Page 67 of But He's My Grumpy Neighbor

Juliette Monroe

“Goodmorning,Sunshine,”Igreet Adrian as I step onto my front porch.

“Good morning, you look beautiful.” His deep voice and the sweet compliment send warmth to my face. I spent an hour this morning deciding on my outfit, finally settling on a beige plaid skirt and a cream long-sleeve shirt.

“Thank you,” I say, dropping my head to hide my blush.

His fingertips lift my chin up, coaxing me to meet his gaze. I remember once thinking his eyes were cold and icy, but now I see the striking color in a new light. Perhaps they were cold at one point, but now staring into them feels like swimming in an ocean of adoration.

“Don’t hide from me, Jules,” he murmurs, leaning down to brush his lips against mine. “You’re much too pretty when you blush.”

My head spins as if I’ve had one too many glasses of champagne. Adrian has always been very intense in nature, and being under the full force of his affection is disconcerting. My dating experience is limited, but I have a distinct feeling that even if I had dated more, nothing would compare to this, to him. I’m floating when he takes my hand to lead me down the driveway to the sidewalk.

I lean into Adrian’s arm as we walk toward Peaches and Cream. This is the first Saturday since we’ve started dating and I thought Adrian would suggest doing something different, but he said he wanted to keep my Saturday tradition of tea and an almond croissant.

“Poppy is going to be incorrigible,” I tell him as we get closer.

He chuckles. “Do you want to go somewhere different?”

“No use in putting off the inevitable,” I say with an exaggerated sigh.

The truth is, I’m kind of excited to see Poppy. I’m sure she’ll gloat that she was right about us, but she’s become something of a maternal figure in my life and I’ll be happy to have her approval.

We’re coming up on the door to the café when I hear Mr. Kipton’s weathered voice call out, “Julie!”

My usual knee-jerk reaction is lessened thanks to Adrian holding my hand, but I still flinch a little. Mr. Kipton hobbles to us, his bushy brows turned downward.

“Good morning, Mr. Kipton,” I say and he grumbles something about his knees making every morning terrible before clearing his throat and pointing a knobby finger at me.

“I need you to vote against the ducks this week. They are an invasive species that are constantly multiplying. Those baby ducks are going to terrorize the neighborhood!”

I sigh. Yes, the adorable baby ducks waddling behind their mother are absoluteterrors.

Adrian squeezes my hand, getting my attention. When I look up at him, he tilts his head toward Mr. Kipton with an encouraging look. As if he wants me to stand up to the old man. It’s not as though Mr. Kipton is a particularly scary man, but my polite ways have stopped me from ever going against him. With Adrian beside me though, I feel strong enough to take this small step.

“Mr. Kipton,” I say, straightening my back to appear confident. “I like the ducks. They are cute and give the neighborhood character. I think you should stop bothering the community about it, too. It’s a waste of time.”

He opens and closes his mouth like a trout. “Well, I’ve never–”

“And another thing, please stop calling me Julie. My name is Juliette.”

He blinks at me, clearly in shock at my speaking up. “Oh. Alright.” His words are stilted. He looks like he might try to say more, but Adrian tugs me around him.

“Have a nice day,” I say, trying to end on a positive note. If he responds, I don’t hear it. Adrian opens the door to Peaches and Cream, smiling down at me as I walk past.

“I’m so proud of you,” he says before tugging me into his arms and kissing the top of my head.

The elation I feel is indescribable. My parents never told me they were proud of me unless they were trying to look good in front of their friends or coworkers. Any accomplishments of mine meant nothing to them unless they could use it for their own gain. So to hear Adrian say that over something as simple as speaking up for myself makes tears burn the back of my eyes. I blink them away, feeling foolish for getting so emotional over a small thing.

“I knew it!” Poppy shouts, helping ease my emotional state. I laugh at her and roll my eyes when I step out of Adrian’s arms.

“Go ahead.” I gesture toward her. “Get it out of your system.”

“Oh if you think I’m not going to be telling your kids and–if I’m around long enough–theirkids all about how I called this match, you don’t know me very well.”

I shake my head at her and look up at Adrian. A smile tugs up the corners of his mouth, which makes me grin.

“Gerty owes me five bucks now. Y’all need to come to bingo night so I can rub it in her face.”

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