Page 24 of Finding Home
Now I’m fucking pissed.
She’s not supposed to be this beautiful.
From the nights I’ve watched her letting her dog out from a distance and the time I drove past her in the truck, I never once got the view I do right now.
Her hair is a natural blend of light brown and blonde that falls just above her shoulders, with subtle highlights that I bet catch the sunlight when she stands in it. She has some of it pulled back in a petite bun on top of her head, pulling the hair away from her face to allow me a good look. The tiny bun makes her look young, but…fuck. Absolutely breathtaking. It’s hard to distinguish her eye color from the setting sun, but if I had to guess, they’re amber.
The color of my favorite whiskey.
With long lashes fluttering around them.
She’s smiling at me. Jesus Christ, she’s smiling.
I take a moment to scan her from head to toe. That’s when I notice she’s wearing a dress. What is with this woman and her dress clothes? It’s a deep maroon, long sleeve to match the weather for the night and stops just above her ankles, showing off a pair of boots with a low heel.
My eyes trail back up her body, and I notice her hand extended to greet me.
“I’m Blair. It’s nice to meet my neighbor finally,” she says softly.
Looking at her hand and back up to her, I have nothing to say. The soft smile on her lips falls at the same time her arm drops to her side when she realizes I’m not shaking her hand in return.
She’s rendered me speechless, and I want to scream because of it.
The last time I saw someone the way I see her right now, she left.
She walked out of my life and this town like it meant nothing to her. Not that this would be the same, but I can’t remember the last time I even looked at a woman and thought she was beautiful. It’s a new feeling that brings back way too many bad memories.
She’s my neighbor. That’s fucking it.
I settle on, “Keep your dog away from my rose bushes,” then turn on my heel and walk back into my house.
I feel like an asshole, but I don’t regret it.
Even catching the brief feeling of hurt in her face, I can’t regret it.
She’s a city girl and doesn’t belong here.
Keeping my distance is the best thing for me.
But I have a strange feeling that my new neighbor is an angel who’s going to drag me through hell.
CHAPTER 8
YOU’RE FIRED.
Blair
“When is your first official day of work?” Kodi asks through the phone speaker sitting on the end table next to the couch.
“Today!” I beam.
Kodi and I have been trying to find a happy medium for updating each other without disrupting each other's lives—not that we would be. We've settled on the regularity of weekly phone calls, always for a minimum of an hour at a time, to keep each other informed and up to date about life.
“Lily allowed me another week to get acclimated to the town more after my orientation session. If you even want to call it that.”
“How much training do you need in a bakery, Blair? Honestly,” she asks seriously. “I’ve had your baked goods, and they are the best. Plus, you know how to work an oven.”
I laugh. “That’s why I made that comment. It was really just showing me the industrial size oven, and how to work the cash register.”
