Page 41 of Sycamore Circle

It was five minutes to seven and Joy was calling herself ten kinds of a fool. She’d known better than to give Bo her address. He might be sweet and seem normal, but it wasn’t like she knew him all that well. He could be a master of manipulation too. After all, he’d been in prison. That was not an insignificant thing.

And now he knew where she lived.

Pacing her living room, she tried to pull herself together. She was overreacting. And it wasn’t like she lived in a mansion. It was just a three-bedroom ranch in the middle of a quiet cul-de-sac. Even her street’s name—Sycamore Circle—wasn’t anything special. Pretty generic and run-of-the-mill.

She didn’t have much worth stealing, anyway.

From the moment she’d gotten up she’d been going over a handful of scenarios in her head. Sometimes she would let Bo inside. In other ones, he didn’t show up at all. Then there was everything else in between.

So, she’d cleaned the entryway and kitchen, just in case he did come inside.

Her doorbell rang.

Taking a deep breath, Joy peeked through the window on the top of her door, saw Bo’s familiar face, and pulled open the door.

His gorgeous eyes fastened on hers a mere second before he smiled. “Morning.”

“Hi.”

“You get your girl off to school okay?”

“Yes. Her bus leaves early, but she’s a morning person. I’m glad I never have to fight with her much about getting out of bed.”

He grinned. “My momma would’ve enjoyed a day in your shoes. She’d wake me up and then have to wake me up again ten minutes later.”

“I’m glad Chloe doesn’t put me through that. She’s wonderful about getting up. Her only problem is that she leaves her stuff everywhere. I’m constantly tripping over various pairs of shoes.”

“I’m one of four. So my momma had her hands full. It’s a blessing that the others were easier to raise than I was.”

Noticing that one of her neighbors was walking by very slowly, and obviously taking in the fact that Joy was chatting with someone new right on her front door stoop, she stepped backward. “Would you like to come in for a second?” She could practically feel her conscience flip out. Hadn’t she just been telling herself that Bo could be a dangerous criminal?

“Sure.” He glanced out at the street before closing the door. When he faced her again, his expression looked a little less open. “You worried about someone seeing me here, Joy?”

There was a slight edge to his voice. She realized he thought she was embarrassed to be seen with him. “I’m trying to hold off the gossip about me having a man here.”

“No one’s used to you dating?”

“No.” She paused, wondering how to phrase the situation without making herself sound pathetic. “When Tony left four years ago, everyone was pretty shocked about our breakup. The gossip mill got busy, and everyone speculated about why he didn’t want to stay married to me. None of the ideas were very flattering.”

“Wait, your neighbors blamed you?”

Even more embarrassed, she shrugged. “It’s the normal route people go, right? I mean, if a man leaves a marriage, there had to be something he was missing.”

“Yeah, they do that... if they’re idiots. Joy, I’m telling you right now, whatever made your ex decide to lose his mind and leave you, it sure wasn’t your fault. You... you are real special. He was lucky to have you.”

His praise embarrassed her. “After you get to know me more, you might change your mind.” She made sure he knew she was joking, but there was a part of her that was serious too. Tony’s betrayal ran deep.

“I know you’re kidding, but I’m not. You’re worth sticking around for, Joy. I know it.”

Her whole body was turning to mush. It had been so long since she’d had a defender, she didn’t know how to handle it. “Let me get my purse and, um, a jacket. I’ll be right back.”

She hurried down the hall to her bedroom and pulled on a tan suede jacket. She admired her outfit in the mirror—fitted jeans, a loose white oxford shirt, the tan suede jacket, and some soft suede loafers. No doubt she looked like exactly who she was—a suburban mom who kept herself in reasonably good shape. She had put on two thin necklaces and three bangles. It made her feel a little more fancy, a little less like she was ready for the carpool lane.

When she returned to the entryway, Bo was standing near the front door texting something on his phone.

Why had she assumed that he’d want to wander all over her house, exploring for new pieces of her?

“I’m ready.”

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