Moving in with Ryan Shay was never part of your plans. And it sure as hell wasn’t part of his. But Stevie had arranged everything, and now you were here, in his spotless apartment… or at least, it had been spotless before you arrived.

In just two hours, you had managed to turn it into a mess; open suitcases in the living room, clothes everywhere, a couple of glasses left on the counter, and your sneakers abandoned in the middle of the hallway. It wasn’t that you were a particularly messy person… okay, maybe a little, but compared to Ryan’s obsessive order, you were practically a tornado.

You wandered through the space, taking in every detail. Everything was perfectly aligned, not a speck of dust in sight. It looked like a damn showroom. Did he even sleep in that flawlessly made bed? Did he actually use the kitchen, or was it just for decoration? You were seriously starting to believe Ryan Shay wasn’t human.

And the worst part? He already had enough reasons to hate you.

The last time he saw you, you had been drunk, crying, and oh yeah vomiting on his shoes. The memory made you cringe so hard your soul nearly left your body. You hadn’t even seen his reaction that night. Stevie had dragged you away too fast, but you were sure of one thing: he had to think you were a complete disaster. And now, here you were, moving into his pristine, robot-like home.

You were mid-inspection when the sound of the front door clicking open froze you in place.

No. No way.

He was supposed to be out all night at an event. You had time to clean up before he saw the disaster you had created.

Slowly, you turned your head toward the entrance. There he was; tall, rigid posture, his ocean-blue eyes scanning the scene. His gaze swept over the open suitcases, the scattered clothes, the chaos… and then landed on you.

His voice was dry, flat, completely devoid of emotion.

"What. The hell?"

And just like that, you had your confirmation. He hated you.