He sits up. “Oh,” he says, his smile bright. Then he sees me behind her. His smile falters. “Good morning.” He nods at me and gives me a tight, fake grin. “Logan,” he says.

“Trip,” I say with a nod. Emily walks toward the kitchen. He calls to her retreating back. “A courier came a few hours ago with some clothes. I put them on your bed.”

Her head shoots around the corner. “My room is off-limits,” she says sharply. Trip grins. I want to punch his f**king face.

“It’s not like I’ve never been in your room before,” he says. He’s still grinning, and this time, I start toward him.

Emily rushes across the room and stops me by putting her hands on my chest. “Let’s go see what my mom sent.”

I look down at her. I’ll go with her as soon as I deal with Trip. “You go ahead. I’ll be there in just a minute.” I nudge her shoulder toward her room.

“Logan,” she says. Stop it.

Stop what? I go and sit down on the couch beside Trip, cross my foot over my knee, and raise my arms to the back of the couch. “You go shower. I’ll catch up with you in a minute.”

Emily stomps her foot, and I smile at her. I’m not moving. Not until I tell Trip a few things he needs to know. You may as well go ahead. Trip and I need to talk.

“That thing you two do is rather rude,” Trip says snidely, looking from one of us to the other.

“You mean talking?” I ask. I smile at him. To Emily, I sign, Go ahead. I won’t hurt him. I promise.

You swear it?

I draw an x over the center of my chest. She rolls her eyes and goes into her bedroom.

“It’s still just as rude now as it was a moment ago,” he says. I imagine he grumbles it, but I really can’t tell. He’s looking at the TV and not at me, but I can still see his lips.

“What’s rude is bringing my girlfriend home and finding her ex-boyfriend in her apartment wearing nothing but his boxers.” I smile at him. I work to look relaxed, but I’m not.

“She was my girlfriend first,” he says. He reminds me of Hayley when she’s really tired and doesn’t get her way.

“I’m pretty sure that ship has sailed.” I grit my teeth.

He shrugs. “Never know. That ship might come around again.”

“You’re totally f**king up the Bro Code, dude,” I say.

“Bro Code?” he asks. “We’d have to be Bros”—he draws quotes in the air—“for that to be a concern, wouldn’t we?”

I nudge his shoulder with mine playfully…and forcefully. “Oh, we’re Bro’s. You just don’t know it yet. I can be your best friend or I can be your worst enemy. But I can’t be your best friend while you’re living with my girl. Or while you’re in your boxers.” I look down at the offending item. “Put some f**king clothes on when you’re outside your room,” I growl.

Shit. I was trying to stay so calm. I fail. Game over.

He bites his lower lip as though he’s laboring over something snarky to say. “See, Logan, that’s just it. This is my apartment right now. So I can walk around dressed any way I like.”

“Well, in that case,” I start. I get up, stretching broadly. “Emily and I will just have to stay in her room for a bit. Until you can decide to put some clothes on.” I pat his naked knee and flash a conspiratorial grin. “There wasn’t a TV in her room the last time I spent the night there.” His grin falters. “But I’m sure we can find something to occupy the time.” I wink at him. “Bet you f**king wish you were me right now. One—so you don’t have to hear me with Emily.” I point to my ears, reminding him I’m deaf. “And two—so you could be alone with her in her room. Naked.” I make a tsk, tsk, tsk with my mouth. “Of course, if you were dressed, we would be able to hang out here with you.”

He gets up and stomps toward his room. A minute later, he comes back wearing lounge pants and a T-shirt.

“Thank you,” I say.

“You’re not welcome,” he replies. He sits up and looks at me over the back of the couch. “You know I had her first, right?” he says.

“I know you f**ked it up by insulting her.” I cross my arms in front of my chest. The idea of him calling Emily stupid makes me want to body slam him.

His shoulders shake as he laughs. “Is that what she told you?” He starts to flip channels on the TV.

He’s baiting me, but I can’t stop. “Only a royal dumbass would try to hurt a girl like her,” I say.

He gets up and walks toward the kitchen. He pats my chest as he walks by me. “Just remember, Bro.” He gets in my face, and his lips move slowly. “I popped her f**king cherry.”

He must see the anger in my face because he suddenly backs up.

But he knows he has me at this point. He has insulted Emily by talking about intimate matters that never should have left the bedroom. I fight back the urge the punch him.

“Oh, that bothers you, doesn’t it?” he asks. “The fact that I’ve been inside her. I’ve had her on top of me and under me and with her mouth wrapped around my—”

I shove him so hard that his head hits the wall. I can feel the vibration of it in the floor. “Shut it,” I say.

“Why?” He grins. “Are. You. Having. Trouble. Following?” He says it slowly. “I f**ked your girl.” He shrugs. “Or you’re f**king my girl? I don’t know which it is. But I know I don’t have to like it. She’ll get tired of you, and when she does, I’ll be here with her daddy’s blessing, waiting to put a ring on her finger.”