Easton shifted like he was going to move closer, and I almost moved to meet him halfway, but in the end he stayed where he was. He smiled wide at me though.

“You should be proud of yourself, it’s an amazing accomplishment. I’ve lived in Ithaca almost my whole life and it’s not like I know everyone who gets hired up there, but I do know getting a tenure track position at Cornell is a huge deal.”

Those green eyes on me were like truth serum, because I just kept talking.

“Nesto and I shared a place with another guy in Harlem for the five years before he moved here. The rent was decent, but it wasn’t the nicest.” I shrugged feeling embarrassed about what I was thinking, but also like I really needed to share this. It was such a strange feeling for me to want to be vulnerable like this. “I’ve never lived alone. I’m not sure what I’d do with myself in a place this big on my own. It’s kind of crazy that you own it actually.”

The bright smile faded, and I hated myself a little bit for saying the words that made it happen. “I didn’t work for this. I bought it with money I got from my grandmother. Your job is an actual accomplishment.” He waved his hand around the bathroom. “This is just old money begetting more money with very little effort from any of the parties involved.”

The tone of his voice was so self-deprecating. I usually wasn’t full of sympathy for trust fund babies but I also knew that Easton had a hard job. One that he opted into when he could’ve been coasting on his family’s money. Even though I had a lot of opinions on the criminal justice system and prosecutors, I knew he was out there trying to put away the bad guys.

“Don’t be so down on yourself, man. Some people do a lot worse with the money they inherit than putting it into something that is a legit source of income. Also it’s not like you’re sitting at home waiting for rent checks. You’re not exactly doing light work at the DA’s office.”

He just shrugged and moved toward the bedroom. I wanted to stop him, say more until that smile he’d been giving me since I walked into the elevator came back out. I had no idea why I was so invested in seeing Easton looking happy again, but I was ready to take the apartment just to do something that might bring some light back to his eyes. Before I knew it I was talking again.

“It’s not like I didn’t want to have my own place. I just couldn’t afford it.” I lifted a hand in the direction of the bay windows. “I’m not going to be mad to have a place like this.”

His lips twitched at that and my dumbass heart pounded in my chest, because that fucker never learned.