CHAPTER FIFTY THREE: MY LANDLORD'S DAUGHTER 3

Chapter Three

The rain had ceased hours before, yet the neon lights reflected off the wet streets below, making Los Angeles look as if it had just been washed. The air within the flat had retained its power from the storm that was gone between them and outside, and it was heavy.

Observing the slight steam rising from his unfinished coffee, Ethan leaned against the counter.

His heartbeat hadn't calmed since Ava had approached him earlier that night, her words clinging to his skin like heat and her eyes dark and lips parted.

Now that she was silent, she was wandering the living room while holding her phone and feigning to go through texts. She wasn't reading anything, though, and they both knew it.

The faint sound of the refrigerator, the subdued roll of a car outside, the steady beat of their breathing attempting not to sync—all the sounds in the flat seemed heightened.

Then she raised her head. For a little moment, their gazes locked, but it was sufficient. That one look