“Really. I’m observant like that.” Zayne’s hand slipped into the space between us. His knuckles rested against my arm. “What do you want to ask? I have a feeling this is going to be a good one.”

I arched a brow. Then I told myself not to ask it. My brain did not listen. “You seemed really happy to see Stacey.”

The moment that came out of my mouth, I wondered how fast I could roll off the couch and run headfirst into a nearby wall. There were so many more important things we could talk about besides his less-than-cozy apartment and friends with benefits.

“You sure that was a question?” he asked. “Because it sounded like a statement, but yeah, I was happy. I hadn’t seen her in a while.”

I pressed my lips together, thinking about her warning. “She seemed happy to see you.”

“I guess so.” Zayne pulled his hand back as he settled into the cushion. “Stacey and I are just friends.”

The snort that left me sounded vaguely like a wild boar running from hunters. “Yeah, I don’t think you can say you’re just friends. Not that I care or anything. Or that it’s any of my business.”

“Okay. You’re right. We were more than friends,” he replied. “Not that you don’t know that already. Or care.”

Shifting onto my back, I crossed my arms. “I totally don’t care.”

“Then why did you bring it up?”

“Because I’m nosy,” I admitted. Then I forced myself to say, “She seems pretty cool.”

“She is. I hope you get to know her. I think you’d like her.”

I wasn’t so sure about that. “I didn’t know she’d been here.”

Zayne was quiet for a moment. “There’s a lot you don’t know, Trin.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like.”

I stiffened. His tone wasn’t cold or anything, but there was something off about it, and he was totally closing a door on that conversation. Which was his right, but it made me feel like I...like I’d crossed a line, and maybe I had.

And boy, didn’t that shine a huge glaring light on the awkwardness of our relationship? There was almost a professional aspect to us, with the whole Protector and Trueborn bond. We were friends, but we’d briefly been more, and a part of me felt like we were still tiptoeing around that line despite the fact that the line was actually a wall. And even though I’d filed away what I felt for Zayne, I was still a jealous little monster when it came to Layla and Stacey. I had no right to those feelings, and Zayne was...well, he was Zayne, and I had no idea how he felt about any of this.