Page 3 of Resisting Temptation

Brody’s lips turn up at the side, enjoying my pain. “Maybe you should do something neighborly and bake him a pie.” He chuckles again, his stupid laugh crawling under my skin. This is not funny.

Gisele hits him for laughing at my expense. “Brody,” she chastises, trying to call him into line, but the asshole is having too much fun.

I don’t stick around for their amusement. With anger and adrenaline coursing through me, I can’t stop my legs from moving of their own accord. I march right out the front door and over to his yard, crossing my arms tightly over my chest as I stare him down. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I yell at him.

He approaches with a charming grin, his dimples deepening as his eyes crinkle at the corners, a sight that makes my heart skip a beat irrationally. “Carrying a box,” he says like the smartass he is. But he knows what I’m talking about.

“No, you’re not. You put that box right back into that truck and you drive it back to Jacksonville. You don’t live in Deception Bay,” I demand with a determined stomp of my foot. I will not have him live next door to me. Not now, not ever.

He teeters the box on his hip, rummaging in his pocket, then hands me a piece of paper. “You’ll have to excuse me, baby, these guys charge by the hour, so I better not keep ‘em waiting. But that there paper should tell you all you need to know.” He winks sexily and then moves toward the house.

Panic races through me. What is he going on about? I glance at the paper. It’s a sales contract between the estate of Edna Harrington and him. My heart hammers, out of control. “You bought the place?” I cry, almost hysterical. “You can’t live next to me.”

He lifts a cheeky brow and gives me that look, the one he knows melts panties. “That seems like a you problem. ‘Cause today we become neighbors, Paisley.” He vanishes into his new residence while I’m left seething in his front yard, breaking into a cold sweat.

My head spins, and it could be the mammoth hangover from last night, but something tells me it’s not. I’m dizzy, knowing Noah is going to be so close to me, his potent aftershave will be wafting my way every damn morning, followed by his cheeky, smug expression smirking back at me from his front porch.

Oh my God, I can’t live next to him, I’ll go insane.

My hands tremble at the thought. I try to calm my ragged breathing, but my chest heaves, and I can’t. This is bad, so damn bad.

Doesn’t he realize the pain he caused me when he left? The summer we spent together, he turned my world upside down in the best way possible. Then he was just gone, leaving me with a broken heart and no way of recovering. He can’t do this to me now when it finally feels like I’m moving on with my life.

Nervously I climb the front porch stairs of my townhouse, passing my friends who must have stepped out onto the porch to watch the show. This is all so funny for them, Paisley and her dramas. I have the whole town talking about me and my man trouble. Fucking Mrs. Rashford is probably spying from across the street as we speak. I don’t look back, I can’t. What I need right now is another coffee to shake this nervous energy. I find my mug and fill it right to the top. Sipping furiously, my body coiled so tight with frustration, I feel like something’s about to snap.

The tension has been building up between me and Noah for weeks. I’ve noticed the way he watches me when I’m working at the hotel or out at McAllister’s with our crew. And that whole time he knew he was about to move in beside me. I bet stupid Brody knew as well. They were all probably placing bets about how I would react.

Mae and Gisele join me inside, approaching me with caution. “Don’t worry about Noah, you have a busy life. I’m sure the twoof you won’t even bump into each other all that often,” Mae offers, always the optimist.

I suck in a deep breath, trying to get my emotions under control. “Ha, yeah, why would we when they practically built these places on top of each other.” I sigh, aware that we could overhear our neighbors’ screaming matches, followed by their make-up sessions, through those thin walls. The girls know that every bit as much as I do.

Gisele’s hand settles on my shoulder as she searches my face. “Sweetie, why do you hate him so much anyway? He’s so carefree and fun. I find it hard to imagine anyone could really not get along with him,” Gisele offers, her kind eyes meeting mine, telling me she’s here for me if I need it as she rubs comforting circles round my back to try and calm me down.

I stare back at her, not ready to talk about what happened between us. It might have been years ago, but it still feels fresh to me. “Yeah, well, I do. And this isn’t a story I want to share.”

She smirks, not believing me. “You tell us everything.”

“Not this.” I glare back at them, anger coursing through my veins making me feel out of control. I hate feeling like this, all this pent-up energy and nowhere to put it, because he won’t listen to me anyway. He just walked off with the smug-as-shit grin. I’m annoyed all over again just picturing it.

“Okay, well, just know the two of us are here for you if you need to talk about it,” Mae offers, glancing at Gisele for help.

I nod, hearing her but not able to process what she’s saying through my anger. I just focus on the warmth of the mug in my hands as I sip my coffee, the rich aroma filling my senses. I would like to say bringing me back to life, but right now, I don’t think even coffee is that magic.

“What were you so desperate to tell us this morning that you had to barge in on me and Brody in bed?” Gisele changes the subject.

I shake my head, remembering my horrid night. When I let myself into her bedroom this morning, waking up in Jake’s bed felt like the worst possible thing that could happen to me today. How wrong was I. “Oh my God, you two, I can’t even. You know how I had that date last night, the guy off Tinder?”

They nod, encouraging me to go on.

I burst out laughing, remembering how bad it was. “It was a disaster. He was all touchy-feely right from the get-go but not in like a good way, when the chemistry is so good you can’t keep your hands off each other. In a creepy why-are-you-touching-me way. The whole time we ate, he groaned on and on about himself. I couldn’t even get a word in, and you know me, I like to talk. But not with this guy. It was all about him. After dinner, we had a drink at the bar, just the one, and he wasn’t taking my subtle hints ofI’m not into you, so back off. Instead, he was trying anything he could to get his hands on me. So, I told him I had to go because I needed to get up early for work. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. But as I got to my car, he was right there with me, asking for a second chance. He said he was just nervous. I kind of felt bad, so I rolled down my window to talk to him, and he tried to kiss me. Like leaning into my car, his lips all puckered up.”

Mae covers her chest with her hand. “Oh my, he didn’t.” She gasps as she starts to giggle.

I nod, not able to help the laugh that escapes me. “He did. It was so awkward. But the worst part was I started winding up the window, hoping he would get the hint and back off, but he didn’t move and started getting stuck. Oh my God, you guys, it was a whole thing. I still can’t believe it.” I crack up, realizing the funny side of it now. “I got out of there quickly and ended up at McAllister’s hanging with Jake at the bar for the rest of the night.”

“If your date was so bad, where did you stay last night?” Gisele asks, confused.

Both of their eyes go wide. “Did you and Jake finally…” Mae gasps, her eyes wide with shock, a hand flying to her mouth.

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