“Good morning, sleepy head,” I replied, as he stepped back for me to come inside.

“Seems she only has fangs with me,” Rathe drawled.

I didn’t respond to that or watch him enter the apartment after me. Instead, I rolled my eyes at Heath. He forced a smile but shot Rathe an unamused frown.

I glanced toward Margo’s room. “Is she ready?” I asked Heath, hoping Rathe was headed to his room.

Heath covered his mouth as he yawned then he shrugged. “I just woke up. You talk to her already?”

I nodded. “Yes. We’re going to get breakfast. I had to escape my house.”

He didn’t need an explanation. “The wedding is tonight, ouch,” he frowned. “Is she acting like bridezilla?”

“She was born a bridezilla. She’s waited all these years to have a reason to unleash it.”

Heath laughed again. He knew my struggle with my sisters and mother. Not the exact extent of my struggles, but enough to know they were all selfish and cruel. “I’ll get dressed and take you to eat. I’m starving,” he offered.

“Okay, I’ll see if Margo is still planning on going too.”

Heath got an awkward look on his face before glancing at Rathe, who I had been ignoring, although I’d known he was there lounging on the sofa he’d went to after entering the apartment. I might not have looked his way, but I felt his gaze on me, and it was unsettling.

“Uh, you, uh, want to go?” Heath asked him, and I was sure I winced. Heath always being the nice guy. I admired that about him until this very moment. He didn’t like Rathe. Why was he trying to be nice?

“Thanks, but I’ll sit here and read in the silence,” he replied.

Without a moment to control my mouth, I blurted out, “You read?” His response had caught me off guard. I hadn’t expected that. He didn’t look like the guys I had known who read but then I hadn’t known many guys.

“Yes, Cat, I enjoy the written word.” His response didn’t sound insulted. Although he wasn’t smirking this time, and there was no sign of humor on his face.

I opened my mouth to apologize but snapped it shut again. Rathe and I were not going to be friends. He didn’t need me as a friend. He needed to keep his distance from me. Besides, I was sure his ego was larger than the Grand Canyon. He’d be just fine.

“I’ll go check on Margo,” I told Heath, who was frowning again. He either wasn’t telling me something about Rathe or he was trying to like the guy. I couldn’t figure it out.