“Jake?” Her voice was quiet and slightly muffled, but it was her. Which was a relief. For one wild moment he’d thought maybe it was one of her parents, or that she’d sent the butler to kick him out of the house or something.

Pushing himself up off the floor where he’d been in a reclining position, he hurried over to yank the door open. The fact that he was shirtless and sweaty didn’t even occur to him until he was chest to face with her and she was staring at his bare skin with a very familiar expression. A little smile tweaked the corners of her mouth as she lifted her gaze to his. She liked what she saw. For a moment it felt like everything was completely normal between them.

“Early morning workout?”

“I didn’t think you’d be up yet,” he admitted, stepping back so she could come inside. As soon as she did, the awkwardness hit them both again.

Sharon was still in her pajamas - purple pants covered with little pink hearts and a purple tank top - and he was only wearing his sweatpants. Normally they’d already be jumping on each other. Instead, Sharon stood in front of him, not quite meeting his eyes, shifting her weight back and forth uncomfortably.

He wasn’t much better off. Rubbing his palms against his sweatpants, he cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry.”

Both of them spoke at once, blurting out the words. Their gazes met, and Jake gave her a rueful smile which she returned.

“Go ahead,” she said, gesturing to him.

“Sure you don’t want to do ladies first?” he asked, teasing her. Some of the tension in his back was already dissipating.

“No, no, I insist.” The little smile on her face grew a little larger.

Taking a deep breath, Jake let it out with a sigh. “I’m sorry about last night. I lost my temper and said some things I shouldn’t have - and some things that I might have been justified in saying, I said in a manner I shouldn’t have. And I am incredibly sorry about calling you a bitch.”

“I called you an asshole first,” she said, shrugging and tipping her head slightly to the side as she looked up at him. “I’m sorry too. Being around my family... Well, I’m not the best version of myself, but I shouldn’t have pulled you into it without talking to you first. And you’re right. When I feel like you’re judging me, I tend to go on the offensive. I don’t know that I can change my knee jerk reaction, but I will try.”

“I’ll try to be more understanding,” he said. “I don’t know how your family is and I shouldn’t make assumptions about how they’d react to what you do.”