Page 8 of Beautiful Crazy
Hanging up the call, I cross my arms over my chest, uncomfortably aware of the fact that under this very thin robe, I’m not wearing a bra. Or panties.
“You know,” I call out. “I’m going to start thinking you’re stalking me if we keep meeting up like this.”
“Yeah, but have you forgotten that you’re the one who approached me first at the pier?” he counters, a smug grin on his face. A pair of blue-and-white plaid pajama pants are slung low on his hips, the black t-shirt he’s wearing has little holes in the sleeve and on the hem like it’s well-worn, and his feet are bare as he pads across the grass toward my yard. “So, really, who is stalking who here?”
“My bet is still on you.” I can’t help but match the smile on his face. Something about being around him feels so carefree, it doesn’t make sense. I don’t even know him and have barely spoken to him. “Were you related to Rosie?” I ask, jutting my chin toward the house behind him.
He nods. “She was my grandma. Her passing is the reason I moved here. Did you know her well?”
“Well, she’s been my neighbor for the last several years, but everybody knew Rosie and loved her. She was a wonderful woman. I’m so sorry for your loss.” Resting my arm on the handrail, I take him in, in a new light. Now that I know they’re related, I can kind of see the resemblance. “I don’t know how I didn’t put two and two together. My brother told me that some of her family was supposed to be coming here, and then when we met at the beach, you’d said you were new in town.”
“You were blinded by my charm and wit, obviously.”
“You got me,” I tease, rolling my eyes. “That’s definitely it.”
It kind of is.
Everett’s eyes drift over my shoulder toward my front door, shoving his hands into his pockets before his gaze slices back to me. “So, neighbors, huh?”
My stomach dips, and I bite back a grin. “It would seem that way.”
With his dark hair and piercing blue eyes, Everett is a very handsome man. He’s got striking features, but the stubble lining the lower half of his face gives him more of a rugged look. I find myself, not for the first time, wondering what his story is.
“Do you always walk outside in your bathrobe?” he asks with the beginnings of a smirk. “Because if so, I don’t think I’ll have any problem being neighborly.”
Laughter bubbles past my lips. “No, I typically keep clothes on when I’m outside, but you caught me at a bad time.”
Brow arched, Everett drags his gaze down my body before landing on my face again. A bolt of heat rips through me at the way he so unabashedly checked me out. “I don’t know if bad is what I would call it.”
“My new neighbor is a pervert,” I tease, biting back a laugh. “Duly noted.”
“Hey.” He holds up his hands innocently. “You’re the one waltzing around in this state of undress. Who’s the real pervert here?”
I roll my eyes and drag my fingers through my hair that’s still damp from my shower earlier. “My apologies,” I murmur, meeting his gaze. “The neighbors across the street are all old and in bed by eight, and to my knowledge, nobody lived next to me. I thought I was in the clear.”
“No apologies needed.” He grins.
My stomach does a weird somersault as we gaze at one another for a moment, neither of us saying anything. “All right, well, as much fun as this has been,” I say, breaking the silence, “I should be getting inside. It’s late.”
“I look forward to seeing more of you,neighbor.”
His words are playful, and I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by them, but they send a spark of heat down my spine regardless, my heart pounding a little harder as I clear my throat.
“Yeah, you too,” I manage to spit out. “Good night, Everett.”
“Good night, Gemma.”
With one more longing glance, he turns and disappears back over to his property, and I hurry inside, letting out the breath I’d been holding as soon as the door is locked.
After I check on Sutton, I go back into my room andplug my laptop in, sitting with it on my lap in bed, fully intending on getting some work done. Except I get no work done. Instead, I sit there, pondering how the hell the cute guy from the pier, who has eyes as blue as the ocean and a smile that sends a swarm of butterflies around my belly, is now my new next-door neighbor.
What an interesting turn of events that is.
Five
Everett
Another thing I’m learning that I love about small towns… people’s willingness to go above and beyond to help you out or share their knowledge with you.