“No,” she grunts in return, yanking at the post with all her might trying to free it from my grasp.
It’s a dick move, I admit it, but I release my hold just as she pulls with all her might.
The move is classic as she falls backward, landing with a thump on her ass as she hits the ground. I’d almost feel bad about the fact that the board she had been gripping smacks her in the head, but as she screams out “Asshole!” loud enough to wake the rest of our neighbors, I can’t help but grin as I watch her stand and wipe the dirt off her shorts.
She’s a feisty little thing.
“You may want to reconsider tearing down my fence. I wouldn’t want my assholishness to seep over to your side.”
The woman rips her sunglasses from her face and tosses them to the ground as she comes to stand against her side of the fence. I imagine if the wood wasn’t between us that she would be poking me in the chest with one of her glove covered fingers. She looks up at me, and I realize how pretty she really is. I hadn’t noticed it too much the other night when I needed her to move her car. She has big brown doe-eyes surrounded by naturally long dark lashes. I bet she’s never needed to wear mascara like most of the women I know. And her nose has a subtle upturn. But her lips. . .God, those lips are things men dream about. Not too small or too large. They pucker perfectly as she sneers up at me and then I remember, again, why I’m furious. This woman is making me lose my train of thought, and that does not sit well with me. The last time I couldn’t keep my head on straight I almost lost everything.
“Look here. . .”
“Jackson,” I add for her benefit.
“Jackson. My kids have been through hell the past two months, and all they’ve asked for is a playset. So whether you like it or not, my kids are getting a f*cking playset today. I don’t care if you strap yourself to the fence, I’ll just remove you with it.”
I almost feel sorry for her. . .almost. But as she gazes at me with disgust, not the lustful looks I’m used to, I narrow my eyes down toward her.
“Good luck trying, sweetheart. For every board you tear down, I’ll just put one up.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No, just a statement.”
She opens her mouth to bite at me once more but then a crash sounds from inside her house, and I watch through the sliding glass door as two small kids, the ones I remember from the other day, work to pick up a chair that has fallen over.
Without a second glance, the woman drops her hammer on the ground and turns to walk away.
“Nice doing business with you, neighbor!” I call out as she reaches her deck.
She doesn’t turn around, but she holds up a distinctive finger telling me what she really thinks about me.
“It’s Elle, and this conversation isn’t over.”
Her name floats in my head, and I decide that I like it. It suits her.
“Oh,” she calls out, the top of her body peaking out the door. “I need to go to the store, so move your car.”
I don’t get a chance to reply as she slams her door. I’ve won this round, so I go back to the driveway and park my car on the street.
See? I can play fair.
I sleep for a few hours as I try to catch up from the lack of shut-eye from having to work at my two businesses for the last few days. The landscaping hobby that has turned into a pretty lucrative business for me, my brother, and cousin the past few years is doing better than any of us had expected. I almost consider offering our services to Elle, but then I remember that it’s been less than a week and she’s already driving me crazy.
A loud grumble sounds in my bedroom, and I pat my flat stomach knowing that I haven’t eaten since dinner last night. And most of that was burnt off in my office by one of the gym bunnies. Helga I think her name was. She was a trial member that came in with her friend Sylvie, whom I also know intimately.
From my naked state, I tug on a pair of clean gym shorts and make my way to the kitchen. I open one of the upper cabinets to grab a protein bar, and I do a double take as I look outside. A group of five overly muscled men stand in Elle’s yard putting together a wooden playset, the fence long forgotten.
The protein bar dangles from my mouth as I step out onto my deck and scratch my head at the turn of events. One muscled man I probably could have set straight, but five? There is no way in hell I’d take that chance.
The sliding door opens, and it draws my attention as Elle walks out carrying a pitcher of lemonade. Her clothing from earlier is long forgotten, and instead, she wears a tight fitted black tank top and her cut off denim shorts. With her curves on display, I may actually need to go steal that pitcher of lemonade and drown myself in it.
She turns her head to glance over her shoulder, laughing at something the man behind her says. The square-jawed, heavily tattooed man has one hand pressed to Elle’s lower back while another holds a stack of plastic cups.
An irrational surge of jealousy rushes through me, fueling my foolish anger toward my new neighbor.
As if she can sense me close by, her head turns in my direction and her smile morphs into a frown. It would almost hurt my feelings if I weren’t infuriated by my lack of fencing and the man standing against her back.
“Where’s my fence?” I shout across the yard, and all of the men halt their movements. Hammers and drills stop as all eyes turn to me.
Elle shoves her pitcher into the man’s chest which he grabs reluctantly, his eyes piercing me and promising a world of hurt. Her steps are strong and steady as she approaches and for a moment I can feel my co*ck becoming aroused at the passionate look in her eyes.
She walks up the deck stairs and stops when she is no more than an inch from me. I can see a hint of sweat on her hairline, but as a light breeze drifts across our bodies, her scent fills my lungs, a mixture of vanilla, flowers, and sweat. The pulsing in my co*ck increases and I have to fight the erection forming in my shorts. I’m regretting I didn’t tug on a pair of boxer briefs.
“Your fence? It’s been picked up and tossed in the trash.”
“What?”
“You heard me. And now my kids get something fun to help them transition a little easier,” she adds, her pointer finger dabbing into my chest.
I stare at her a little perplexed and a whole lot turned on as smoke practically oozes from her ears. I don’t know why this woman is so hell-bent on spoiling her kids. My mom always made it a point to teach my brother and I that you had to work hard for what you want. It seems like her and her husband are going to be raising the next spoiled generation.
From over Elle’s shoulder, I watch the heavily tattooed man turn his head toward another female, the knockout blonde that I had noticed earlier in the week, as she takes the lemonade from his grasp. He drops his arms and turns toward the woman before making his way over to the playset to lift one of the two-by-fours up in the air.
Meaty showoff.
“No response?” she asks as she looks up at me with her big brown eyes, instantly bringing me back to the issue at hand.
“What?”
“I’m concerned. You started staring off into space, and I figured you’d have some sort of argument to continue.”
She turns her head to glance over her shoulder, giving me an amazing glimpse of her sleek neck which I want to both strangle and suck on. Goddammit. As she turns back to me, her eyes light up with a mix of mischief and something else I can’t really place. It vaguely resembles despair. But it’s that twinkle in her eye that causes my alarm.
“I didn’t peg you as one for the eye candy.” She smirks as she steps to the side, opening my gaze to the handful of guys finishing up the playset.
“Eye candy?” I ask, confused until her meaning crashes over me. “You think that I like men?”
“I mean, why not? It’s a good looking bunch. Can’t say that I blame you.”
My arm reaches out on its own accord and my hand latches onto her upper arm. I tug her and she twists back to face me, amusem*nt s
plashed across her features.
“Elle, I’m not into men. I very much am a fan of the female body,” I begin, and I feel a sense of triumph as her already heated skin from the sun blushes at my words. “Your muscled up husband was giving me the stink eye, that’s all.”
Her brows pinch closer together as her lips pucker. “I’m not married. Well, not any longer.”
“Your boyfriend then.”
“No boyfriend. Just my friend’s brother and his friends.”
For some reason, that revelation should make me feel better, but instead, it makes me more angered. What happened to leave this woman to fend for herself and her kids? Now that I know more of her story I really need to focus on distancing myself from her.
“Well, it seems that you have enough manpower to move that playset to another part of the yard and to rebuild my fence. I suggest you get started soon, otherwise you’ll be working in the dark.”
With new resolve, I spin on my heel and exit back through my sliding door, promptly locking it behind me. There is no telling if she is the type of person to follow me into my own home just to give me a piece of her mind. As I turn away from the glass, she pounds on it with the back of her fist shouting out a few names and choice words, but I continue back to my kitchen where I grab a bottle of beer and pop the top before making my way over to the couch.
My reprieve doesn’t last long because one of our landscapers calls out of work sick and I need to find a replacement. A knock sounds on my front door. I slam my bottle so hard on my end table that I’m surprised the glass doesn’t shatter.
With my hand gripping the doorknob, I wrench it open quickly while murmuring under my breath about missing a hockey game I had recorded.
“What do you want now?” I spew to who I thought was my neighbor, only to find my brother on the other side; my brother and his border collie.
“Well, isn’t that quite a greeting?” He steps past me into my house, his dog Bailey following closely behind.
“I thought you were someone else,” I say to my older brother, watching him swipe my newly opened beer and take a sip.
“Who did you think I was? Thanks for the beer, by the way.” If it were anyone else, I would be snatching that beer right out of Cooper’s grasp, but unlike many siblings, my brother and I get along extremely well, and I know that he works his ass off as a state police officer. We’re only fifteen months apart, our parents wanting to have children close in age. A lot of people mistake us for twins because of our similar faces and builds, only our hair color differs.
“My new neighbor. In the span of five days, she’s figured out how to drive me crazy and tear apart my yard.”
He co*cks his eyebrow, the same expression I have as Bailey hops up onto my couch and makes herself at home. Cooper notices and swats her gently on the behind to get her off. She makes a face as she lands on the rug and then walks around in a few circles to find her perfect spot.
“What do you mean?” He takes another sip of the drink and then walks over to the back door to peer outside. Without another word, he whistles in a low tone as he takes in the group gathered around the wooden playset bordering my yard.
I rest with my back against the countertop as he takes in the group, my attention locked on the refrigerator across from me.
“Your fence is gone,” he states as if I hadn’t just told him.
“No sh*t.”
“At least you have a better view now,” he mumbles under his breath. “Damn, you have all the luck.”
What?
“All the luck?” I ask as I turn to look out the window where the men are grabbing all their tools, and the blonde is resting against one of the posts holding up a clubhouse attached to the playset. “No, not that one. That’s just the friend. Satan’s daughter is the brunette mess in the black shirt,” I point out just as she comes around the corner of the clubhouse and begins climbing the wooden ladder. Her lean legs have Cooper and I, and the rest of the men outside, mesmerized as she climbs each rung. She gets to the top and jumps up and down with her arms raised high in victory, but I guess that she is secretly testing her weight to make sure that it’s safe for her kids. And isn’t that just the weirdest thought to have? I hate kids. I purposely don’t offer a daycare at my gym to keep the rugrats out.
“Well, if Satan’s daughter looks like that she can come destroy my life anytime.”
I chuckle and then move back to the living room with a new beer that I snagged from the fridge along the way.
“I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.”
“Dude, it can’t be that bad. You haven’t even been here the past few days.”
“Exactly. She’s already irritating me and I’m not even home!” I exclaim as I take a vigorous sip of my beer.
Cooper takes a seat on the couch and shakes his head with a half grin tilting the corner of his lips.
“What?” I ask, taking in his expression.
“Nothing. It just seems like you have the prime opportunity to scope out the resident hottie before anyone else.”
“How’d you know she is single? I just found out about ten minutes ago.”
Cooper shrugs his shoulders. “I looked for a glare on her finger. No wedding band.”
Huh. Why didn’t I think to do that?
I stew for a few minutes as Cooper takes hold of my television remote and turns on a sports channel.
“Oh,” he adds. “I have night shift for the week. Do you think you can take Bailey for a few days?”
His mutt looks up at me at the mention of her name, and I swear she rolls her eyes and licks her lips. Bailey notoriously steals my clean boxers from my dresser. Even when I place them in the top drawer that sits about four feet high, she figures out a way to get inside.
But my brother works his ass off so I don’t mind watching Bailey, though it may be slightly more difficult without a fully fenced in yard. But I wouldn’t mind seeing Elle step in Bailey’s dog poop if she happens to venture over that way.
“What has you smiling like the Grinch?” my brother asks.
“Oh, nothing,” I lie. “I’d be happy to watch Bailey. But I’m going to need a favor from you before you leave tonight.”
“What kind of favor?” he asks skeptically, and he has every right to be wary.
If Elle had the fence that separated our yard tossed out, then I’m going to make sure there is some sort of barrier keeping her from my space. It may also require a trip to a Home Goods store.
Chapter Three – Elle
Sun blanches the skin on my face as it peers through the sheer curtains draped on the windows in the small bedroom. Guess I’ll be purchasing some room darkening curtains soon. My old home had beautiful indoor shutters custom-made for all the windows. Shutters that my ex-friend is now enjoying. Knowing her, she has probably torn them down and hung up a hemp-based blanket in its place.
I hear the pitter-patter of footsteps as they scurry down the hall from their bedrooms and I shake my head to rid my thoughts of my previous life. Raising my arms above my head, I press my palms against my headboard and point my toes as I stretch out my body, my muscles sore from the work I put them through yesterday. Today is my last day to relax before I go back to working on my online baking orders.
A chuckle builds in my stomach as I recall the look on Jackson’s face as he stepped outside and noticed the playset for my kids. It’s as if he never actually expected me to continue to rip out the fence he placed on my property. Whelp, like so many other men before him, I was bound and determined to prove him wrong. Even if that meant enlisting the help of Sara’s brother and his gym-rat friends.
I toss my covers aside, the white down comforter falling against the empty portion on my queen-size bed, and I grab my robe off the chair I placed in the corner. Peeking out from my door I listen closely, and as I hear a few giggles, I try to interpret their meaning. See, my kids have two types of laughs. One is the laugh which means they're genuinely enjoying something. The second and
most dangerous laugh is the one that has a sneaky undertone because they’re doing something they know they shouldn’t be.
And, just like the rest of my life, it’s that second laugh that reaches my ears, and I know that I’m in for a nightmare. I follow their giggles to the kitchen and hold back a screech when I find Kennedy standing on a stool reaching into the refrigerator and Noah pulling out all of my baking ingredients. Neither would be so bad if they both hadn’t pulled out their Play-Doh cooking sets and strewn them across the floor.
With my arms crossed against my chest I move into the kitchen, making sure to strategically step over the wet balls of dough on the floor, and stand before my kids. They look up at me and blink once, and then twice, before slowly downcasting their gazes.
“What are you two doing?” I ask, trying to keep a level tone in my voice but probably failing.
“We were trying to make you breakfast,” Kennedy insists as she moves down from the stool and over to where Noah stands.
“I appreciate that, but there is no need for this mess. What were you planning on making?” I bend down to scoop up the bags of flour and sugar before the water spilling from an overturned bowl seeps into the bags.
“Pancakes?” Noah asks as a question instantly giving away the kids’ intentions.
Crouching in front of them, I look at their sad faces and remember that all of this is new to them as much as it is to me, and if they were simply trying to make me feel better, then I should give them the benefit of the doubt. Reaching my arms outward, I stretch them wide to accommodate their little bodies and tug them close. As sh*tty as my life has been the past few months, nothing can compare to the two children I have before me. In all of their sweetness and innocence, they inspire me to wake each morning with whatever bit of hope I can scrounge up.
“That was sweet of you guys to think of me. Next time, why don’t we wait until I’m awake and I’ll make pancakes, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy,” Noah and Kennedy reply as I squeeze them a little tighter, letting their sweet baby scent fill my lungs.
