A soft chime announced they’d arrived at Tilly’s floor. The doors slid open, and Tilly released her. “As long as you don’t hurt my brother,” she clarified before hurrying out of the elevator.
Bria followed. Okay, if nothing else, whatever future she had with Owen, his sister was awesome, and she had no problems with spending time with her. Always a plus in a long-term relationship.
Long-term? Definitely still thinking that, ‘eh? Even with the brain cancer pendulum?
“Yeah,” she muttered, watching Tilly stop at a door a few feet away. “Even with that.”
The door opened just as Bria came to a stop beside Tilly, and her heart slammed up into her throat as Owen filled the doorway.
“Owen,” she breathed.
His hair stood awry, as if hands had constantly worried it, and something like exhaustion filled his face. Jet lag, like he’d said, or something else? A faint reddish mark marred the side of his jaw where Simon had hit him, sinking a tight bullet of fury at her ex into her chest.
He studied her, eyes impossible to read, and then gave Tilly a small smile. “Hey, sis. Why’d you leave the party?”
Tilly snorted. “Idiot.”
“Seriously, I’m okay,” he said with a warm smile and then returned his attention to Bria again. “I…had fun tonight. Thanks.”
Her stomach clenched. Was that a goodbye? “Do we need to take you to a hospital?”
Jaw clenching, he shook his head. “Headache’s almost gone.”
Tilly cleared her throat, and flicked Bria a glance. “I’m just…going inside.” She slipped through the open door and past Owen.
Gone.
Owen dropped his gaze, rubbing at the back of his neck.
Mouth dry, heart thumping—why am I so fucking nervous?—Bria let out a shaky laugh. “You scared me.”
He lifted his eyes to hers, an unreadable tension now in their hazel depths. “Not my intention. Sorry.”
She shook her head, reached out to take his hand, and then stopped and dropped hers. Everything about him, his expression, his body language, the way he couldn’t hold eye-contact, seemed to scream go away. “How are you feeling?” she asked, aching to touch him. To run her fingers over the mark on the side of his head. To brush his hair back from his forehead and kiss him. “Really?”
“The pain’s going. Panadol’s taking care of it.” His laugh was shaky. “My ego took a caning though. Been a long time since someone put me on the ground with a punch.”
Her gut clenched at his unforced humility. Damn it, if Simon hadn’t come along, there was a very high chance she’d be asking him to marry her by now.
Yep, you really really like him, don’t you?
She really really did.
“You’re going to press charges, right?” she asked. “Against Simon.”
He let out another shaky breath, his attention sliding away for a second before he shook his head. “No. I just… I just want to forget it all happened. If I don’t have that many days or months left, I don’t want to spend them going after a wanker not worth my time or energy.”
If I don’t have many days or months left…
A cold band twisted around her heart at the words. She’d been furious at him for an irrational moment back up on the roof, when she’d first heard what he might have. Furious. How dare he come into her life, be so incredible and wonderful and make her believe in love at first sight and fantasy happy-ever-afters? And then the reality of what he was facing really hit her, and she realized how selfish she was being.
She wanted him in her life for a long time, she knew that, but he didn’t even know if he had a long time left to live.
Now, looking at him battling demons she couldn’t fathom, all she wanted was to give him all her strength and see him laugh.
Would he let her?
Giving him a small smile, she tilted her head in the direction of the elevator. “Wanna come back to my apartment? We can prepare for Elisa and Zeta’s breakfast interrogation together?”