Page 5 of Throne of Secrets

Star crossed her arms and winced. “Yeah, sorry. It’s almost like my curse protects me and preys on others.”

She wasn’t wrong. Ethan just shook his head, grinning. “I’d say it’s funny, but it’s really not.” She could’ve broken her leg or her neck. He rolled his eyes. Orhisleg or neck.

“Thank you for coming to my rescue,” Star said, patting his arm.

Ethan gave her a look. “You know, I could help you with some of this stuff.” He offered every time he had the opportunity. It would mean more time with her, and as dangerous as that sounded, it was something he wanted.

Star sighed dramatically. “Ethan, we’ve talked about this. I’m doing this myself. I get instructions from the people at the hardware store. I watch YouTube videos. I’m in a Facebook group with other women who do home repairs. I have my research and all the answers I need.”

Ethan folded his arms. “Right. And yet, you still fell off the roof.”

Star grinned, unbothered. “You know, this reminds me of the time I got stuck behind the dryer?—”

Ethan groaned. “Star.”

“—and you had to come over and rescue me.”

Ethan sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “Yes. I remember.”

She poked his arm playfully. “So, see? It’s good you live next door.”

Ethan turned back toward his house where Thor waited patiently beside the fence, watching with the tired expression of a dog who’d seen way too much.

As Ethan walked away, he decided to go for it. “Do you want to have dinner this week?”

Star brightened. “How about I cook for you? Your kitchen?”

Ethan cocked his head.Wait, what?“Why can’t you cook in your kitchen?”

Star sighed, hands on hips, nose scrunched. “I think the wiring is bad. It popped and fizzed and sparked, so I turned everything off.”

Ethan froze. “Star.”

“It’s fine!” she said quickly. “I have three electricians coming to give me quotes on fixing it this week. I’ll just eat out until then.”

Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do you want me to check the wiring?”

Star waved him off. “Nope! Uncle Nico left me enough money to restore the house, so I’m getting it fixed properly.”

Ethan still didn’t love the idea of her kitchen actively catching fire, but he forced himself to let it slide.

Star started jogging toward her back door. “I’ll see you Saturday night. You can’t back out. You asked, remember? I hope you like pasta. I make a really good sauce.”

Ethan laughed and held up a hand in farewell. Then, as she disappeared inside, he shook his head with a grin. That whirlwind of a person was his neighbor.

She was beautiful.

She was hilarious.

And she was a disaster.

CHAPTER2

Star shut the back door behind her and immediately dropped onto her butt, planting her face in her hands with a loud, defeated groan. “How in the world do I always manage to do the most mortifying things in front of that man?”

It was a mystery she doubted even the brightest minds of the century could solve. Yes, she was a klutz. That much was well-established. But it wasn’t just the standard clumsy level. Nope, the weirdest things in the universe happened to her. And somehow, lately, those spectacular, logic-defying mishapsalwaysoccurred in the presence of Ethan Wolf.

Ethan, with his muscles-on-top-of-muscles, his ridiculously tall, chiseled physique, and that damn strawberry-blond hair that looked like spun gold when the sun hit it just right. And those blue eyes—she swore they were a shade no human should possess. They made herlady parts tingle, and his easy smile, the one laced with kindness, was just unfair. Completely unfair. Like slathering extra frosting on an already decadent Ethan Wolf cake.

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