by J. L. Berg
This part of town was historic, dating back over one hundred years when Confederate soldiers roamed the city. My own home still had the original hardwood flooring and much of the tin ceiling the first owners had put in when it was built. I’d added my own touches here and there, bridging the modern and old together with bright colors and funky artwork, but it still had its old-world charm.
Stepping into the kitchen, I pulled out a tin of one of my favorite blends of loose tea. It was strong and black with a hint of fruit for the morning, and it was the perfect way to wake up. I set it aside and fired up the kettle, and then I pulled out some Greek yogurt and fresh fruit for breakfast.
With my freshly brewed tea and yogurt, I sat down in my favorite spot—a cozy little armchair I’d rescued from a secondhand store—and I grabbed the book I was eager to finish. Snuggling down in the red velour chair, I sighed contentedly.
This was heaven.
I got about five seconds of heaven before it was all jacked up.
Boisterous loud laughter and shouting echoed from outside my window, causing my Zen-like calm to transform instantly into annoyance.
Pushing the curtains back, I found the root of my problem. Several men clothed in ratty jeans and T-shirts that all displayed the same faded logo were moving around with what looked like pitchforks, digging up dirt and mulch.
“My flower beds!” I screamed, suddenly realizing what they were up to.
Leaving my tea and breakfast behind, I marched out my front door, dressed in only a flimsy nightgown and robe, ready to defend the flowers I’d so painstakingly maintained.
Again.
“What the hell are you guys doing?” I shouted, rushing over to stop them.
Four sets of startled eyes settled on mine. No words came as they looked me up and down, obviously trying to figure out why a crazy half-naked lady was standing in front of them.
My hip jutted out, and I folded my arms across my chest in annoyance. Mia would call it my bitch stance.
I looked down, noticing the bags of chemicals and horrific mulch that was dyed an unnatural bright red color.
Horrible.
One of the men, the oldest-looking one, took a step forward, his hands going up, as he tried to explain what they were doing.
I got very little other than they were hired to do a job, but when he pointed to the house behind him, I knew exactly who to blame.
This was Jackson’s doing.
I quickly apologized, smiled, and walked off toward the front door of my new neighbor.
If he was going to interrupt my perfect morning, I would return the favor.
After several loud knocks on his brass knocker, I heard his voice moving closer.
“Hold on a minute!”
He sounded annoyed.
Good. That made two of us.
When the door opened, I was ready for battle. I was not, however, ready for Jackson to be half naked. The speech I’d written, edited, and perfected in my head as I stomped over and waited for him to appear suddenly disappeared from my brain as visions of sculpted abs and perfectly defined pecs danced in my head.
Dressed in a pair of loose-fitted linen pajama bottoms that were low enough to be nearly illegal, I found myself almost leaning forward, hoping to catch a glimpse of what might follow that gorgeous V that disappeared into the waistband of his dark blue pants.
My gaze meandered up his body, and I realized he was returning the favor as his eyes wandered over my thin robe and the abundance of bare skin peeking out.
“Can I help you, Liv?” he asked in a slow Southern drawl that seemed a whole lot sexier with him standing there, shirtless.
“Um…” I answered.
He smiled lazily and leaned against the doorframe. Masculine thick arms folded across his chest as he tucked one leg across the other.
I thought the slow cocky smile was what tipped me over the edge, reminding me of my cup of tea that was currently getting cold on my coffee table and the uneaten breakfast I hadn’t touched because this man with the crooked grin couldn’t follow simple directions.
“You,” I said, pointing a finger toward him, “were supposed to let me handle the flower beds.”
He looked down at my accusatory finger and burst into laughter. “Is that what this is all about? A thank-you card would have sufficed. You didn’t have to march over here first thing in the morning.” His eyes moved quickly down my body as his smile intensified. “Although, I don’t mind the view.”
“Ugh!” I yelled. “You really are a lawyer, aren’t you?”
His smile faltered as his arms dropped to his sides. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” I said, angrily pushing my finger into his chest, “that you are overbearing and arrogant, and you think everything can be fixed with a little money.”
Grabbing my finger with his large hand, he stepped forward, getting close to me. I could smell the woodsy scent of his aftershave.
“Look, I know you think I trampled those flowers, and I’m sorry. I have no idea what happened, but I’m guessing it was the movers since they were the ones here the day of the move—not me. You were upset, so I fixed it. I really thought you would appreciate the help.”
“But I didn’t need you to help me. I was going to take care of it. It was my thing, and you are currently ruining it with chemicals and tacky mulch.”
“You’re kind of a pain in the ass,” he said slowly, his eyes blazing with fire.
“You’re exasperating.”
He stepped inside, his smug grin firmly back in place. “I hope you enjoy your flowers, sweetheart.”
“You’re not going to fix them?”
“Why, I believe I already did,” he answered in a sweet voice, his accent thicker and high-pitched. “You have a nice day.”
With that, he shut the door in my face.
~Jackson~
“That woman is a menace!” I shouted as soon as I saw her door slam closed from my perch behind the curtains.
“Whatcha doin’, Dad?”
I stood and turned to find Noah standing in the entryway of the living room, looking at me with a mix of curiosity and amusement.
“Nothing,” I muttered. “But that woman,” I said, pointing toward her house, “is insane. Do you know what she did?”
He shook his head and plopped down on the love seat. His hair fell in his eyes, and he brushed it away before adjusting his bright blue skater shirt and kicking off his shoes.
“Who? Liv? It’s kind of awesome that she turned out to be our neighbor, huh?”
“Yeah, really awesome.”
“So, why is she crazy? I thought she was really nice—and pretty,” he added shyly.
“The pretty ones are always the craziest,” I warned. “I called the best landscapers in the area and paid extra to have them come out at the last minute on a Saturday to fix her precious flower bed that the movers had messed up. And what did she do?”
“Uh—” he managed to say before I cut him off.
“She yelled at me. She told me I was overbearing and…and a lawyer!” I threw my hands up in the air in frustration before finally sitting down on the sofa across from my son.
“Well, you are a lawyer. She was right about that,” he chimed in.
“That’s not the point.”
“Okay.”
“We need to find a gardening store,” I announced suddenly. A wicked genius idea started to formulate in my head.
“Um…okay. Why?” He glanced out the window to catch a glimpse of the men still working outside.
“Because we are going to do a bit of gardening of our own today,” I answered. “Come on, let’s go.”
I may have received a few odd looks as we roamed the aisles of the gardening store, and I tried to keep the maniacal laughing to a minimum.
I said I tried.
When I told the staff member who had pulled the short straw and was sent over to help us what my plan was, he eagerly agreed to help us.
An hour later, we had enough supplies to fill up my entire truck bed.
Catching Liv’s stunned face as Noah and I began hauling bag after bag of bright red mulch out of the truck onto the grass of the backyard was worth every goddamn penny.
“What the hell is this?” she asked as she stepped off her patio and began walking toward the edge of the fence.
I thought seeing her in that flimsy robe had been a treat. Watching her walk up to me in a bikini had me nearly swallowing my tongue.
But this woman was the enemy now, and I had to keep my wits about me.
That meant keeping my thoughts to myself and my dick in my pants.
But damn, she was swinging her hips with her sun-kissed tan breasts peeking out of her bright orange top. Then, there was the belly-button ring, glinting and winking at me with each sway of her hips.
Focus. Must focus.
I shook my head and stared straight ahead, making sure my eyes wouldn’t waver again.
“We’re gardening,” I answered sweetly.
“Again?”
“Yes. Your love for gardening really brought out a side of me that I didn’t know existed. So, I decided to just go for it, you know?” I motioned toward the stacks of mulch and rows of various flowers that Noah and I had picked out. Nothing matched—seriously, nothing. There was no rhyme or reason to the plants we’d selected. I was betting half of them would die in a matter of weeks.
I was actually hoping for it. It would make the victory of this day so much sweeter.
“Is that what I think it is?” She pointed to my crowning achievement of the day as it was peeking out of a plastic bag.
“Oh, yes,” I answered, grinning. I bent down, pulled my new friend out, and firmly planted him into the lawn.
“Oh my God, that’s hideous. You’re not actually going to put that in your yard?”
I looked down at the bright pink plastic flamingo. “Oh, yes, I am. And he has an entire family in the truck. We couldn’t separate him from his mama.” I grinned.
“You’re insane!” she screamed.
“Right back at you, babe.”
With that, she turned around and stormed off, and I enjoyed the view of her ass and hips swaying all the way back to her house. The slamming of her door and the high-pitched scream were priceless.
Game, set, match.
~Liv~
Good friends were always there to listen and lend a helping hand.
Great friends did all of the above but also showed up at your doorstep bearing wine and food.
I had great friends.
I pulled my front door open and found my three best friends standing there with beaming smiles on their faces. “I am so glad all of you managed to find babysitters tonight!” I exclaimed with excitement.
“Babysitters?” Leah replied. “Who needs babysitters when we have husbands?”
“And grandmothers!” Clare chimed in, raising a bottle of merlot in enthusiasm.
“Well, let’s get this party started!” I said, ushering them in.
Mia followed the others inside and gave a wink as I helped her with her load of food and beverages.
They gathered around the kitchen island, and they all sat down on the comfy barstools I’d picked out from an eclectic boutique down the street as I began popping corks and setting out trays of food.
“So, we’re all mad at you, Liv,” Leah said, her fingers grabbing a handful of chips.
“Yeah, totally mad,” Clare agreed, pulling handfuls of cheese off the tray.
“Why? What the hell did I do this time?”
Being the only childless, single one, it could be anything really. Shaving my legs two days in a row could elicit a riot among them.
“Your hot new neighbor?” Clare said, raising an eyebrow. “We saw a glimpse of him as we were walking up. He was shirtless while working up a sweat. Don’t tell me you haven’t peeked outside your window.”
I sensed my change in color because I could already feel the heat of anger radiating through my pores.
“That neighbor,” I stated, “is a jackass.”
“Did you see that back, Liv?” Leah asked. “I think I need to go to the window to refresh my memory again!” She hopped off her chair and took off running.
“Don’t you dare, Leah James! I’ll tell your husband you were checking out other guys!” I screamed, threatening her.
“Ha!” she shouted. “Declan is too cocky to care. He knows he’s better-looking than any other man out there.”
“He’s not wrong,” I muttered.
Leah’s husband was a god among men. A former movie star turned director, he had once held the hearts and panties of nearly every woman in America. He had been the quintessential untamable man until he’d met Leah. Now, he only had eyes for her. Their love was like a fairy tale—well, the R-rated, super-sexy kind. But still, it was a fairy tale of sorts.
“I mean, seriously, Liv. Look at that eye-candy you literally have right out your window. Why aren’t you glued to this plate of glass, eating popcorn and posting Instagram photos?”
The others joined us at the window, and they’d even brought the snacks and wine. Apparently, my sweaty, half-naked neighbor had been chosen as our form of entertainment tonight.
“Because he’s a jerk.”
“So? Does staring require talking to him?” Leah asked.
“No.”
“Then, it doesn’t really matter.”
“I still hate him.”
“Didn’t this guy move in, like, a few days ago?” Clare sipped from her glass of water.
“Wait a hot second,” Mia said, her eyes narrowing, as she took a step closer toward the window. “Holy shit!” she exclaimed, causing me to nearly spit out my wine from the rare use of profanity vacating her lips. “Is that the hot dad from your—” She stopped, turning to me, unsure if it was okay to finish.
I nodded. “Yes.”
Clare and Leah turned toward the two of us in obvious confusion.
“A little update would be appreciated,” Clare said sweetly.
“I met Jackson, my neighbor, and his son, Noah, at my office yesterday—before I knew they were my neighbors.” My face went blank as I waited for the two of them to piece everything together.
Their eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and I watched Clare’s gaze cast downward until her eyes suddenly shot upward.
“Oh my God! The son was a patient of yours?”
“Bingo!” I said.
“Well, that’s slightly awkward, but it doesn’t explain why you feel such an immense hostility toward the father,” Leah commented.
Setting my wine glass down on the bookshelf below the window, I pointed. “There? Do you see what I’m pointing at?”
“The flower bed? Did you redo it? It looks different from the last time I was here,” Clare said.
“No, I did not redo it,” I muttered. “His movers trampled all over it and ruined it.”
Mia’s hand fell on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, babe. I know those flowers meant a lot to you. So, I’m guessing the talk didn’t go well?”
“I thought it did, but I guess we didn’t exactly understand each other. He’s Mrs. Reid’s grandson, so I assumed he would appreciate the idea of restoring it back to its former glory. Apparently, money is all that matters to him, and I woke up this morning to find my flower bed being completely redone with chemicals and this horrid red mulch. It looks nothing like it did before. I could have saved some of those poor plants.”
“I’m sure you could have,” Leah echoed, giving me a warm smile.
“That’s not all,” I said softly.
“Of course not.” Mia laughed.
“I might have marched over there and yelled at him—a lot.”
They just laughed, not surprised at all by my reaction. I guessed I wasn’t known for tact.
“Perhaps I was a little rude,” I admitted. “But then, he called me crazy, and went out and did that!” I pointed to his backyard
.
Mia snorted. “Is that a flamingo?”
“Yes, and there are about five more back there somewhere. Oh, and more red mulch.”
“You know, it’s really doesn’t look that—” Clare started to say.
“Don’t finish that sentence if you want to live past your first trimester, Clare,” I said.
Everyone’s eyes widened as Mia and Leah spun around to face Clare.
“How did you know?” Clare asked me.
“I uncorked a bottle of that chocolate wine you love so much, and you haven’t touched it. Add that to the fact that you’re stuffing cheese in your mouth at an alarming rate…it can mean only one thing.”
Her eyes moistened with unshed tears. “We just found out this week,” she gushed, her voice becoming heavy and full of emotion.
This would be Clare’s third child.
Lucky number three.
Clare and Logan had gotten married before I knew them, but I’d been told the harrowing story of how they came together. Clare had lost her first husband to brain cancer, and she’d been left to raise their infant daughter, Maddie, on her own. Several years later, in an ER room, she’d met Logan, and the rest was history. They’d had their own share of ups and downs, including Logan’s own battle with cancer, but they’d managed to pull through. Several years and another child later, they were still solid and strong. They constantly amazed me with the enormity of love they had for each other and their growing family.
“How’s Dr. McSteamy doing with the news?” I asked as we all huddled together.
“Like any doctor would with the same news. He’s over the moon and going slightly insane.” Clare laughed.
“Triple-checking your vitamins again?” Leah asked.
“Oh, yes,” Clare answered.
“Well, you know what this means?” Mia said.
“What?” we all responded in unison.
“We have a heck of a lot more wine to drink now!”
Laughter filled the house as we made our way back to the kitchen where we celebrated the newest addition to our growing family.
A few years ago, I’d had hardly anyone left in the world I could turn to. The little old woman who lived next door to me had become the closest thing I had to a friend or family member. Now, thanks to Mia and Garrett and the women surrounding me, I had an entire support system. The Finnegan family had a way of taking in strays like me and making them feel almost whole again.