Page 69 of Bean

At the sound of an unwanted, familiar voice, I spun on my heel. Bile rose in the back of my throat when the silhouette in the front doorway became clear. Gio was smirking as the heels of hisdesigner shoes clicked on the hardwood, and he sniffed, looking back and forth.

“What the…? How…?” It took me a moment to recover. “How did you find me?”

He lifted a brow. “Baby?—”

“Don’tcall me that.And answer the question.”

“You never deleted Life360,” he said with a shrug.

My heart sank to my feet. Fuck, he was right. He wasright! I hadn’t even thought about that. God, I was such a moron. I fought the urge to reach for my phone and do it now, but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me rattled.

Though by the look on his face, it was obvious I was. “I figured it was an invitation.”

I stared at him in shock. “You…you cannot be serious.”

He shrugged and walked over to the fireplace, dragging his finger around one of the exposed bricks. I knew he hated it. It was one of the reasons I wanted it. “I mean, that’s how we used to track our hookups.”

“I’m not your hookup,” I said, stepping away from him as he started to cross the room toward me. “Why are you here?”

“You blocked my number and my email.”

“And that wasn’t your big clue that the last thing I wanted was for you to show up here unannounced?” I felt violated and angry. I bought this place to get away from him—to erase the last vestiges of his presence in my life. And here he was, stomping all over my fresh start.

Fuck.

“You know I love a game of cat and mouse,” he said with a wink.

I squared my shoulders. I was done. I was so goddamn done. “Listen—” Before I could finish, my phone began to buzz. Unthinking, I pulled it out, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw Bean’s name on the screen.

I didn’t know if it was the best idea to answer with Gio in the room, but Bean was so much more important than him.

“Hey, sunshine.”

“Sunshine?” Gio parroted behind me.

I stormed into the kitchen as Bean laughed. “Are you at work?”

“No. I’m at my townhouse. You okay? I wasn’t sure if you were well enough to talk.”

“I’m feeling a lot better,” Bean said. He sounded like he was smiling. “I did a half-shift today—just got off the lunch rush and feel a lot better. My doctor upped my seizure medication dose, and I’m trying a new treatment for the migraines, which doesn’t make me feel like a zombie all day.”

I smiled, leaning against the wall beside the sliding door. I could see Gio hovering in my periphery, but it was easy to tune him out with Bean’s voice in my ear. “So glad to hear it, sweetheart. You had me worried.”

“Oh. That’s socute,” Gio said, swooping in close.

There was a pause, and then Bean said, “Are you…with your brother?”

I cringed. I wasn’t going to lie to Bean, but I also wasn’t going to tell him everything with Gio right there. “Can I see you soon?”

Bean was quiet again. “Um.”

“Today? Right now, if you’re free?”

“You sound busy?—”

“I’m not busy. I’m just dealing with a giant pain-in-the-ass situation, and I want to tell you all about it,” I promised. “I really want to see you.”

“Okay.” Bean let out a soft sigh. “I’d like that. I’ll wait here for you.”