“And I told you this wasn’t a good time for me.”
“Because of that guy?” he growled, jerking a thumb toward the living room. “He’s not even your type.”
“How the hell do you know what my type is? Besides, it’s none of your damn business!”
Remy’s nostrils flared. “So are you gonna sleep with him?”
Heat rushed to her face. “Like I said—”
“Because if not, you’d better hope he’s not out there slipping something into your damn drink.”
“Are you serious?” Zandra sputtered incredulously. “Do you realize you said practically the same thing to me the night I was leaving for my prom? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not seventeen anymore.”
“I know that,” he snapped.
“Coulda fooled me. Anyway, Colin doesn’t need to drug me to get me into bed.” She smirked. “You didn’t.”
Remy flinched, clenching his jaw so hard she thought his teeth would break.
“Now if you don’t mind,” she said levelly, “I’d like to get back to my guest. Feel free to see yourself out.”
As she turned and marched from the kitchen, Remy growled, “I’m staying.”
She whirled around. “No, you’re—”
“We need to talk.”
“Like I said before,” Zandra bit out, “we can talk tomorrow. I have company.”
“Then I’ll just wait until he leaves.” He shot her a dark look. “I’m not giving you another chance to blow me off like you did earlier.”
Zandra glared at him. He wanted to be a third wheel? Fine, she’d treat him like one.
As she returned to the living room, Colin glanced up from perusing the glossy pages of a coffee table book. “Is everything all right?”
“Everything’s fine,” she said brightly, rejoining him on the sofa.
He looked unconvinced. “Maybe I should just go. I don’t want to cause any trouble.”
“You’re not causing any trouble,” she assured him. “Remy’s just being his usual overprotective self. Old habits die hard. Anyway, I want you to stay. I was enjoying your company.”
Colin smiled, looking pleased. “And I was enjoying yours.”
“Good.” She picked up her glass. “Now where were we?”
“I believe we were setting up our date for—” He broke off with a frown, watching as Remy sauntered into the living room swigging from a bottle of beer.
When he plopped down in a nearby chair and grabbed the remote control, Colin looked at Zandra and mouthed, Is he staying?
Rolling her eyes in exasperation, she mouthed back, Just ignore him.
Of course this was easier said than done with Remy just a few feet away, pumping more testosterone and aggression into the air than a feral lion staking his territory.
Setting down the coffee table book, Colin remarked offhandedly, “I thought this building had tighter security.”
Zandra sipped her wine. “What do you mean?”
“Isn’t the front desk supposed to call tenants when they have visitors?”
Zandra wished he hadn’t gone there. Instead of heeding her advice to ignore Remy, he seemed determined to needle him. “I’ve never had a problem with the front desk.” She paused. “That said, I think they’re, ah, intimidated by certain visitors. And that’s why they might give those visitors a pass.”
Colin frowned and looked over at Remy, who was sprawled insolently in the chair with his long legs stretched out as he flicked through TV channels.
Trying to redirect Colin’s attention, Zandra said cheerfully, “Since you’re new in town, I’ll choose the restaurant for dinner on Friday night.”
Meeting her gaze, Colin smiled. “Sounds good. I can’t wait.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Zandra could see images flashing rapidly across the LCD screen as Remy clicked faster through channels.
“Speaking of dinner,” Colin said conversationally, “what kind of foods do you like, Zandra?”
She laughed. “Oh, I eat everything.”
He gave her a slow, appreciative once-over. “I find that hard to believe.”