The ride back to Ava's apartment was quieter than usual. Not awkward, but… charged.
She hummed softly to the music playing through the speakers, tapping her fingers against her lap. Ivan kept his eyes on the road, though his mind was still replaying the night.
Nathan's words wouldn't leave him alone.
"Didn't peg you for the best-friend-who's-secretly-in-love type."
Ivan clenched his jaw. Nathan had always been a smug bastard, but what irritated him most was how easily Ava had laughed it off—like the idea was absurd.
Like it wasn't true.
"Are you mad at me?" Ava's voice broke the silence.
He glanced at her, surprised. "What? No. Why would I be?"
She shrugged. "You've been quiet since Nathan showed up. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were jealous."
His grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Of Carter?" He scoffed. "Please."
Ava grinned. "You do sound jealous."
He exhaled sharply. "Trust me, Ava, there is nothing about that guy to be jealous of."
Her smile softened, and she reached over, squeezing his arm. "I know. You're ten times the man he is."
Ivan's heart stuttered.
She didn't mean it the way he wanted her to. He knew that. But her touch, her words—they messed with him.
She had no idea what she did to him.
They pulled up to her apartment, and Ava unbuckled her seatbelt. For a second, she hesitated. "You wanna come up? Just for a bit?"
Dangerous.
He should say no. He should go home and drown out this feeling with work, with anything else.
But then she looked at him, her hazel eyes warm and expectant.
And just like that, he was lost.
"Yeah," he murmured. "Just for a bit."