Page 95 of Neighbors With Benefits

Bash: Why? What’s the first?

Bash: Oh.

Bash: Yeah, definitely the second thing.

Teasing each other was fun… but I didn’t like that he was going to be gone at least a week. And it might even get extended to two weeks. Between his trip and Aiden’s, I felt like a girl who had gotten a new bike for Christmas but was told she couldn’t play with it until summer.

I slept in on Saturday, savoring one of my days off. As a manager at Top Golf, I would occasionally need to work weekends. Especially if things broke, or someone called in sick, or anything else went wrong. But so far, I’d been lucky and hadn’t had any weekend emergencies.

But this morning, an hour before my alarm went off, I was woken by a noise outside. Normally I would ignore it, but it sounded like it was coming from mybackyard.

I jumped out of bed. The noise sounded again, and it was definitely in my back yard. And since it couldn’t be Bash or Aiden…

I tip-toed through the house, stopping in the kitchen to grab a knife. Not that I had any experience in self-defense, but at least it gave me the illusion of control. The noise outside continued, growing louder as I reached my back door. I slowly took hold of the cord that controlled the blinds, then yanked it down.

I had a sprawling view of my entire yard, from the fence bordering one neighbor’s yard to the one I shared with Aiden and Bash. A man was facing away from me, bent over, collecting a pile of metal framing in his arms.

Thief!

With more courage than sense, I threw open the door and gestured with my knife, shouting, “Stop right there or I’ll call the cops!”

The man froze, letting go of the framework. He stood up, then slowly turned around to face me.

I groaned. “Dante?”

34

Jazz

I stared at Dante in confusion, and because he lookedgood. He was wearing work jeans and boots, and there was a toolbox on the ground next to him. His arms bulged out of his white cotton tank top, the tattoos shining in the stark morning light.

Dante smirked at me. “Good morning to you, too.”

I gave myself a shake. “What are you doing here?”

“Doing you a favor.” He gestured at the greenhouse. “Is that a good enough excuse, or are you going to aim that knife at me all day?”

Feeling foolish, I lowered the knife. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to threaten you.”

“Threaten me?” Dante snorted. “Sweetheart, I’ve had worse pointed at me.”

“Don’t call me sweetheart,” I said, feeling a rush of annoyance.

He ignored my request. “I’ve planned out everything that needs to be repaired. The metal framework has to be done first—it’s damaged in three areas. Then we can work on the glass. I figure we can finish it by Wednesday.”

Now I feltreallyfoolish. “That’s… that’s nice of you, but Bash said he would help me when he gets back into town.”

“Bash is a pretty face,” Dante said, “but he couldn’t weld two chunks of steel together if his life depended on it. I’m the one helping you.”

“Thanks—” I started to say.

Dante held up two fingers. “I have two conditions.”

Goosebumps prickled my skin. What was he going to ask me? Had he changed his mind about the agreement with Aiden and Bash? Was heinterestedin me now?

“One, I want to store some of my plants in the greenhouse. Half the space is mine.”

“I don’t have a lot of plants,” I replied. “So that’s fine.”

---