“Did you push my floor?”
“Fuck,” Drew chuckled and leaned forward to push the button on the elevator panel. Just before the doors slid together, an arm stopped them from closing.
Of course, it had to be Baldwin.
He looked at me in Drew’s arms and then saw the boot strapped up my leg. “Emerie? What happened?”
I felt the grip around me tighten.
“I fell ice skating. It’s just a sprain.”
Baldwin eyed Drew.
What the hell? Does he need verification?
“She’s been checked out. It’s not broken,” Drew said curtly. His jaw was set so tightly, I could see the muscle flexing.
The elevator door closed, and the inside of the car became worse than awkward. It felt…suffocating. The two men stood side by side. I suddenly wished I’d argued more about being carried. By the time we got to the third floor, I was certain there wasn’t much oxygen left in the quiet car. Baldwin extended his arm to let us get out first.
I attempted to find my keys in my purse, but it was difficult in my current position. When Drew stopped in front of my door, I said, “Would you mind putting me down so I can find my keys?”
He lowered me gently, keeping his arm around me to reduce the weight on my foot.
Baldwin stopped at my door. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Drew beat me to it.
“I’ll take care of whatever she needs.”
Baldwin pretty much ignored him. “I can drop you at the office in the morning and pick you up.”
“I have a car,” Drew muttered as he took the keys from my hand and unlocked the door.
“It’s not necessary for you to come out of your way. We’re leaving from the same place, and I can route myself to drop you on my way to the university.”
I ignored the eyes burning into me and turned to Baldwin. “That would be great. Thank you. Or I can take a cab. I don’t want Drew having to come all this way uptown in the morning, especially dragging his son with him.”
“Then it’s settled. Text me in the morning if you need help getting ready or anything.”
“Thank you.”
Baldwin gave Drew a nod and then finally went to his apartment. The entire encounter had probably lasted the sum total of three minutes, but it felt like hours.
Inside, I flicked on the lights and busied myself taking off my coat. Drew was quiet, and I sensed a comment coming. After a minute, I started to relax and think maybe it was all in my head, that I had misjudged the situation and the awkwardness was only felt by me.
I was wrong.
“That guy’s an asshole.”
“What did he do?”
Drew must have taken my question as defending Baldwin. His entire demeanor changed. “Do you want to fuck him?”
“What? No! Where the hell did that come from?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I gotta go. I don’t want Beck to wake up and me not be back yet.”
While I could understand that, five minutes ago he hadn’t been planning on rushing back. Drew had just gone from desperate to be with me to desperate to get away from me in under five minutes flat.
“What just happened here?”
“Do you want me to take that brace off of you or do anything before I leave?”
Frustrated, I snapped at him. “No. Just go.”
I pressed my head against the door after shutting it behind him. My mind was spinning, but the same question kept running through it:
Do I want to sleep with Baldwin?
Chapter 32
Drew
The next morning, I debated going over to Emerie’s place a half-dozen times before deciding I’d just make it worse if I showed up. I didn’t want her to think my apology was a cover because I didn’t want Putz driving her to work. Of course, I didn’t want the dickhead to drive her. But around two o’clock this morning, after beating up my pillow, I’d finally come to my senses.
My acting like a jerk had nothing to do with Emerie. Between a cheating ex-wife and my daily dose of clients who’d been burned or had burned their spouse, I wasn’t exactly the most trusting person. I still didn’t think I was wrong about Baldwin—the guy was a dickhead, and my gut told me something would eventually go down once he realized Emerie wasn’t waiting on the sidelines for him anymore. But that wasn’t on her either.
It was almost ten by the time she finally showed up at the office. Beck only had a half-day of school, so I was hoping she didn’t have a morning appointment she needed to jump right into. I’d been on high alert listening for her to come in, so she was barely inside when I got to the reception area.
And the dickhead was with her. His arm wrapped around her waist, he was attempting to assist her in walking. I could see from her face that the entire thing made her uncomfortable.