When I open them, she’s gone. Her yard is dark, and my breath hitches.
Did I imagine it? Was she not out there? Had I seen a ghost in my head?
What have I done?
Quickly, I turn away from the window and press my back against the wall just to the side of the casing. Tipping my head back, I bang it ever so slightly against the plaster. My hand is a sticky mess, and I’m breathing so loud, it’s like I’m announcing I’ve run a 5K in under ten minutes.
Rolling my shoulder against the wall, I tilt my head only enough to peer back into the yard once again.
Did that really happen?
Unfortunately, there’s no mistaking what I hold in my hand and what covers my fingers. I’m guilty regardless, and then I see a form just outside the sliding glass doors next door. The whiteness of the dress gives her away despite the dark night, and for the briefest second, I wonder if Ben sent her to me again on the night his cryptic message was given to me.
Just as quickly, I dismiss the thought, not believing in such voodoo or diddle-le-do or love—flying, falling, or otherwise.
3
[Zack]
The following day, I’m in a mood and determined not to think about my mysterious, sexy neighbor or Ben’s message as I stare out the window of my bedroom in the early morning hours. Was he kidding me? Ben knew Jeanine and I were never lovers but a moment of insta-lust. A one-night stand led to two babies nine months later. We hardly even liked one another after we were married, and sex was a rarity of treating one another as an available vessel more than a passionate partner. I’m too busy to fall in love—or fly in it—and now I’m even busier with two rambunctious boys.
Today, the guys—three of the four points in our compass—have plans to go golfing. We invited Calvin and Bryce to join us even though it won’t be the same with the younger set instead of their father. Mason will need to be on his best behavior, but he’s been living here for a year, so I’m hoping that means either he’s tampered his inappropriate comments around the teens, or they’ve come to accept his reckless behavior.
Either way, I’m looking into the yard next door once more. I can’t seem to pull my eyes away from the house at this angle where I can see the old tree fort and recall all the games played back there. Images fill my head of being chased by my brother, hitting golf balls off the cliff with my father, and helping my mother in her garden.
Movement in the yard catches my eye.
It’s her. River. Or at least the woman who has haunted my thoughts since the night of Ben’s funeral. Is she an angel or a demon sent to torture me like she did last night? Then again, who can I blame but myself? I didn’t look away. I didn’t stop myself, and I’m actually angry when it isn’t exactly her fault.
With bright golden hair that glistens in the sunlight, whoever she is, she’s the woman I feel a strange magnetism toward. Once again, she’s covered from her neck to her feet in a long, flowing dress. Then she does the damnedest thing. She removes the dress and lays on the chaise lounge in nothing but her skimpy panties. She might as well be naked. With her hair spread out around her head, her toned body and ample breasts are on display, and I’m instantly hard as a fucking rock.
My hand grips the window casing like I did last night. My fingers dig into the wood as I take a shaky breath. I’m paralyzed by the sight of her, or maybe I’m just desperately horny.
“What are we looking at?” Logan’s voice at my ear should startle me, and it does, but I still can’t pull my eyes from the glorious sight.
“Her,” I croak like a pre-pubescent teen.
“Dude,” Logan mutters beside me. Reaching into his shorts, he pulls out his phone.
“Don’t take a picture,” I snap, turning my head to him.
“I’m not taking a picture. I’m not even looking, but Mason has to see this. He’s missing out.” Logan’s fingers move fast over the screen, and I can almost here him telling Mason to haul ass up here.
“Don’t call Mason,” I snap, reaching for Logan’s phone. Swiping it quickly out of his hand, I glare down at the device, but the message has already been sent. Within seconds, we hear Mason thundering up the staircase.
“Fuck,” I hiss, not wanting Mason to see the naked beauty in the neighbor’s yard. Angel or demon, she’s my angel or demon, and I don’t want to share her with them. For the briefest second, I have that strange thought again that Ben sent her to me. Quickly, I shake the notion and turn toward the door, prepared to intervene when Mason enters the room.
He hardly crosses the threshold when Logan announces, “Dude, you need to see this.”
Body primed with legs spread and hands on my hips, I’m determined to block Mason’s view, and I twist my head in Logan’s direction where he’s staring out the window. “I thought you said you weren’t going to look.”
“I’m not. I’m just checking out the shrubbery.” He chuckles as Mason passes me.
“Fuck,” Mason groans. “Nice shrubbery.”
“Don’t fucking look at her shrubbery,” I snap, racing up behind my friends and squeezing myself between them, equally ensnared by the shrubbery of the neighbor.
“But she has nice bushes,” Mason states, his eyes glued to the yard next door. Logan snorts.
“Quit looking at her bush,” I demand, and Logan starts to lose it, his laughter loud and vibrating.
Mason keeps a straight face as he says, “Her trimming is exceptional.”
“You can’t even—” I stop. The heat in my face counteracts the chill up my spine. She’s removed her skimpy panties, leaving nothing to the imagination. So Mason and Logan can fully inspect her landscaping technique.
A hand of mine shoots out in front of each of them, covering their eyes as if they were my seven-year-olds.
“Daddy, why can’t I looky?” Mason pouts while Logan continues to guffaw next to me.
“We are not looking,” I state as my eyes return to the naked vision, glistening in all her glory in the sunshine.
“What aren’t we looking at?” Calvin’s teenage voice comes from behind us, and all three of us turn in unison.
“Nothing,” we choke out in various pitches.
“Is River naked again?” Calvin questions without a hint of chagrin.
“How do you know the neighbor is naked?” Mason questions. His tone sobers a bit.
“We’re only allowed to landscape her on certain days.”
Logan coughs into his fist, unable to contain himself while Mason slowly grins.
“What do you mean you have certain days you can landscape her?” I bark, my voice cracking as though I’m the teenager in the room.
Calvin shrugs. “We trim her bushes.” Logan completely loses it, bending forward at the waist and choking on laughter while Mason chuckles, shaking his head. A moment of pride crosses his face, and then his expression straightens.
The clarification reminds me that Calvin works for his late father’s local landscaping company. Ben inherited this one from his father while he had his own in Chicago, where he and Anna had lived since they married.
“And you know she’s naked how?” Mason states, his voice sounding a bit authoritative, which surprises me. Looking over at him, I’m dumbfounded at his demeanor. He looks upset, but he can’t be serious. He was just gawking out the window at her like the rest of us.