Doing anything else could have potentially scared her off, and I couldn’t let that happen. So, even though leaving her in the hallway made my heart ache and my wolf grapple for control and went against every instinct in my soul, I walked away.
But I couldn’t stop myself from looking back at her.
She was still standing there. She gave me a small wave, and I waved back.
She looked like a stranger staring at me, but she wasn’t.
That woman held the other half of my soul inside her.
When I shut the door, my knees gave out. I slid down to the floor and let my head rest against the door.
Her keys jingled, the door unlocked, and then clicked close. She was safe across the hall.
This was good. It was a start. She noticed me.
God. Was that all this came down to? Me thinking I was winning something just because she noticed I existed when I literally bumped into her? Was I really that pathetic? How did I expect to win her over?
This was dumb. I should just make everyone come back. We should take her to Texas. There had to be a better, easier, safer, more sure way to break the magic. I had to—
Damn it.
Chris was right.
I used to be confident, and what was I now?
I didn’t know, but I needed to get it together.
I would get it together. For her, I would do anything.
I was an alpha. I was strong. And I’d done this once before. I just had to do it again.
I could do this. No problem.
“Shit.” I didn’t give her my number.
I didn’t even tell her my name.
I was so screwed.
Chapter Nineteen
TESSA
Holy shit.
Holy fucking shit.
Who the hell moved in across the hall from me?
I was leaning against the inside of the door to my apartment with my eyes closed, trying to catch my breath. I mean, I wasn’t used to seeing someone like that in real life.
He was a model. He had to be. I mean, he couldn’t be a movie star and living in my apartment building, could he?
He was so tall and ripped and gorgeous. Those dimples were over the top. It was like God gave him one too many things, and it put him way-off-the-charts hot. Overkill. The definition of overkill.
I bet he was dumb.
Okay. So, maybe that was a horrible thing to hope for,