Page 26 of The Enemy Plot

Of course, it could all be in my head. I am known for having a wild imagination, after all. Yet the way my heart raced and my skin tingled was very much real.

Deacon is far from my usual type, but there’s something about him I can’t shake. Something in the way he acts, something in his eyes that makes me wish I could read his life story.

But I’m not letting myself go there. I’ll settle for friendly—okay, flirty—interaction when it comes to my next-door neighbor. No need to complicate things further. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that I have theworst luck when it comes to love. And since he’s our neighbor, I’d hate to make things awkward.

Plus, he’s not the kind of guy who dates. I’m sure of it. But I don’t want to date him, so it’s all good.

When I step back into the bookstore, he’s not here, and a tiny part of me—the wrong part—is disappointed. Just as I’m pushing the door open, my phone rings, and my dad’s face flashes on the screen.

I accept the video call. “Salut, Papa,” I chirp, waving at Hayley, who’s helping a customer. I drop the store mail on the counter and walk upstairs. “Ça va?”

We chat for a while, and he tells me that his knee is getting slightly better. Then, he puts me on speaker, and Yvette, his wife, joins the conversation.

“Oh, by the way,” he says in French, “your brother told me you went on a date with a Shark! What’s wrong with you?”

I turn my head to roll my eyes so he can’t see me. “It was just one date, and I didn’t know he was a Shark. Don’t you and Maxime ever talk about something other than hockey?”

“Nope,” Yvette chimes in with a smile. “They don’t.”

“We talk about Alice too, don’t we?” My dad says to his wife, his gruff voice booming.

“Well, don’t worry, it won’t happen again. From now on, I’ll make sure to get their full resume before I let guys take me out.”

Yvette laughs, and my dad just shakes his head.

“Not that I really want to go on any more dates. Men suck big time.”

As the words leave my mouth, Deacon wanders into my mind with all his flannel shirts and that perpetual frown. I close my eyes, but it only gets worse. Now, he’s smiling like he did that one time, and just like that, the temperature shoots through the roof.

“Good,” my dad says, bringing me out of my trance. “You don’t need a man anyway.”

He’s right about that.Soright. But then, why is Deacon still starring in the silent movie that’s playing in my brain?

I clear my throat. “Um, right. Well, I have to go, but it was nice talking to you. I’ll call you in a couple of days, okay?”

“All right, honey. Talk to you soon.”

“Au revoir,Alice.” Yvette waves with a friendly smile, and I end the call.

I seriously need a distraction right now. The only problem? Every book I seem to listen to these days has only one male lead, and his name is Deacon Collier.

12

Invisible Bond

Alice

“Sorry you guys have to come with me,” Lola says, rolling her eyes as we approach the area of Central Park that’s cordoned off for the concert. “I can’t do anything by myself. Even on my birthday.”

Frankly, I don’t think Deacon’s boundaries are unreasonable. If I had kids, there would be absolutely no way I’d let them come to Central Park at night for a free concert. Even if there is security, it’s way too wild for a teenagecrowd.

After showing our bags to the security officers, we enter the concert area. It seems like the entire city is crammed into one tight space, which is probably the case. Thankfully, it’s not raining today, and it’s even warm—the perfect weather to start off Spring Break.

Lola keeps looking around, trying to find her friends. “I can’t even DM them because I don’t have social media. Or a phone.”

Emma winces. “Your uncle’s tough. I wouldn’t have lasted long under his care,” she jokes. “Though I probably wouldn’t have listened to him.”

“Emz!” I swat her arm. Last thing I need is for Emma to turn sweet Lola into some kind of rebel.

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