Before You: Standalone Contemporary Romance Read Online Free

the kitchen where the coffee machine was located. “Would you like one as well?”
    He shook his head. “I had breakfast with a friend.”
    I turned on the faucet to fill the pot with water. The moment he mentioned the word ‘friend’ my chest tightened, and I wondered who she was. He hadn’t said it was a girl, but of course it was. Men like André didn't meet other guys for breakfast. Men like André had women waiting for them, hoping for that phone call, and most the time it would never come. But I guess they never learn. Women are blinded by beautiful men just as men are blinded by beautiful women. And André was definitely beautiful.
    “That’s nice,” I said quietly, finishing with the coffee machine before I switched it on and began opening cupboards in search of a mug.
    André stepped in my way and reached up to open the cupboard two doors down. My eyes immediately fell to his waist, instinctively knowing that I was about to get a glimpse of his stomach as his charcoal T-shirt separated from his dark jeans. And there it was. The V that makes us girls go ga ga.
    Of course he had one.
    My mouth went dry.
    “Here.” He handed me a red mug that was white on the inside. It had some business logo on the outside of it that was also white. But it meant nothing to me.
    “Thanks.” I turned away from him, feeling confused in my mind and wishing my body wasn’t jumping about excitedly in his presence. What was it about this guy that had me feeling this way? I’d never been like this before. I'd always been good with the opposite sex; always able to hold my own in a conversation whether I liked the guy not. But with André, I had this tightness in my chest when he was near, and I didn't know if it was telling me to run a mile or to run my tongue along that V of his.
    Hormones could be very confusing.
    “Your coffee is ready.”
    “Huh?” I was so busy in my head that I didn't quite hear him.
    “Your coffee. It’s ready,” he repeated, before making a face that was probably akin to an eye roll as he took the mug from my hands and poured the steaming liquid inside. “Here.” He handed me back the mug and pointed out the sugar, letting me know that the milk was in the fridge. It's as if he thought I was a complete airhead.
    Suddenly, I felt a flash of annoyance, and I angrily scooped in two spoons of sugar then stirred them through. “I’m not an idiot, you know. I’m just tired, and well, you’re not exactly the nicest person to be around.”
    He pulled out the milk and handed it to me. “Yeah, I’m such an asshole. I brought you some breakfast and poured you coffee.”
    “You seem to be forgetting the whole, grabbing me by the arm and throwing me out of the apartment then watching me get dressed part of our short time together.”
    I poured some milk into my coffee then handed the bottle back to him. He returned it to the fridge.
    “Last night was a misunderstanding, and I’m sorry if I was rough with you. And today, well, you left the door open...” He paused and his eyes traveled down my body. Everything in me tightened. What was this?
    “You still shouldn’t have looked.” I picked up my coffee and the bag with the pastries and went to the kitchen table. It was small, round and had only three chairs. Why three, I’m not entirely sure, but it looked like it came from a thrift store, so I hoped it would be something that we wouldn’t have to add to my house later.
    As I ate and drank, I was still aware of his eyes being on me. And it took all of my will to ignore it and focus on my food. Eventually, he moved away and picked up a couple of boxes from the stack in the living area.
    “Do you know how long we have before we need to be out of here?” he asked before he entered his room.
    I looked up, surprised. “You didn’t know you lost the apartment?”
    He gave me a small smile. “As I imagine you already know, your brother isn’t exactly the best communicator. Besides, I was in