Page 20 of Falling for the Guy Next Door

“I meant the owner, the new neighbor. You said it was a man. What’s he like?”

It was my turn to pause.Just out with it, Layla.“Well, Emi, now try to absorb this information with dignity and decorum, all right?”

She laughed. “Uh, okay, Miss Big Vocab, I think I can handle that. What—is he some kind of serial killer or something?”

I scoffed. “Would I volunteer to walk a serial killer’s dog? For that matter, what would a serial killer be doing in a cozy cottage on the cove?”

“I don’t know—trying to blend in with the summer crowd?” She grunted. “All right we’re getting into one of our comedic, senseless debates. Obviously not a serial killer, so what’s the big deal? Why the warning?”

“It’s Nash Ledger,” I blurted it so fast I might have said Lash Nedger.

Emily clucked her tongue. “All right, I guess I’m not going to get the truth out of you because I only have fifteen minutes left on my break.”

“It’s the truth, Emi. I was waiting for the right time to tell you. I didn’t want to intrude on his privacy, so I didn’t say anything yesterday … when I found out it was him.” My voice trailed off because of the deafening silence coming through the phone. She was so quiet I could hear the muffled voices of customers in the shop. “Emi?”

“You’re telling me, your best friend of many years, the friend who held your hand as you sobbed at your grandmother’s funeral, in fact, the friend who sobbed right along with you, that you’ve been living twenty feet away from Nash Ledger, the man of my dreams, my future husband, and now you’re even out walking his dog? What else haven’t you told me? Let me hear it so I can feel the full weight of betrayal all in one shot.”

“See, this is why it was so hard to tell you because even though I had nothing to do with him moving in next door, I knew you’d blame me for it, like it was something I planned. And it’s more than twenty feet to Audrey’s door. It’s at least fifty feet. And you know how much I love you, Emi, and you were so supportive after Nonna died. That alone makes us sisters in spirit for the rest of our lives.”

“You’re deflecting. Fine. I know you didn’t plan this betrayal, but you should have told me. When can I meet him?”

I laughed. “Cool transition there from betrayal to how can I meet him. I’m not sure, Em. I don’t want to be that pushy neighbor, hey, come for a party, hey, let’s meet for coffee, hey, come meet my best friend, she’s nuts about you.” And then it hit me. I’d already told Nash that part. Emily sensed there was more to my sudden silence. She couldn’t read my mind like my sisters, but she could get pretty darn close.

“What aren’t you telling me?” She groaned sadly. “No, don’t tell me he’s married. How dare he? He never mentioned it on social media. He’s got all of us spending our days dreaming about him, and all this time he’s been married. Are there kids, too? Please don’t tell me there are two adorable twin toddlers who look just like Nash.”

“Whoa there, bestie. You’re spinning out of control. He’s not married and I’m walking his only child, and he looks nothing like Nash. However, he is just as adorable.”

“Phew. So there’s still hope.” Emily seemed to be talking more to herself than to me. “When can I meet him?” And there it was. My main worry coming to the surface.

“Let me see what I can do.” She squealed, but I talked through the squeal. “No promises, Emily. He’s a busy man, and like I said, I’m not going to be a nosy, pushy neighbor.”

“No, but you got yourself a pretty sweet dog walking job. Was it your suggestion?”

I blew out a puff of air. “It was.”

“Aha. So, you like him, too. I guess that puts me at a big disadvantage. For one, I’m not a beautiful, sparkly Lovely sister. I’m just a sidekick friend. And two, hmm, where was I going with two? Oh, that’s right. Proximity. You’ve got proximity on your side.”

“Are you done now, you crazy woman? I would never try for him, and I’ve got my two reasons, too. One, you love him, and so that puts an end to it because you are my best friend who held my hand and sobbed with me through Nonna’s funeral. Plus, you always gave me half of your Hostess Twinkie at lunch. Those aren’t the kinds of things I dismiss easily. Two, uh, you’re right, it’s hard to hold onto all the thoughts—that’s right, two—I offered to walk his dog because as you well know since we’ve been besties since your ketchup-mustard days, I’ve always wanted a dog to hang out with. And Rocky is super cool, dare I say even cooler than his owner.”

“Don’t see how that’s possible, but I suppose you’re right. I’m acting crazy. I’ve got to get back out on the floor before dragon lady snorts fire. We’ll talk about our plan to get me hitched to Nash Ledger later. And be careful with that dog. He certainly won’t fall in love with the best friend of the woman who lost his dog.”

“I’ll try my best. Bye.”

Before I pushed the phone into my pocket, I decided to send off the photo with Rocky standing at the tree. I wrote “there was a squirrel” under the picture and sent it to Nash, then I put the phone in my pocket. Rocky glanced back at me, and I was almost sure I spotted an eye roll. Apparently, he didn’t approve of me spending part of our quality time on the phone. “Sorry, you have my full attention now. Let’s forge ahead, pal.”

ChapterTwelve

Nash

“Hey, Ledger,” Brian, the foreman, cupped his hands around his mouth to call up to me, but since I was only two stories up it wasn’t necessary. He had a booming voice. “Take your afternoon break and remember to hydrate. It’s hot out here.” Also, not necessary since it was easy to notice the heat. Things had changed since I started working construction right after high school. Back then, we would have never gotten an afternoon break no matter the weather, and the word “hydrate” would never have left the foreman’s mouth. My first foreman was a guy with the nickname Tank, and it fit. I never even knew his real name, but I had a few good mental ones for him whenever he found it necessary to yell at me for doing something unavoidable like dropping nails or tracking dirt onto the plywood subfloor. Rain could have been pouring down on his crew in sheets, and he’d expect us to carry on. There were tons of accidents, but in those days most accidents were just pushed aside, and you were asked “Can you still work? If not, go home and don’t come back until you can lift a hammer.” One time I cut my thumb badly on a cardboard cutter. I wrapped an old rag around my hand and kept working because I didn’t want to lose the hours. I must have bled all over the damn site because by the time the workday ended the rag was soaked red. That would never fly nowadays. There were a lot more rules and regulations, and my eighteen-year-old self would have appreciated that.

I adjusted my tool belt and climbed down the ladder. My truck was in walking distance, and I had a jug of ice water and two bananas on the front seat. I walked toward it, opened the door and instantly regretted leaving bananas in a closed truck. It was too hot inside, so I grabbed the fruit and water and walked over to the picnic tables, where a few other workers were taking a break. I sat next to Sid, a guy who’d been working construction for thirty years and had the leathery skin to prove it. He’d been talking about retirement all day. Apparently, this was his last job and then he and the “lil’ missus” were moving to Florida, and it was going to be nothing but “golfing and piña coladas until they chuck me in a six-foot hole.”

“Hot today, eh?” Sid asked as he sipped a can of soda.

“Sure is.” He said the same thing every day as if there was some big change in weather that we’d all missed.

“How come you young kids only drink water?” he asked as I took a swig from my jug.

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