Page 16 of The Brothers Next Door

She brushed past me and into my apartment. “I hope you don’t mind me just dropping by like this. I assume you’re just getting home from work.” She eyed me up and down. “You look amazing in that uniform, by the way.”

Maybe she just had a cop fetish? The first time she’d seen me I was in uniform. But what was with the previous hostility? Maybe she was bi-polar? But damn, that kiss had been electric. As much as I wanted to kick her pretty, perhaps crazy, ass out of my apartment, she intrigued me. I’d let her stay for now, if for nothing else than to get information on her.

“How are you liking the building?” I asked, trying to dismiss the idea that this was an unorthodox situation. “You’re new here, right?”

She laughed, giving my arm a soft swat. “Yeah, you know that. Funny.”

I wasn’t trying to be. I was becoming more and more confused by the second. Why in the hell I ushered her further into the house and offered her to sit down was beyond me, but that was exactly what I did. I decided to blame it on my upbringing and how my mother always emphasized that hospitality and politeness, especially to women, wasn’t optional, but required.

“Would you like a beverage?”

She shrugged. “I’m actually parched, so that would be wonderful. I was just getting home from my first day back to work. When I noticed you arriving home as well, I figured I’d take a moment to say hi.” Exiting the living room, I quickly grabbed a couple of bottles of water from the fridge and returned with them, passing her one before taking a seat in the armchair across from the sofa.

“Where are you working?”

“Robbins, Mitchell and Associates.”

I had no idea what that was. I was very familiar with the law firms in the city, and to my knowledge, that wasn’t one of them. “I’m sorry, I’m unfamiliar with the name.”

Cocking her head to the side, she gave me a peculiar look, as if I were supposed to know. After a moment, she responded. “It’s an accounting firm. I’m a new accountant for that firm.”

“Ahhh, accountant. Interesting.”

She crossed one shapely leg over the other and shrugged. “The firm is much larger than the one I was working for in Bangor, but despite not having the small town feel, I think I’ll enjoy it there.”

“That’s good. So, you’re from Maine?”

Again, I received a look that was a cross of surprise and annoyance. “Yessss. I’m from New York, but moved there with my fiancé. When we broke up I came back. There was nothing for me there besides the job and considering he was also an accountant working at the firm, I really didn’t even have that.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that.” Hmm, so she had a broken heart and was starting over. Perhaps that helped explain some of her actions. She was settling in, trying not to think about her ex. Okay, I could get behind that theory.

“It was for the best.” She gave me a brilliant smile that displayed a set of perfectly straight teeth. “I didn’t realize how much I missed this city until I returned.”

Smiling, my gaze locked with hers. “I can relate. From time to time I think to myself that I should consider leaving New York and trying out a smaller town. But just when I make the decision to move, something always pulls me back in.”

My mind raced backwards in time to the day I met Gabriella Romeriz, the woman I had planned to spend the rest of my life with. It had been eight years ago, and I’d just joined the police force. She’d had me captivated from the moment I’d set eyes on her. I could still remember the way she laughed and the way she smelled. She was taken from me two years ago. She was shot in cold blood by some gang member who was robbing a convenience store. She was the first cop on the scene and was shot dead as soon as she set foot inside, with me trailing behind to witness the murder of the woman I loved. Just a week before we had planned to make the move from New York to California, where her family resided, to spend our lives together.

But that was history now.

“Are you okay?”

Snapping myself from my daze, it took me a moment to realize it was my neighbour staring at me with concern in her expression. Had I really been so out of it that it was cause for alarm? “I’m sorry, it’s been a long day and my shoulder is hurting like a bitch.”

“Why’s that?”

“I dislocated it the other day and…” I rolled my shoulders, moving my head from side to side, getting a soft cracking noise for my trouble. “It’s still tender.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. What happened?”

I chuckled. “I keep thinking I’m Superman, when I’m hardly better than Clark Kent.”

“I beg to differ.” She gave me a coy smile that confused me once more. First, she kissed me, and now she was putting out hardcore flirting vibes. There was no doubt she was flirting and had interest. Despite the odd occurrences, I was tempted to ask her out. What was wrong with getting to know your neighbour a little more, even if it was just as friends? So what if she was a little quirky, was that a crime? Maybe I was just too rigid. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d been accused of that. I hadn’t been out with a woman since Gabriella’s death—two years was a long time to go without intimate female contact.

While I pondered the pros and cons of making a move to ask her out to dinner, she rose from the sofa and smiled. “I have a long day tomorrow and am dying to get out of these heels, so it’s best I get home and maybe get some supper.”

“Sure, sure. It was nice of you to stop by.”

She walked over to the door and stopped with her hand on the door handle, turning back to me. “Listen, the boss hit with me a ton of work today and as I think on it, I might run a little late, so can we make it 7:30?”

Okay, she was going to go back to confusing the living fuck out of me. This was hands down one of the most bizarre occurrences I’d had for quite some time. “7:30 for what?”

She hesitated a moment, as if judging my response, and then laughed, her dark eyes gleaming with amusement. “Our date tomorrow night. Is 7:30 fine with you?”

A date? With her? Sure, the idea had crossed my mind for a split second, but was I really interested in dating the crazy cat lady? Granted, she was an extremely beautiful crazy cat lady with her dark, mysterious eyes and pouty lips. Then again, it had been two years and women were hardly beating down my door to go out with me, despite the fact my twin brother fucked at least two different women a week. I supposed he was only making up for his celibate brother.

Why the hell not? Smiling at her, I nodded. “7:30 sounds great to me, see you then.”

She returned my smile, took a step towards me, and gave me a quick kiss on the lips before twisting the door handle and exiting, giving me a little wave over her shoulder as she left. I stood there stunned, watching the door being closed in front of me, baffled at what had just transpired. I seriously didn’t need the aggravation of a woman in my life, but then again, I had become a hermit. Maybe I was wrong and a woman in my life was exactly what I needed. Nate’s motto was to fuck the blues away, and he seemed pretty fucking happy most of the time so perhaps I needed to take those words of wisdom seriously.

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