He turned on the lamp on the nightstand, then did the same with the overhead light before lighting the fireplace to chase off the chill in the room.

She was sprawled out on her stomach like a starfish under the covers. Unable to help himself, he brushed her hair back from her face and spread it out over the pillow.

She was bewitching. Even drunk and snoring, all that fiery red hair, that smooth ivory skin made her seem so touchable.

This is why I came back.

Her words echoed in his head. He knew he was going to get more involved. Hell. He was involved the second she’d turned the aisle in the grocery store. He was going to do the thing he’d promised himself he’d never do: Get close to Remi Ford.

Because there were no witnesses, and because he desperately fucking needed it, he leaned down and brushed his lips over her furrowed forehead. The lines disappeared, and her expression eased as if he’d taken away her worry with the brush of his mouth.

He was so fucked.

He forced himself to walk out of the bedroom before he did something stupid like climb in next to her and cuddle up against that soft, warm body.

Back in the living space, he turned down the fireplace and shut off a few of the lights. He dumped the rest of the mac and cheese into a container, washed the pot, and put it back in its cabinet. Next, he got the coffeemaker ready to go because a hungover Remi required almost a full pot of caffeine before she was functional again. He fished out one of the rainbow of cereal boxes and put it on the counter next to a bowl and spoon.

He heard an insistent buzzing and found her phone faceup on the table.

Pain in My Ass.

It was late. It might be a friend calling with an emergency. Or it could be a guy calling to “Netflix and freeze” or whatever the kids were calling it now. He debated for two more buzzes before his desire to know more got the best of him, and he swiped to answer the call.

“Yeah?”

There was a brief silence on the other end, and then, “You have got to be kidding me. She got a new number and didn’t freaking tell me? Unbelievable.” It was a man’s voice. An annoyed one. Frankly, if he was dialing Remi’s number and sounding annoyed, Brick couldn’t blame him.

“Who are you looking for?” he asked.

“Alessandra. Well, technically a brat named Remi. I don’t suppose you know her?”

“Remi isn’t…available,” Brick said, choosing his words carefully.

“So this is still her number?”

Seeing as how the guy was in her contacts and had called the number looking for her, Brick felt okay with confirming. “It is. Can I take a message?”

He heard the sound of something like a pen clicking repeatedly on the other end. “Just tell her Raj called and she can’t avoid me forever.”