Home > Lots Of Naughty & A Little Nice(7)

Lots Of Naughty & A Little Nice(7)
Author: Leigh Lennon

“Good morning, neighbor.” After two days with this man, I already know the distinct difference between his tone and his sexy boyfriend’s. My stare catches his when Knox’s voice gains my attention. But then my gaze falls on Rowan’s when his tall frame envelops his man.

Why does my heart beat differently for these men, neither of whom are available? They cross their lawn and my driveway as I attempt to appear aloof at the idea of them coming to greet me.

I keep my focus trained on the house but shift my concentration to them when they approach. “Morning, gentlemen.” My cheery, almost neutral expression hides the little zings shooting through my body.

“What in the world are you doing out here?” Knox asks, pointing at the front of the house and my apparent fake attention on it, then shoving his hands into his heavy jacket.

“I’m trying to imagine what the yard will look like in the spring. And any changes I’d like to make. But I can’t envision it now.”

“It’s beautiful. Just wait,” Rowan explains, and as quickly as he says something, he quiets.

I don’t want them to leave. Their presence is so welcomed.

“Hey, I was thinking. Since you both came to my rescue last night, helping me with some of the heavier boxes, I’d like to treat you both to dinner.”

“We didn’t come to your rescue. We were just being neighborly.” Rowan’s formal words have me stifling a laugh.

“Okay, so let me be neighborly. Come over about seven tonight. It’s nothing fancy, just takeout.” I won’t give them a chance to say no as I make it into my home. Anyway, I have to wake my sister up and break the news she’s been caught and is currently grounded.

 

 

Both men are making their presence known in my kitchen as they scrutinize the delivery options, debating over the choices as though the fate of the world is in jeopardy. But they’re sweet and nice and fine as fuck to look at. Whitney is rubbing off on me. I’ve told her swearing isn’t lady-like. It was something our mom never did, and I’ve chosen not to sound like a sailor. But after two years of living with her dad, I guess his bad habits have rubbed off on her. And because I don’t have any plans to alienate her, I pick my battles, and the way she dresses or talks is not one I’ll fight.

As they continue their philosophical debate on our dinner choices, I pull out my checkbook from my purse. “Rowan, how much do I owe you for the luminarias?” He waves me off, and I continue to fill out the checkbook.

“It’s the least I can—”

“I’m not fighting with you on this, Mr. Peterson.” And when he gives me the amount, I finish filling out the check, then hand it to him.

He gazes at it for a beat longer. “Avery Chapel? Glad to know your last name finally.”

His speech is so formal and almost quirky, but after his boyfriend's explanation and the one-on-one interaction I’ve had with him, I’d say conversation isn’t his strong suit.

These men have made me feel as if we’ve been neighbors forever in just a few short days, and it’s odd because I’m not one to click easily with others. My mother could make a friend for life within a matter of seconds. Her funeral was standing room only in a church that generally held five hundred. People traveled from out of state to attend.

“Have you two figured out what you want?” I ask as Knox pulls out a quarter, tossing it in the air, and he shouts heads.

The quarter falls on the counter on heads. “Ah, pizza it is, Ro.”

The interaction between these two is sweet. On paper, I’d never put them together. Knox is very affectionate, and Rowan is more reserved.

“Are you not a pizza person?” I ask, grabbing the new wine I bought this morning when I had a chance to get to the store. My glasses are reduced to red Solo cups, and I pour all of us a generous portion.

“It’s not my favorite. But I’ll eat it because I love Knox, and it’s his favorite.”

Turning the delivery menus over, I peruse the options. “There’s pasta. I’ll get that for you.”

“Nah, I’ll just have whatever this guy has.” There’s no explanation, so I leave it, chalking it up to his quirkiness, but this in and of itself is pretty sexy. He’s the eccentric type with a long and slender build, dark-rimmed glasses, and deep black hair cut short right above the ears. His beard, sprinkled with premature gray, frames his high cheekbones. He can’t be older than thirty with his baby face, and wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, a pair of dress shoes, and a pin-striped button-up shirt, his attire fits every part of his sexy nerd-like persona.

 

 

The eat-in dinette I’d bought for the kitchen fits the three of us with our wine and pizza, chatting about everything and nothing until the clomps of my sister’s combat boots descend the staircase in the front part of the house.

I wait a beat, and she rounds the corner in what I’d classify as her dressed-up version of her emo self. “Oh, you got pizza.” She walks over and grabs a piece without putting it on one of the paper plates I set out for all of us, then shoves it in her mouth immediately. “Jessica and I are going out for a little bit, maybe catch a movie. You cool with that?”

She’s pushing me, and somehow, she thinks having company means I won’t argue with her. Not to mention, I swiped her keys to her reliable Volvo I insisted on buying her. I remember when I was sixteen, and Whit is a hell of a lot wilder than I had been at her age.

“Whit, really?”

Her laser focus is on me, her hands making it to her waist, and she swallows the pizza down hard. “You took my car away. Jessica’s driving.”

“Yes, but you’re not traipsing off after coming home an hour and a half late last night. Case settled. I won’t discuss this again.” I won’t fight many battles when it comes to Whit, but I expect her to follow my curfew rules.

“Thanks for nothing, sis.” She doesn’t move, and it’s now that she notices both men sitting on either side of me. She grabs another piece of pizza, then stomps out of the room and slams her bedroom door.

Rowan’s mouth gapes, and Knox’s laugh lofts through the kitchen, echoing in the still rather empty house. “She’s hell on wheels, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, she’s certainly challenging and has been since she came into my life at the age of thirteen, but we have an understanding.” The understanding is she can follow my rules or go back to her father’s. I have no intention of sending her back to him, but she doesn’t know that. I think she’s just thankful enough to be out from under her dad’s thumb that she’ll follow any of my rules—eventually. I won't divulge this information to virtual strangers because it will lead to a conversation I’m not ready to have about my mother’s death and Whitney’s poor excuse for a father.

Out of nowhere, breaking the awkward silence, Rowan bellows in the quietness. “So, tell me, Avery. What do you do for a living?”

I’ve let them share a lot about themselves. Knox owns the prestigious art gallery downtown, hosting both local artists and world-renowned ones. I’m dying to check out more of his pieces. Rowan is a professor at the university and holds a PhD in a specific category of science.

Hot Books
» House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1)
» A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire
» From Blood and Ash (Blood And Ash #1)
» A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime
» Deviant King (Royal Elite #1)
» Den of Vipers
» House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2)
» The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #
» Sweet Temptation
» The Sweetest Oblivion (Made #1)
» Chasing Cassandra (The Ravenels #6)
» Wreck & Ruin
» Steel Princess (Royal Elite #2)
» Twisted Hate (Twisted #3)
» The Play (Briar U Book 3)