She pursed her lips and nodded her head slightly. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. I was at the end of my patience and this chick just needed to cut to the chase. “Is that all you had to say.”
A smug smile spread across her lips. She held out her hand to me again. “I’m Nova. Your next door neighbor who isn’t happy at all about the three cars parked in her driveway and the cars lined up and down the street.”
Oh hell. This was the woman I had glimpsed the day I had moved in.
Nova was my neighbor and she was pissed as hell.
Oh boy.
*
Nova
I didn’t like him.
Not one bit.
The only thing he had going for him was he was hot as hell, other than that he seemed like a complete asshole. Pity the handsome ones always seemed to disappoint as soon as they opened their mouths.
“Three cars?” he asked.
I nodded my head and retracted my outstretched hand. “Three. In my driveway.” Try to explain your way out of that.
“Shit.” He dropped his arms to his sides and sighed. “This wasn’t really the way I hoped to introduce myself to the neighbors.”
It had been over two weeks since he moved in. He should have tried a little bit harder to come over for a quick hello and to let me know he was an asshole. “Yeah, I guess throwing a rager and having people park in your neighbor’s driveway isn’t the best way to meet.” The walk into the house and up the stairs had not dampened my bitchiness that was brewing.
“Yeah, I don’t know why they parked in your driveway.”
“Probably because both sides of the street were full.”
“Still,” he insisted. “They shouldn’t have parked in your driveway.”
He was right. Still didn’t change the fact the guests of his party were in my driveway. “If you could do your best to get them out of my driveway, that would be good.”
“I don’t know ninety percent of the people here. I really doubt I’m going to be able to figure out who’s cars those are.”
I rolled my eyes. “Then I’m sure the police can figure it out.” I turned on my heel and started back down the driveway. I should have just called the police in the first place. It was a lost cause coming here hoping to figure things out.
“Wait,” Tucker called. He grabbed my arm and halted me in my tracks. His warm fingers wrapped around my bicep and he pulled me close to his chest. “There's no need to call the police. I’ll figure out who’s cars they are and have them move.”
“Everyone downstairs, besides three people, are all drunk. How exactly are you going to have them move ?” I wanted the cars out of my driveway, but I didn’t want drunk people getting behind the wheel to move them.
“I’ll get their keys and do it myself,” he insisted.
“Five minutes ago you told Grace you had a raging headache and just wanted to go to bed.” I pointed over my shoulder toward the stairs. “I’m going to go home, drink a bottle of wine, and when I wake up at ten tomorrow morning, those cars better be out of my driveway.”
“You’re not going to call the police?” he asked.
I rolled my eyes and managed to twist my arm out of his hold. “Ten o’ one tomorrow morning I will if those cars are still there.”
“They’ll be moved before you finish your bottle of wine,” he promised.
“Doubtful,” I muttered under my breath. He had no idea how badly I needed that wine to chill the hell out.
He grabbed my hand and held me in place.
“You’re rather touchy.” I looked down at his hand.
“Most women don’t seem to mind it.”
I looked up and my eyes connected with his. “I’m not most women.”
A smirk spread across his lips and my heart leapt. Damn the man for being so handsome. “I’ve noticed, Nova.”
I hmphed and rolled my eyes. My eyes traveled over his bare chest and he silently chuckled. “What’s so funny?” I asked.
“Looks like you’re noticing a bit too, baby.”
Looked like asshole Tucker was back. For a brief second he seemed somewhat redeemable when he found out I lived next door and wasn’t just some chick looking to land in his bed for the night. “All I’m going to notice is if those cars get out of my driveway, Tucker. I hope to never see you again.” I wretched my arm from his hold and made my escape to the stairs before he tried to touch me again.
“Oh, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing each other again, Nova,” he called.
I jogged down the steps and out the open front door. I couldn’t think of anything to say to him. We were neighbors after all, so the odds of never seeing him again were pretty slim.
“How’d it go?”
I spun around on the porch to see Grace walking out the front door.
“Uh, not as well as I had hoped.” That was a complete understatement. I had been a huge bitch to him, and it honestly didn’t seem to faze him.
“I figured out who one of the cars belongs to. I had Nick touch all of the cars and see if any alarms went off. The silver Audi went off and the owner came running. I made them move it.”
I glanced over at my house and saw there was only two cars and my own in the driveway. “Well that is a third better than it was five minutes ago.”
“We aim to please,” Grace laughed.
“I’m gonna head home. Tucker said he’ll have the cars moved by morning.”
“You don’t want to stay and have fun?” she laughed. “We could ask for everyone’s keys and see if the alarm button on them makes one of the two cars go off.”
I laughed bubbled from my lips. “As exciting as that sounds, I need to get back.”
“It’s Saturday night. What could you possibly have to do at home?”
“Work,” I lied. “I’ve got a deadline I need to get a move on.” More like I had a chilled bottle of wine in my fridge that was calling my name.
“Well, I guess I can’t really make you stay. But just remember I know where you live and this pregnant chick will totally come over to hang out without an invitation.”
“We’re best friends, right? Why would that be odd at all for you to come over without calling?” I winked and walked down the porch steps. “See ya later, Grace. Don’t have too much fun asking people for their keys.” I strolled back over to my house feeling slightly better, but still annoyed with Tucker.
One of the reasons I was so annoyed was because I had ogled the guy two weeks ago and hadn’t even realized it.
Also Tucker had just been a straight up asshole before he figured out who I was and then once he thought he had some sort of upper hand, he acted like an ass again.
I wasn’t sure if this was going to be better or worse than the two demon children who had lived there before, or if I was about to step into a whole new level of hell with Tucker living next door.
*
Chapter Seven
Tucker
Her car was parked in the driveway, but there was no answer when I knocked on the door. I had tried the doorbell two times, but I couldn’t hear it actually ringing inside the house. I had resorted to knocking and that was as fruitful as the non-working doorbell.
The cars were out of Nova’s driveway, and I was trying to bring her a peace offering of coffee and a donut but my plan was being thwarted by Nova sleeping though my knocking.
“Son of a bitch,” I grumbled under my breath.
It was Sunday morning and I was missing my chance to sleep in all to bring my neighbor a peace offering so she wouldn’t call the cops on me or anything.
She wasn’t answering the door though.
I set the coffee and white bag on the porch and slipped around to the side of the house. Her house was the same light blue as mine, but that was where the similarities ended. I could tell her house was a bi-level while mine was a traditional two-story house.
I rounded the side of the house and discovered why Nova wasn’t answe
ring the front door.
She was sitting in a lounge chair with a computer in her lap and headphones over her head. I could hear the music she had blaring in her ears. Nova wouldn’t have been able to hear a jet plane fly overhead playing it that high.
I jogged back to the porch to grab the coffee and donut, then made my way back to the backyard. I cautiously made my way closer to her, careful not to surprise the hell out of her.
I wasn’t successful.
Nova jumped up, clutched her computer to her chest and gave a loud yelp when she glimpsed me from the corner of her eye. “What the hell?” she screeched as she pulled her headphones off of her head. “You scared the living hell out of me.”
I held up my hands that were holding the coffee and donuts. “Sorry, sorry. I was just coming over to let you know the cars were moved and a peace offering, an apology of sorts for last night.”
She rolled her eyes and dropped the computer and headphones on the chair she had been sitting in. “I know the cars are gone and you didn’t need to bring me anything.”
This chick was a hard one to read. She had her guard up instantly and her tongue was sharp. “I know I don’t need to do anything, Nova. I just wanted to come over and see if we could start over on the right foot.”
“Perhaps you should have done that when you moved in two weeks ago and not waited until you threw a rager and parked your guests in my driveway? I might have been a bit more perceptive if you would have done that.”
I took a step closer. “You could have also done the same. Welcomed me to the neighborhood instead of ducking when you saw me?”
“I thought you were one of the movers,” she spat. She gasped and clapped her hand over her mouth.
I couldn’t help but smile. “So I wasn’t good enough to talk to, but you didn’t have a problem eyeing me up from a distance?”
Her cheeks heated a bright red. “I wasn’t eyeing you up. I was just trying to catch a peek of the new neighbors.”
“Spying?” I drawled.
She grabbed the coffee and bag from my hands. “I took your peace offering. Now go,” she huffed.
I had her on the run. Nova’s toughness and attitude was only on the surface. It was an act she used more than likely to keep people at bay. I wasn’t most people. “You’re not going to invite me to join you? There are four donuts in there.”
She took a sip of the coffee and kept her eyes on me. “I’m working.”
I looked down at the computer. “You work from home? On a Sunday?”
“When you are your own boss it doesn’t matter what day it is. Work needs to be done.”
“So I’m interrupting you?”
She tilted her head to the side. “A bit.” She held up the bag. “Though stopping for a second for donuts and coffee is acceptable.”
I took a step back. “Then I’ll let you get back to work. I have a few things I needed to do today anyway.” I would have preferred to spend a little time with Nova, but I knew I wasn’t going to be able to push her. “Enjoy the coffee, Nova.”
She nodded slightly and I nodded my head to her.
Nova had no idea what to think right now.
Last night when we had first met I was a cranky asshole. Typically who I normally wasn’t. She had caught me at the wrong time and now I was going to have to work extra hard to get on her good side.
I moved back around the house and glanced over my shoulder toward her.
She stood there with the coffee and donuts in her hand and her jaw dropped as she watched me walk away. “Have a good day, sweet Nova.”
I walked to my garage, rolled open the door, and threw a leg over my motorcycle. I didn’t have anything to do today, but I figured what better way to spend a Sunday than on the back of my bike with the wind to my back and Nova’s pretty face on my mind?
*
Nova
My eyes followed Tucker till he disappeared. I looked down at the bag in my hand and wondered what in the heck had just happened.
I had woken up at nine, saw the three cars had been moved from my driveway, and decided to go on with my day of work, work, and more work. I was actually thankful they weren’t there because I really didn’t want to have to call the police.
I hadn’t expected Tucker to come over with donuts and coffee .
I hadn’t expected Tucker to actually come over and act like a human being.
A nice human being.
I was much better thinking he was some asshole and keeping my distance from him.
An engine roared to life. I looked up at Tucker’s garage just in time to see him pull out on a sleek black motorcycle with a black helmet covering his head. He looked over at me and nodded. I gave a lame wave and even though I couldn’t see him, I was sure he was smirking.
I lost sight of him when he pulled out onto the road and I dropped the bag of donuts in the small table next to my chair.
“Crap.”
How was I supposed to hate my neighbor when he possibly wasn’t an asshole?
An asshole didn’t bring coffee, donuts, and an apology.
I could deal with Tucker being an asshole much better than him being nice.
*
Chapter Eight
Nova
“What happened with the neighbor?”
I held the phone to my ear and opened the freezer. “It’s been three days since I helped you into Brent’s car. That must have been some hangover.”
Mom groaned. “I’m not as young as I used to be. I think one glass is going to be my max from now on.”
“Good thing you have Brent to take care of you.”
“True, true,” she mumbled. “Now back to the neighbors. Did you have a fraternity move in next door or something?”
I laughed and dug around in the freezer. I needed to go to the store but I was hoping to make it one more night with whatever I had left in the freezer. “It’s one guy. Apparently his friends threw him a housewarming party.”
“Well, damn. They invited half the town it seemed like. That was quite the housewarming.”
“Mmhm,” I hummed. Three bags of peas, a single ice cream sandwich, and frozen garlic. This was going to be an interesting dinner. I grabbed the ice cream sandwich and slammed the freezer shut. “Do you have the number to the pizza place?”
“Order online. It’s easier.”
I plopped down in front of my computer and pulled up the website. “I always forget they take online orders.” I unwrapped the ice cream and took a huge bite.
“Tell me more about the neighbor.”
“Not much to tell.”
“How old is he?”
“Mother.” I pulled up the website and placed my order for a large cheese pizza with breadsticks. “We didn’t really have a conversation about each other.”
“Then at least tell me what he looked like.”
Handsome. So handsome. “Like a guy.”
“Nova. Give me something more to work with than that.”
I powered off my computer and closed it. “He has a beard. Dark hair. Manly.”
“Name?”
I closed my eyes. “Tucker.”
“I like him already.”
My eyes snapped open. “What? Like? How the heck can you like him? You haven’t even met him yet. He threw a huge party and had people park in my driveway, mother.”
“But you said it was his friends who threw the party,” she pointed out.
I rolled my eyes. “Are you sure you’re not drunk again.”
“God, no. I’m not drinking at least for a week or two.”
A knock sounded at my door. “Uh, I think my pizza is here?”
“You literally just ordered it, Nova. It can’t be the pizza.”
She was right, but I had no idea who else could be at the door. “I know that, but I have no idea who else it could be.”
“Well, I’ll stay on the phone with you just in case something happens.”
I rolled my eyes and stalked to the front door
. “A lot of good that is going to do me, mom. By the time you or the police get here, I’ll be dead or worse.”
“What’s worse than dead?” she asked.
“You know what I mean.” I swung open the front door and was rendered speechless.
“Peace Offering number two?” Tucker stood at my front door with a pizza box in one hand and a six pack of beer in the other.
“Nova? Are you there?” mom yelled in my ear. “Are you dead? Did someone get you?”
I blinked and shook my head. “I, ah, no mom. I have to go.”
“You will not get off this phone without telling me what is going on and if you are okay,” she scolded.
Tucker stood on my front steps with pizza and beer and my mom was yelling in my ear to know what was going on. “It’s my neighbor, mom. I’ll call you later.”
“Your neighbor! Are you-.” I hung up without hearing another word. I had enough to deal with without her shouting in my ear.
I stared at Tucker trying to figure out what to say.
“This shit is kind of hot. Got a place I can set it down?” Tucker balanced the pizza on his hand and tried to look around me.
“What?” I blinked rapidly but didn’t move.
“Burning my hand, Nova. Do you have a place I can set this? They just delivered it two minutes ago.”
My brain finally started working, and I stepped to the side.
Tucker walked straight into the kitchen and I followed behind after I shut the door.
“I hope you like sausage and pepperoni.” He flipped back the top of the box and looked up at me.
“Uh, well, I’m more partial to just cheese but in all honesty I’ll eat any pizza minus black olives.”
“Even anchovies?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Well, yeah. Black olives taste like crap. Not a fan.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I shook my head and stepped back from the pizza. “Hold on. We need to rewind back to me opening the door and you standing there.”
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