No answer. No sounds from within. She knocked again. Nothing.

Her shoulders fell.

But then she heard the doorknob. The chain-latch lock was still fastened, restricting the door from opening more than about four inches. And his deep voice spoke with an accent fainter than the day they met, and a weary reluctance that was also new.

“Breakfast is eaten in the morning, Reena.”

“I know. I … just need my key. I’m locked out.”

“I’ll get your spare.” Footsteps trailed away from the door.

Her knees weakening, Reena lowered herself to sit on the old tile floor and closed her eyes. That optimism, the feeling of being okay, was gone. All she wanted was her key so she could lock herself in her apartment and cry until he left the country. Her bravery strolled right out of there the moment she heard that sexy, weary voice.

“I can’t seem to find it,” he suddenly said. “I may have put it in a box by mistake. I’m packing.”

Reena nodded shakily, pressing her hands against the floor, ready to get up. “It’s fine. I’ll get Marley’s.”

When she was halfway to her feet, he spoke again. “Reena, wait.”

Her butt fell back to the floor.

“Are you sitting on the floor?”

“Yes.”

She heard some movement from within his unit, a shuffling of fabric, then a hollow thump on the wall behind her.

“Sit against the door,” he said.

She shifted so her back was leaning against his door, which was being held from opening fully by the chain. She looked into his apartment and saw Nadim, his expression concerned and sad. He was also sitting on his floor, back leaning against the wall near the door.

They were inches apart now, but with a door chained closed between them, the opening just enough to see most of his face. Hair a little longer, though still firmly in the crew-cut category. Still clean-shaven; he’d given up on that douche-beard, thankfully. Without the beard, his one dimple lit her up every time he smiled. No smile now, though. Intense eyes searched hers, almost asking a question.

She took a deep breath, trying to call back the courage that had deserted her. “Maybe we should just talk now,” she said quietly.

“Do you want to come in?”

She looked around the tiny, empty hallway, and then back at the gap into his apartment. This would be easier with the door between them. She didn’t want to see his whole face, or his apartment … all packed up into boxes. This was her same old avoidance, but she allowed herself this one. “No. Let’s do it here.”

She wanted this to end on neutral grounds. Nothing was more neutral than the empty hallway between their apartments.

He shifted a bit. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s talk, Reena.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

I’ll go first,” he said, his voice reverberating through the wall. “Jasmine and I are not engaged. We broke up a long time ago.”

She bit her lip. She was pretty sure she believed him. “In Egypt, right?”