeted me when I got home and I petted her head and the spot under her chin that she loved. Tyler’s door was slightly open, and a quick glance told me he wasn’t in there. Poor guy had to fly halfway around the world and then go to work the next day. That couldn’t have been fun.

I decided to just behave normally and do the things I would usually do. I’d wait to see how he acted toward me, first.

Which meant that after a quick dinner of noodles, I was in the living room watching my recorded television shows and working on the poms. While the process had gotten easier, I didn’t seem to be getting any faster.

My heart skipped when the elevator doors opened and Tyler walked in. It was only five thirty. I paused the show I’d been watching. “Home already?” I asked.

“Yeah. I just wanted . . . to be here instead of there.” He paused when he saw what I was doing. “Why does it look like a present store threw up in here? I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much tissue paper all in one place.”

“Me neither,” I agreed. “Except for maybe my mom’s gift-wrapping room.”

He totally stared at me. “Your mother has a gift-wrapping room?”

My first instinct was to lie and laugh it off because I knew how weird it sounded. While it was strange to everybody else in the world, it had just been my normal, how I’d grown up. But I didn’t want to be dishonest with Tyler.

Well, more dishonest than I had been already in the name of self-preservation. “Of course she does. She’s not going to wrap her presents on some random table like a heathen.”

He laughed at that, but he sounded tired. “I guess that makes sense.”

I couldn’t have explained what possessed me to say to him, “I like your shoes.” It was like I wanted to get caught. As if now that I’d decided to choose honesty, my brain decided to be honest about everything. I wanted to dig a hole in the floor that I could crawl into. What was wrong with me? Why had I said that? When you were hiding something from someone, it was generally a good idea not to act like an idiot and draw their attention to it.