“And when they find out I’m incompetent in the kitchen, they’ll wonder why I asked for sugar when they met me.”
“Ugh, why do you have to be so difficult? Surely, we can come up with something. I can go with you in case you need backup.” Pen screwed up her face as she looked up to the ceiling. “Oh, I know. Maybe ask for a hammer. You need to hang up that picture over your bed.”
Maybe the margaritas had gone to my head, but I didn’t think it was a bad idea, and I wouldn’t be as nervous meeting them with Pen by my side.
“Okay, but let’s give them a couple of hours. I don’t want to ruin their post-coital bliss.”
“How magnanimous of you, but I agree. You don’t want to get on their bad side.”
Two hours later, Pen and I were a little past tipsy as we laughed in excitement, walking over to my neighbors’ house.
Pen rang the doorbell and hopped in place as we waited. When the door opened, we both stood dumbstruck. Standing before us was the most gorgeous creature known to man, wearing only a pair of light gray sweatpants that hung obscenely low on his hips. I could barely keep my mouth closed as I followed his ‘V’ into those damn pants. His feet were bare, and even they were beautiful. This man had won the gene lottery when his parents made him.
“Can I help you?” he asked with a dreamy voice.
I cleared my throat, which was full of lust, and had to remember he was with someone and why I was here. “Hi,” I thrust out my hand. “I’m your new neighbor, Stella, and this is my best friend, Pen.”
His face transformed into a serene smile. I hadn’t even realized there was tension in it before. Shaking my hand, he introduced himself. “I’m Ryder. It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry we haven’t met sooner. We were out of town for a while and trying to get settled when our daughter Delilah got sick.”
“Oh no, I hope she’s okay. If this is a bad time, I can always come back later.”
“She’s feeling better now. In fact, she’s staying with her grandma for a couple of days. Do you want to come in?”
“Ryder, who’s at the door?” a woman called out from somewhere deep in the house.
“Our new neighbor,” Ryder answered while stepping back for us to come in. A moment later, the blue-haired woman I’d seen came around a corner. She was even more beautiful close-up. Her blue hair set off the color of her blue eyes and her flawless skin. My gaze flicked back to Ryder to take in his eye color now that I wasn’t struck stupid by his good looks. They were so blue. They reminded me of the water in some tropical location I’d never been to.
“Hey, I’m Lexie.” She shook both our hands as we introduced ourselves and smiled sweetly at us. “I guess you’ve met my husband, Ryder,” she said as she wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned into him.
“We did. It’s good to meet you.”
“I was saying we’d meant to go over to meet our new neighbor, but things have been a little crazy around here.”
Lexie moaned as she sagged against her husband. “Yes, it’s been exhausting. First, I did an emergency photoshoot, and then our daughter got sick. Excuse me if I look a little haggard. I’ve had a few sleepless nights, and last night was the first night I’ve gotten more than a few winks in.”
If this is what she looked like with little sleep, life was unfair.
“Don’t fret, baby, you look beautiful.” Ryder kissed the top of her head. My chest ached for the type of love they had for each other.
Looking over at Pen, who’d remained unusually quiet, I found her staring. I nudged her.
“So, you’re a photographer?” she asked with a bit of squeak to her voice.
“I am, so if you see a lot of people coming and going, it’s not because we’re drug dealers. Sometimes I do shoots here, but mostly we do them in a warehouse we own on the outskirts of LA.”
“What do you do?” She looked at me, but Pen answered before I could open my mouth.
“She’s an author and getting ready to publish her first book.” Pen’s face beamed with pride for me. I didn’t know what I’d do without her support.
“That’s cool. What’s your book about?” Ryder’s deep voice asked.
“It’s about a wife who starts to suspect her husband of the murders happening in their small town.”
“Well, let me know when it comes out, and I’ll buy a copy. It sounds right up my alley. I love finding new authors to read, even though I don’t have as much time to read now that we have Delilah.”
“I will. At least then I’ll know I’ve got one sale,” I joked, but I was afraid my book wouldn’t do very well, and the publishing company would ask for their advance back because it was such a flop.
“Ignore her. It’s going to be a bestseller, I know it. I’ve been reading her since we met in junior high, and she’s amazing.”
I shook my head. “She has to say that as part of our friendship agreement.”
“No, I don’t. Trust me when I say this book is going to be big. You’ll be able to say you knew Stella before she was a famous author.”
Someone’s stomach growled so loud we all laughed at the sound before Lexie spoke up. “Hey, we were just getting ready to grill outside. Would you two like to join us?”
“We’d love to,” Pen answered a little too quickly, making us seem desperate.
Lexie linked her arm with her husband and beckons us. “Let’s head out back and get started before my stomach eats itself.”
We followed the gorgeous couple outside, and even though I had pretty much the same view, I sucked in a breath as I took in
