She’s glowing—and though it’s probably because of sweat—she’s seriously one of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever seen.
Thankfully, mere seconds later, Remy does step out, his face much more relaxed than I would’ve expected for a man who was just stuck inside an elevator for the past two hours.
“Holy shit, Maria?” Ty questions, his attention on the woman, and the warm tone in his voice makes it apparent he knows her.
How, I’m not sure, but he grabs my hand and walks us over to where she stands beside Remy.
“You guys okay?” one of the firefighters asks, and Remy claps him gratefully on the back.
“Yeah, man. Thanks for saving our asses.”
“Hi, Ty,” the woman, whose name is apparently Maria, answers with a friendly smile.
Ty looks at his brother, who has now joined our small circle out of the way of the firefighters who are still working to get the elevator operational, and chuckles. “Talk about a small world, bro.”
Rem just smirks. “Tell me about it.”
“Rachel, this is Maria. Maria, this is my Rachel,” Ty introduces us, and she holds out her hand toward me, and I take it without a second thought.
“Nice to meet you.”
“I’m an old friend of this guy right here,” she explains and nudges Remy’s side playfully. “From way back in our high school days. Though, it’s been quite a few years since we’ve seen each other.”
“Wow.” I blink in surprise. “And you just so happened to get stuck in an elevator together?”
She laughs. Outright. “Yeah. What are the odds, huh?”
“It’s good to see you.” Ty steps forward to give Maria a hug and then turns to face Remy directly. “So?” he asks, but I can’t see Remy’s face for his reaction. Ty’s head is blocking my view.
“Thanks, man,” Ty says quietly and proceeds to shove something into his pocket.
What the hell?
“What is that?” I ask him, and he just grins and shakes his head.
“I’ll show you in a bit.”
I tilt my head to the side, curious as hell, but Ty just wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me close to his chest.
“Okay. Well, then. It was good to see you two. Glad you’re both okay. And now, if you don’t mind, Rachel and I have something we need to attend to.”
“Ty!” I slap at his chest.
“What?”
“Your brother and Maria were just stuck in an elevator for two freaking hours,” I comment on an exhausted laugh. “Don’t you think we should invite them up for a bit?” I look toward both of them. “Come upstairs so we can get you some water and food and whatever else you need.”
“No, it’s okay,” Rem answers with a gentle smile. “We’re going to head out, actually.”
We’re going to head out. Interesting.
“That’s great!” Ty exclaims, and before I know it, the crazy bastard leans down and proceeds to toss me over his shoulder.
“Ty!”
“Bye, guys!” He just laughs, ignoring me completely and turning on his heel toward the stairwell doors.
“I’m so sorry he’s a rude idiot!” I call toward Remy and Maria. “And it was really nice meeting you, Maria!”
They both just grin and wave, and as Ty carries me away, I don’t miss the way she looks up at Remy. Or the way he looks at her as they laugh and chat about something that I can’t hear.
But Ty, on the other hand, well, he’s a man on a damn mission, pushing through the stairwell doors and taking the steps two at a time. By the time he reaches our apartment, he has the door unlocked and opened in ten seconds flat.
“What has gotten into you?” I ask, finally on my feet again, but the sexy bastard just grins at me.
“Nothing, doll.”
I roll my eyes, but I also laugh. And while Ty slips his shoes off at the doorway, I find myself wondering about what I saw back there. With Remy.
“Was Maria someone important in Remy’s life?”
“Huh?” Ty asks and leans down to take off my sandals for me.
“Maria?” I ask. “Who is she to Remy?”
“An old high school girlfriend,” he answers, and he all but drags me to our bedroom.
“Do you think there’s something between them?”
“I don’t know…” He pauses and searches my eyes, but it’s not even like he’s searching for answers from me. More like, he’s searching for answers from himself. “Oh shit.” He laughs, but then he doesn’t say anything else and proceeds to remove my clothes.
“Wait… What did that mean?”
“What did what mean?”
“That look that was just on your face.”
“Tomorrow, remind me to tell you about a fortune-teller named Cleo.”
“Tomorrow? Why tomorrow?”
“Because we’re going to be too busy tonight,” he says and tugs at the only article of clothing that’s left on my body. “Are you attached to these panties?’
“What?”
“These panties,” he says and tugs at them again. But he doesn’t give me any time to answer. Instead, he just up and tears them off my body.