Page 1 of Temptress
1
SLOANE
My new neighbor was moving in today. The moving truck had shown up earlier, blocking half of my driveway, but I didn’t really mind. It wasn’t like I was going anywhere. They’d been unloading for a little over an hour, but so far, I hadn’t seen any sign of the person who would be replacing the elderly woman who’d lived there before, Lucille Kleiner.
I loved Lucille. She had lived next to me since I bought my house a few years back. She was a total badass. An old woman knocking on the door of ninety who had lived an extremely colorful life and loved to share stories with me when I visited once a week for Martini Hour. She’d still had a ton of get-up-and-go for a woman her age and had been in impeccable shape, but the fact of the matter was, she’d needed help when it came to some things, and an assisted living facility was just easier.
I visited her regularly, so I knew firsthand that her new place wasposh. It was more like a five-star resort for seniors in the foothills of small-town Virginia than a nursing home, and I wouldn’t have been surprised in the slightest if the place housed more than a few celebrities who wanted peace and quiet at that time in their lives.
I’d been sad when she informed me she was moving, but luckily, she was still close enough I could visit once a week for martinis and gossip. It had been a joy to live next to Lucille these past few years, so I could only hope that the people replacing her were half as nice.
I hadn’t been home any of the times they’d come to look at the house before and after the offer was made, and Lucille didn’t know anything about them beyond the fact they’d offered her asking price without trying to haggle over things such as repainting and other cosmetic touches, which was surprising. Lucille decorated how she lived, bold and loud. Each room of her house was painted a different eclectic color. There were no grays or beiges or neutral tones to be found, and I couldn’t image it working for anyone other than Lucille.
Apparently, they were eager to get moved in, something about the start of the school year coming up. I was excited to have a family next door and was looking forward to meeting them.
For the fifth time that morning, I peeked through the slats in my blinds, hoping to get a view of the new owners, when a large, black SUV with heavily tinted windows pulled into the driveway and came to a stop.
My lips pulled into a smile of anticipation as the passenger door was thrown open and a girl who I’d gauge to be in her early teens climbed out. She had long, straight hair that hung past her shoulders, the strands streaked with different shades from deep caramel to the palest blonde that you could tell was natural, a gift from the sun. She was dressed in cut-off shorts and a cropped tee that showed a figure that hadn’t quite matured yet. Our houses were close enough that I could make out her features well enough to see the girl was destined to be a looker. Even with the unhappy, pinched scowl marring her pretty face.
I was able to see the driver of that big SUV once he rounded the hood andOh. My. Sweet. Lord. Above. My new neighbor wasgorgeous. Tattoos of varying designs covered his arms starting at his wrist, up defined forearms corded with thick veins, and beyond rounded biceps before disappearing beneath his gray T-shirt that fit him well enough to show off a broad chest and shoulders. Perfectly worn jeans hugged tree-trunk thighs and a lean waist.
“Holy momma,” I breathed as I leaned close enough to fog the glass with my breath. I pulled back and wiped it clear with the side of my fist and studied the man as closely as the distance between our houses would allow.
His dark hair was clipped short on the sides, only an inch or so longer up top, a style designed for easy maintenance, but one that workedverywell on him. I couldn’t see his eyes due to the mirrored sunglasses, but I could tell he had sharp features and a strong, square jaw. And he looked equally as unhappy as the girl when the two of them met at the front of the SUV.
I could just make out his mouth moving as he said something to the girl, and from her body language, it looked like whatever it was only made her mood worse. With her back to me now, I couldn’t see her face to gauge her reaction, but she crossed her arms over her chest, cocked a hip, and threw one leg out. It was the classic pissed-chick stance.
She must have said something in return, because a moment later, the guy’s chest rose and fell on what looked like a huff before he braced his hands on his trim hips and dropped his head forward, giving it a shake.
The two of them were incredibly entertaining to watch. If my best friend, Asher, had been there just then, the two of us would have been imitating their voices and trying to make up what we thought they were saying.
Speaking of Asher, my cellphone started to ring. I pulled it out of my back pocket and looked down to see her name dancing across the screen.
I quickly swiped and brought the phone to my ear so I could get back to my peeping. “Hey. What’s up?”
“The new neighbors arrive yet?”
“Do you have ESP or something? I’m literally watching them this very second, andomigod, Ash! You should see this dude. He’s basically the stuff of every woman’s wet dream.”
She whistled through the line. “Snap pics. I want to see.”
“Hold on.” Ever the loyal friend, I held my phone up and zoomed in, then snapped pic after pic before shooting them off in a text. “Incoming.”
I went back to my stalking as I waited for her to open her text. Less than a minute later, she was back. “Damn, Sloane! You weren’t lying. That guy is hot enough to fry an egg on.”
I heard her boyfriend in the background say, “You know I’m standing right here, right?” he deadpanned. “Just want to make sure I didn’t become invisible in the past thirty seconds.”
“Ah, honey. You know there’s nothing for you to worry about. I’ve been yours since you rescued my drunk ass from that biker bar the day I ran out on my wedding.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. My bestie’s boyfriend wasn’t lacking when it came to looks either. And like my new neighbor, he too was covered in tattoos. Asher and I had that in common. We were both drawn to a man with ink. You wouldn’t have guessed given her ex-fiancé had been the picture of country club preppy. Fortunately, they jilted one another—long story—on their wedding day, opening the door for Asher to find her actual soul mate in the form of a sexy tattooed veterinarian.
I heard the sound of kissing through the line for a few seconds before Asher’s attention returned to me. “Who’s the girl in the picture?”
“I think that’s his daughter,” I answered. “Her back is to me now, but when she first got out, I could see her face and she looks young.”
“You see a wife or mom anywhere?”
My gaze occasionally darted back to the SUV to see if anyone else emerged, but it looked like it was only the two of them, and they appeared tostillbe arguing.