Page 21 of Falling for the Guy Next Door

I sighed with satisfaction. “Cuz it’s the only thing that quenches thirst in this kind of heat. That soda would only make me thirstier.”

“No way. There’s nothin’ like a cold can of cola to quench thirst.”

“Nah, Sid,” his friend Tony said. Tony was ten years younger, and had also been pounding nails since he was a teenager. “Nash is right. You need water on days like this. Especially with that whole diabetes thing going on inside that rusty old tin can of yours.”

I half-listened to the conversation as I pulled out my phone. For safety reasons we weren’t supposed to look at our phones until we were on break. Becky hadn’t called or texted, which was a relief. It meant things were going all right at home. There were a few texts from Bosco about switching up the song list and one from Ronnie about needing a lift to the gig Wednesday night, and there was a text from Layla. I opened it and stared down at the photo. Rocky was supposed to be the center of the picture, but I was far more interested in the woman standing next to him. She was leaning her head sweetly toward my big dog as he stretched up on the trunk of a tree apparently trying to reach a squirrel far above.

“Whooee, nice dog and nice gal.” I could smell Sid’s Italian sub as he breathed over my shoulder. “Is that your girl?”

“My neighbor. She’s walking my dog.”

“Now that is what I call a fine neighbor. Lucky you.” The bench wobbled as Sid and Tony got up to return to work. I had a few more minutes, so I considered texting her, then decided it was a long, hot day and hearing her voice would be a nice boost to get me through the rest of it. I was thrilled that she picked up on the first ring but reminded myself not to read too much into it.

“I did warn you about the squirrel obsession,” I said.

Layla’s laugh sounded amazing through the phone. “You did and I’m embarrassed to admit that I thought you were exaggerating. I wasn’t quite ready for his reaction, and he broke free. He raced to the tree and stopped there. I think we’d still be standing there if I hadn’t coaxed him along.”

“Believe me, you would be. Rocky has the attention span of a fly, but when it comes to squirrels, he’s like a grandmaster chess player just waiting for the squirrel’s next move.”

“Well, other than the squirrel incident, we had a wonderful walk.”

“I feel like I should pay you something for doing this.”

“No way. I’ve been wanting a dog for a long time, but we never had the time or space to give one a proper home. This is purely for my pleasure. You’re helping me fulfill a dream.”

“I think Rocky feels the same way. I’ve got to get back to work. I really appreciate this. Maybe I could take you to dinner sometime. It’s the least I can do.” She was quiet on the other side.Real smooth, Ledger. She just got done with one stalker, and there you are trying to trick your way into a date.

“You don’t need to do that,” she said finally. Her voice didn’t sound the same. “You know, it would be great if I could bring Emily over to meet you one day. I don’t want to intrude on your privacy, but she’s absolutely dying to meet you. It would mean a lot to her … and to me. I hope you don’t mind that I mentioned you lived next door. I wasn’t going to because, again, the privacy issue, but she’s my closest friend, and I couldn’t keep such an important secret from her.”

I was feeling a little gut-punched about her response. She was making it clear that she had no interest in anything beyond being a friendly neighbor. “Uh, yeah, no problem. We’ll work out a time so I can meet Emily.” I put my jug back in the truck and slammed the door shut harder than necessary. “Thanks again for walking Rocky.”

“My pleasure. See you later.” She hung up.

“Luckiest damn dog in the world,” I muttered as I headed back to the worksite.

ChapterThirteen

Layla

Isupposed I shouldn’t have been the least bit surprised when Emily showed up unexpectedly at my door. Her hair was neatly plaited into a French braid, and she was wearing a new shade of shiny red lipstick. I could smell her perfume long before she stepped inside.

“Oh, hey, I was bored, so I thought I’d drop by and see my very best friend in the whole world.” She plastered on a big smile.

I rolled my eyes. “Drop the act, Emi, I know you far too well to fall for it. Come inside. Ella and I are making some salads. Do you want one?”

“Salad, ew, no, you know I don’t likegreenfoods.” Emily patted her purse. “I brought my Moonstone CD collection for some autographs.”

I stopped and turned to her. “Emi, I told you I’d have to talk to him and set something up. We can’t just walk up to his door and knock. We’re not going to do that. It’s rude.”

She waved off my statements. I loved Emily, but sometimes she could be annoying. “I’ll just hang out. Maybe we’ll see him out on the beach. I mean, it’s a public beach, so anyone can walk along down there, including me.” She walked to the kitchen window, which gave the best view of the cove but only half of the sandy beach.

Ella smiled down at the chopping board as she sliced celery. “You’ll have to go out on the patio to see all of the beach below.”

I shot her a “gee, thanks” look, and she shrugged.

Emily swung away from the window. “She’s right. What was I thinking?” She glanced at the bowls of salad and wrinkled her nose. “Do you have anything cold to drink? Oh wait, never mind. I don’t want to mess up my lipstick. What do you think?” She’d told me about the bold shade of red she bought online.

“Very nice, but if you’re thirsty, I’m sure you could sip some tea gently.”

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