“I know, and I love you for it. Mom, I promise I’m okay.”
“I love you, too, sweetie. I’ll have some new items for you in the morning. Goodnight, baby.”
“That’ll work. Goodnight, Mom.”
Carissa smiled at her mother’s concern as she stepped out of the SUV and shut the door. She let herself into her house, and was halfway down the hall to her bedroom when there was a knock on her front door. When she turned around she didn’t recognize the shadowy figure distorted behind the faceted glass. With a shudder, she realized her sister’s pestering decree didn’t sound so bad after all. Maybe it was time to get Ryan’s guns out of storage.
Carissa shook her head at the thought and grabbed her pocket knife from her purse, just in case. It was better than nothing. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and cautiously opened the door.
Her brain stuttered to a stop, only one word bouncing around her numbed brain: Magnificent. She knew without asking that he was her neighbor, and boy was he even more impressive in person! He had his dark blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, and his engaging smile reached all the way to sparkling blue eyes as clear as the waters of the Caribbean. His shoulders were nearly as broad as the door she’d just opened, and the short sleeves of his shirt stretched tight over large biceps. Her eyes wandered lower of their own accord, taking in his faded blue jeans slung over narrow hips, encasing muscular thighs, and leading down to biker boots as big as Tonka Trucks,
It was a wonder her tongue wasn’t hanging out! With reluctance, Carissa forced her eyes back to his, which twinkled in amusement. She flushed, trying to regain her composure. It was obvious he knew he was being ogled, but he earned brownie points for not pointing it out. Carissa mentally shook herself. He seemed friendly enough, but she knew how deceiving looks could be.
Her neighbor held out his hand. “Hey. I’m Aden, your neighbor across the street. I’ve seen you around the last few nights, so I thought I’d come over and introduce myself.”
Carissa raised an eyebrow and kept her hand at her side—near the pocket where she had her knife. “Ah, so you have been spying on me,” she remarked, her voice a bit breathier than she wanted. She cleared her throat.
He looked down as he brought his hand up to rub the top of his ear, shuffling his feet against the wood of her porch. “Yeah. Sorry about that. I, uh, would have introduced myself sooner, but I’ve had a lot of company lately, and didn’t have time.”
Carissa snorted. “Really? I haven’t heard any vehicles.”
Aden dropped his hand. Were her eyes deceiving her, or was he trying not to fidget? “My friend walks everywhere.”
Warning bells sounded in her head. The man was distinctly uncomfortable, and that didn’t settle well in her gut.
Carissa stepped back and grasped the doorknob. “Uh-huh. Well, now that you’ve introduced yourself, maybe we can talk another time when it’s not so late. It was nice meeting you, Aden,” and with that, Carissa shut the door in his face.
She walked down the hall a ways and leaned against the wall. She couldn’t believe her own gall. She’d never been so rude to anyone! However, sexy neighbor Aden was strange and maybe not completely honest. She couldn’t put her finger on anything specific, but he’d become more guarded the longer they’d talked, and she wasn’t one to ignore her gut instinct. Something was definitely off about him that had nothing to do with his über hotness.
Carissa snorted and shook her head. Über hotness, indeed. Hot or not, he couldn’t be trusted. She started to turn toward her bedroom when her door caught her attention. Aden was no longer standing there, but Carissa realized she hadn’t turned the lock. If he had been out to hurt her, she wouldn’t have stood a chance. Cursing herself for a fool, Carissa twisted the latch. She headed to her bedroom, but she had difficulty falling asleep. She tossed and turned for an hour, pummeling her pillow to take her mind off the way she reacted when she saw Aden up close.
She’d never had that strong of a reaction to her husband.
Chapter Six
Aden stared in shock at the closed door—did she really just shut it in his face? He cursed under his breath as he slunk back across the street. She hadn’t given him her name, either. It was his own fault, so he couldn’t blame her for feeling uncomfortable. It was late at night, and some guy whom she believed was spying on her was knocking on her door. He couldn’t blame her at all for her reaction. Still, he’d seen more than wariness in her gaze before she closed him out, and that glimpse was enough to leave him hopeful.
Aden smiled as he entered his front door. At least he finally knew the color of her eyes, a bright and vivid green that reminded him of the leaves in the blueberry fields in Maine where he’d grown up. The view through his window was nothing compared to seeing her in person. Even in prim slacks and a business top, her curves were spectacular, and she filled out the fabric in ways that made his mouth water. From the top of her pretty head with her glossy brown hair falling down her back, to her narrow waist and luscious, rounded hips; he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her.
She’d been unafraid to hold his gaze, not knowing the danger she was in, and he took a dive into heaven. Bright as emeralds, she’d turned those doe-like eyes on him, and he almost forgotten how to use his vocal chords. She was staring at him as if she was a ravenous vixen, ready to devour the nearest man. However, once he spoke, the spell was broken as her lovely eyes filled with suspicion. Granted, they’d only just met, and he went over knowing he would deceive her, but there was always next time.
Aden cursed, stalking into his kitchen to grab his evening meal. What am I thinking? If there was a next time, there would be more times after that, and if there were more, eventually he would have to tell her the truth, and he couldn’t do that. If he was honest, she would think he was crazy. If she didn’t, he would be placing one of his best friends in danger, and the one rule his mentor, Daniel Blackwood, made him swear by when he brought him to Jaune all those years ago, was to keep the truth to himself.
Aden slammed the refrigerator door shut and cursed yet again. He’d finally found someone interesting in this tiny little Southern town, and he couldn’t have anything to do with her.
Carissa woke the next morning with a guilty conscience the size of Texas. She shouldn’t have been so rude to Aden, but between the odd surge of attraction and her gut instinct that he was hiding something, it seemed like the right decision at the time. She didn’t know him from Adam, and he’d shown up after nine at night causing red flag number one. Then, holy ovary punch! The man had a physique to make any sane woman drool. Red flag number two. Normal people didn’t look like that.
Now, she might have dealt with the first two if he hadn’t seemed so hesitant over a simple question. It’s not as if she was being the nosy one, barging over to knock on her unsuspecting neighbor’s door at nine at night! If he has nothing to hide, why lie about nightly company on a quiet street? That was red flag number three, and the last strike. What other option do I have but to stop talking to him? She swung her legs over the side of her bed and ran a hand through her hair.
Not continuing a conversation didn’t mean she had to slam a door in the man’s face. What am I so afraid of? That he might like me, too? She shook her head as her mind drifted back to the primal reaction she had from being in his presence, and she had a feeling that was the root of her issue. He was really, really, really attractive, but she’d seen handsome men before and never reacted like that. Case in point, Ryan was a hunk, with his black hair, gray eyes, and toned runner’s body. But she’d never looked at her husband like she was going to swallow her tongue when he spoke.
Unlike Ryan’s soft tenor, Aden’s voice was like honey over sandpaper, a sticky sweet gravel designed to melt any woman into a quivering puddle of capitulation. Combine that with his luminous blue eyes and rippling muscles, and every ovary within a fifty-mile radius was in danger of exploding. Carissa snorted and padded barefoot to her kitchen for a bowl of ce
real, although she feared she might be better off with a cold shower. She needed to stop thinking about her sexy neighbor before she forgot the main reason she slammed the door in his face: that he was strange, secretive, and he’d come over way too late at night.
Carissa might have finally come to terms with the loss of her husband, but that didn’t mean she was looking for a replacement, even if he was the manliest slab of beefcake she’d ever laid eyes on.
That night, after a long day at work, and a last-minute dinner meeting with her nana, Carissa walked into her home and headed straight for her living room. She was off for the next two days, and the one thing she really wanted right that moment was to sit down with a good book. She’d just picked up a new anthology book with a short story by Angie Grigaliunas, and she couldn’t wait to dive into the brilliant author’s imagination. However, the minute she sat down, her phone rang.
Carissa looked at the display and grinned.
“Hey, Phia!”
The woman on the other end laughed. “You say that like you didn’t just speak to me in person a few days ago. How are you settling in?”
Carissa smiled. “You’d know if you’d stick around when I come in and not be busy with a million other things when we’re at Baby steps together.”
“Ophelia sighed. “Yeah, sorry about that. There’s been a lot going on outside of work -- with Aunt Jan and some other stuff, I just haven’t been all there, ya know?”
“Yeah, I know, which is why I’m not annoyed.” She chuckled. “Besides, I’ve got a lot on my mind. Nana’s officially passing me the business”
Ophelia’s laugh bubbled over the line. “Really? That’s fantastic! I know you’d talked about it before, but I didn’t know it would happen so soon. Then again, if Ryan had just let you do more than manage when y’all were together…” Her friend paused, taking a deep, audible breath. “Sorry, that was rude of me, but I know this is something you’ve wanted to happen for a while, and something you’d pretty much given up hope on achieving.”
“To be honest, I’m more over Ryan and his antics than I thought I would be at this point. That, and, well, I think I may have met someone.”
“WHAT?” Ophelia’s voice was so loud Carissa had to pull the phone away from her ear, “Who is he? What’s his name? Where’d you meet him? Is he single? What’s he look like?”
Carissa laughed at her friend’s reaction. “His name is Aden. He lives across the street from me. I don’t know; I didn’t ask. And he’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen on two legs.”
There was a clatter as her friend dropped her phone, Carissa snorted. It’s not like this was the first time she and Phia had gushed over guys. There was a bit of static on the line, followed by her friend pretending to gasp for breath.
“Did you really just say he was hot? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that about a guy!”
“I’m pretty sure I said that about Ryan.”
“Oh, no you didn’t. You said he was sexy, but you never said he was hot.”
Carissa rolled her eyes at her ceiling. “Don’t they mean the same thing?”
“Sometimes, I suppose. How else would you describe him? What makes him so hot?”
Carissa kicked back and propped her feet up on her coffee table. “He’s taller than me, muscular, and his blue eyes are hot enough to melt the sun. Girl, I got butterflies before he even spoke, and when he did…man. I almost fell down; my knees were so weak.”
“Oooh. So, when are you going to see him again?”
“Probably never. I, uh, kind of slammed my door in his face.”
There was complete silence for a moment. Carissa couldn’t even hear Ophelia breathing until she spoke, “Wh-what? Why in the world would you do that?”
“He showed up at nine last night. Decent people don’t do that.”
Ophelia laughed. “Did you stop to think he might have a long day job?” Carissa didn’t say anything. Her friend laughed again. “You didn’t, did you? Girl, now it sounds like you owe your hot neighbor an apology. You two could be meant for each other.”
Carissa shook her head and snorted again. “The jury’s still out on that,” she muttered.
Her friend laughed. “Well, you mull it over, and – oh! I almost forgot. Do you remember how I joked about the dating site?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, there’s this guy. His name’s Devin—six-foot-three, an ex-football player—you should like him. He’ll meet you at the coffee shop Friday night after work.”
“But I—”
“No buts. You’re going. Now, I need to get to bed. Some of us have more to think about than hot neighbors and impending dates.”
When the line went silent, Carissa simply dropped her head to her steering wheel and laughed weakly. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another.
Chapter Seven
Across the street, Aden’s thoughts were consumed with the woman he’d just met. Somewhere around midnight the night before, he realized he was too interested in his reaction to his pretty, nameless neighbor to give up so soon. There were secrets he needed to protect, but if he could get her to trust him, there was hope. He retrieved his dinner from the refrigerator as his mind adjusted to the idea.
With a smile, Aden popped his food into the microwave, set the timer, and threw out the original plastic container. When the appliance beeped, he took the meal to his dining table and booted up his laptop. It may have been foolish to introduce himself as late as he did, but now he was even more curious about the woman, and research was what he did best. As he ate his first meal of the night, he rolled his shoulders, logged online, and entered his neighbor’s address into the search bar. The woman hadn’t given him her name, but he wasn’t worried. Daniel didn’t keep him around for his looks.
The first hit was an aerial view of the street, but there was no information on the occupants. He rubbed his chin, considering his options. After a moment, he typed “Couleur Parish Assessor” into the search bar, and when the website popped up, he entered the address into the proper slot. Bingo! He read the names with interest:
Ryan Alexander Blaine
Carissa Mouton Blaine
She must be Carissa, and his interest piqued at the absence of her husband. He’d not seen anyone with her at her house, so he wondered why her husband wasn’t around. It was possible the man was military or had a job that required extensive travelling, but instinct told Aden that wasn’t the case. His neighbor felt like she was alone, her aura tied to only herself. Besides, she was far too leery of him as a stranger to be living with someone. Following that line of thought, he searched the man’s name, but he ended his first inquiry with empty hands. It was as if Ryan Blaine didn’t exist. The hours ticked by, and although he wasn’t a fan of other search engines, Aden tried every one he knew, but still came up with nothing.
Around five a.m., he scratched his ear for what must have been the fiftieth time. His frustration had a tendency to bring out his old habit. Sighing, he stood up and stretched. He would try again the next night, but for now, he only wanted more food and a long day’s sleep. He stopped by his front window on the way back to his bedroom, watching for a moment as lights flickered to life across the street. Maybe if he played his cards right, he could dig a little deeper into his pretty little neighbor’s life. He’d need to be careful, at least for a while. He didn’t want to admit his secrets too soon. If things worked out, however…
Well, there would literally be an eternity for him to get to know her better.
After a relaxing dinner with her mother, Carissa slipped her Durango into park in her driveway and flipped open her phone. She punched the voicemail button, frowning when Ophelia’s tense, worried voice filled the cab.
“Carissa, I’m really sorry, but I’m not going to be able to see you tonight, after all.” They’d made plans earlier in the day to catch a movie after work. “I’ve had some things come up and I need—I’m going to be out of town for a little while...I mean, I sa
id I might, but, girl, it’s complicated, and I—Look, don’t call me, just be careful, okay? And don’t go out at night.”
The message ended, and Carissa sat staring at her phone. She’d never heard Phia sound so scared. Don’t go out at night? Be careful? She wondered if this had something to do with the attempted shoplifting, but something told her that wasn’t the case. She tossed her phone into her purse, grabbing the strap and her keys from the ignition. She jumped out of her SUV and swallowed a scream.
Aden stood less than a foot away with an amused smile on his magnificent face. There was that damn word again. Carissa caught her breath and scowled at him.
“You scared the crap out of me, damn it!”
Aden chuckled, his eyes shining in the darkness. Carissa raised an eyebrow, adjusting her stance so the knife hooked into her pocket was visible. He backed up a few steps. If he cared at all about self-preservation, he would do well to keep that distance. Aden reached up and scratched the back of his neck, scuffing the toe of one large boot against the concrete of her walkway.
“I didn’t mean to startle you. I saw you pull up and figured I’d come over and say hi.”
Aden’s non-threatening smile was charming, but just being near him sent Carissa’s heart into overdrive. She wanted to say her reaction was caused by him surprising her, but if she was being honest, it was mostly because of his hotness. Seriously, no man should look that good. Like, ever. Irritated with herself, Carissa hit the lock button on her key fob and stalked to her porch.
“Well, you’ve said it, so you can go now.”
She unlocked her front door and stepped inside, but she didn’t have a chance to close him out a second time. Aden followed her and placed his hand firmly on the door.
Aden smiled again, the humor filling his gorgeous blue eyes, “Want to have dinner with me?”
Carissa tried to close the door, but it wouldn’t budge.
Crimson Bayou (Things that go Bump in the Bayou Book 1) Page 4