Page 24 of Noble Neighbor
“How’d you know it’s me?”
Sunny opened one eye and squinted, shrugging. “I just do.”
“I’m sorry for interrupting your … meditation?”
The other eye opened. She grinned. “I try so hard toempty my mind and concentrate on my breathing, but it’s a useless endeavor. Before I know it, I’ve replanned the kitchen, decided the wallpaper pattern, and figured on a dozen hens versus six.”
“Hens?”
“I grew up being terrorized by those crazed cluckers. Reckon my girls deserve the same.”
Born in Queens.
There wasn’t a lot of space in Queens for chickens. That sour feeling from earlier returned.Damn you, Beau.“You’ll need a rooster.”
Sunny squinted and chuckled. “City slicker. You only need a rooster if you want fertilized eggs. Then again, watching chickens hatch is cute and fun. Gah.” She exhaled and flopped back, straightening her legs. Her eyes closed again, and she folded her forearm across her face, shielding it from the bright sunlight. “Roosters are ornerier than hens.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle at her disgruntled tone. And tried not to think about the appealing picture she made spread out before him.
Vibrant, exuding life. Wholesome.
He changed the subject. “Aren’t you supposed toohmwhen you meditate?”
“You know something about meditation, Oliver?”
“My wife was a yoga fanatic.”
“Ah.” Sunny kept quiet for a beat. “I combine Pilates and yoga for the muscle strength and flexibility. Today … well, today’s the first day without workers in my spaceallday. I thought I’d give the yoga mind and soul part a try. Alas” — she let out a long, deep breath — “it didn’t work.”
She pushed to a sitting position, leaning back on her arms. “What brings you here today?” She squinted up at him. “Oh, for goodness sake, Oliver. Sit. You’re making my neck stiff.”
He sat. “I come bearing gifts,” he said, handing over the plastic container. “Dad’s latest kitchen experiment.”
Sunny raised the corner of the lid and sniffed. With a grunt, she ripped it off and snatched a square. Taking a decent-sized bite, she chewed for a moment before her eyes widened. “This is good. Really, really good,” she mumbled with her mouth full, a crumble falling to her chest. It balanced precariously on the edge of her left breast. Oliver stared, salivating, his imagination in overdrive.
Sunny moving under him, writhing, groaning, as his mouth closed over that same breast. He feasted, sucking and licking. Biting.
“Oliver?”
She whispered his name, her voice husky with desire—
“Oliver!”
His gaze flew to hers. He blinked, his vision of a nakedSunny driven away by her frowning countenance.
Oliver scrubbed a hand over his face. “Sorry,” he mumbled, “but when I’m around you …”
A soft sigh escaped, and Sunny turned her gaze away.
She hugged her knees to her chest, looking off into the distance. “I … I’ve been meaning to talk to you. About … that kiss.”
He figured where she was heading with the conversation. “Is this one of those ‘it’s me, not you’ moments.”
“I guess.”
He waited.
“Me … my girls … this is our first real home in a while. And we like it here, Oliver,” Sunny whispered. She twisted her neck to look at him. “You and I … we’re neighbors, the only properties in a dead-end lane. If we start something, and it goes wrong, it will mess things up for us, and I don’t want that. My girls deserve some peace, some stability.
