Page 15 of Faking it with my Off Limits Neighbor

I also discovered that he’s bought a place in Cherryville and plans to start up a fine dining restaurant, which is likely the reason he’s currently donning a white apron over his jeans and t-shirt. A t-shirt that emphasizes his bulging biceps.

While he’s been busy cheffing, if that is even a word, I’ve had my own hands full. My business has really taken off in the last two years, which has been both a blessing and a curse. While I absolutely love my job, I have little time to do much else.

“Are you okay?” Troy asks through the window.

Clearly, I am anything but, and yet, I suppose there’s little else he can say. There’ll be no flying out of the driveway to avoid him this time, so I have no choice but to get out and speak with him.

He takes a step back when I open the door. I’m still seething, and by his wary expression as he gazes at me, my emotions are written all over my face.

“I hate this piece of junk,” I spit, slamming the door behind me.

“Want me to take a look?” he asks, gesturing to the hood.

I shake my head in frustration. “It doesn’t matter now. I’m going to miss my appointment. I’ll just have to reschedule.”

Troy gives me a long look; then, half-turning toward his driveway, he points to his dad’s truck. “Take the truck,” he says casually, as if offering a forty-thousand-dollar vehicle to a complete stranger is totally normal. Okay, not a complete stranger, but you know what I mean.

“No way!” I blurt, gaping in disbelief. “It’s your dad’s pride and joy.”

Troy shrugs. With a wry grin, he says, “And? It’s not like you don’t know how to drive.”

I throw him a look as he once more refers to my tearing out of the driveway last week. “That’s not the point. I’d be scared to death of anything happening to it.”

And I would, but the idea of driving Mr. Heaton’s truck is not the only thing that’s causing me discomfort. Even counting our conversation at the bar the other night, this is the longest I’ve been in Troy’s presence since he left. He still smells awesome. He always did. But more importantly, I can slowly feel my defenses slipping.

I haven’t exactly put up a barricade, but I’ve had plenty of conversations with myself about not getting hurt again since Troy’s return. But the matters of the heart are never that easy, are they?

“Well, then, how about I drive you?” he offers.

Absolutely not!

Being in such proximity to him for such a length of time is asking for trouble, and as panic washes over me, I overreact. “That’s even worse,” I shriek.

He smiles then. It’s a knowing smile, and the even more awkward thing about it is that I know what he’s thinking. Milly has already given me the lowdown on what Troy thought when I drove out of the driveway like my house was on fire. He has concluded that I want nothing to do with him. And he’s right.

Really?

Yes. I am certain that this is what I want.

Right.

Troy looks me dead in the eye. “How important is this appointment, Charlie? I mean, I’m assuming this is for work, and that you’re going to see a client,” he surmises, just a little too astutely for my liking.

“It’s worse than that. It’s a new client, and this first impression might blow the contract,” I huff. “But then, stuff happens, right? Cars break down all the time. Surely my client will understand that.”

I’m trying to convince myself more than anybody else.

“Right,” Troy agrees. His tone has all the conviction of a wet paper bag.

I look at him, and he lifts his eyebrows and shrugs, telling me it’s my choice. A choice between a rock and a hard place. If I go, I go with Troy. If I don’t, I might lose this client, and any other clientele that her reviews and conversations with her affluent friends might have landed me.

“Charlie,” Troy continues, “giving you a ride is not a big deal.”

Maybe not for him, but it is for me. I throw a hand at his apron, which already, even at this ungodly hour of the morning, has smudges of food across it. “You’re busy,” I say lamely.

Without hesitation, Troy rips the apron off and chucks it over the fence. “Not anymore,” he says with a huge grin.

I can’t help but laugh. And in that second, I know I’ve lost.

---