Page 42 of Hero Next Door
“What?” I snapped.
He was still pausing, and I was just about to tell him to spit it out when he finally said, “Be careful with that, Dev.”
Careful with what? Parker? Was he saying I was in over my head? I mean, I was but how the hell would Connor know that?
“Huh?”
“With Kevin, I mean. He’s not a nice guy. And when he was in town today, he was meeting with someone who looked like he’d just gotten out of prison. I wouldn’t leave Parker alone with him if I was you.”
CHAPTER25
Parker
Iclosed the door and leaned back against it, trying to corner the million and one feelings flying through my body and put them into categories. I’d just told Kevin—with no small amount of shouting—that it was time for him to get lost and forget about buying my land. I’d already told him that I wasn’t interested, and I was tired of repeating myself.
Yes, I knew that Dev had told him he should talk to me about it. I knew very well that Dev had actually pushed him in my direction, and when he reminded me of that, I was ready with an answer.
I didn’t care. Dev might be my friend. That didn’t mean he knew everything about what I was thinking.
That brought me around to Dev, though, and I bit my lip. The fact that he’d betrayed me to Kevin still stung. I didn’t like that he’d told Dev that I didn’t want to stay in town and that I’d sell to him in a hot second. It implied that I was going to sell to a developer, and that I didn’t care what happened to the land, and I’d thought Dev knew me better than that.
It also implied that he wanted me to leave town. And the flip of that: He didn’t want me to stay.
But if that was true, what was going on with all the meals and the bottle of wine and him telling me his secrets and then inviting me to stay at his house rather than sending me home? Why was he being so nice and going out of his way to find reasons for us to spend time together if he just wanted me to leave?
Did he even know what he was doing?
Did he know that I was second-guessing myself about leaving and it was at least halfway because of him?
I walked into the living room and dropped into one of the chairs, ignoring the dust cover and the flecks of paint on the thing. And as I gazed around the house, taking in the half-done tasks and seeing Dev’s fingerprints all over everything, from the wood planks for the floor to the decorative swirls on the cabinets he’d chosen for me...
I didn’t want to leave this place, I realized. I wanted to put down roots here and build a life that wasn’t constantly on the move. I wanted to have people who were permanent in my life and wake up to the same view every morning. I wanted butterflies and green trees and a valley that belonged to me.
I wanted this ranch. And I wanted Dev to come with it.
God, when hadthathappened? I’d thought we were just having a good time, and that he was just helping me with the house to make sure I turned into a B&B like he wanted, but now that I looked at it straight on and started practicing some of the honesty I always bragged about...
Somewhere between all the water in the kitchen and that bottle of wine last night, I’d started falling in love with Dev and all his broken pieces. The curls and the smiles and the grumpy voice he only used in the mornings. The way he teased me but always showed up when I needed something, and then acted like playing her came naturally to him.
I wanted to put down roots and grow something with him, and that was something I never, ever dreamt I’d ever say about any man.
“Jesus Christ on a pogo stick,” I breathed, so shocked that I couldn’t even think of a good curse.
I was falling in love with a guy who had somehow made me feel safe in the town that had been haunting my nightmares since I was old enough to have them.
I wondered if he knew.
I wondered if he felt anything like that.
Because me? I was feeling like $5 million bucks. That monopoly man times fifty. I was feeling like I could fly and like I might explode. I had never in a million years thought I would fall for someone like Dev, and now that I was, it was more than I’d ever expected.
I texted Dev, letting him know that I was coming back. No, I didn’t have my car here, but I could walk. I needed to talk to him, and I needed to do it now.
And then someone banged on the door.
I frowned and shook my head. This house. This house and that freaking door. If I stayed here I was going to put a sign on it that indicated the hours during which someone could knock, and how they had to do it. I was really, really tired of answering this door while I was doing more important things—like realizing that somewhere along the line, I’d fallen in love.
I stalked to the door, practicing the speech I was going to give whoever was on the other side, but I didn’t get there in time.
