Read Online My Neighbor's Will by Lacey Silks - Free Book Online Page A

timing
couldn’t be more perfect.”
    “I’m going to
miss you.” I leaned in for a hug.
    “You won’t be
lonely for too long. The new neighbor should be here by tomorrow
night.”
    “Still, it
won’t be the same without you.”
    Sarah picked up
her keys from the table and promised to visit soon. I watched her
car disappear behind the corner, and hurried inside. The smell of
oatmeal chocolate chip muffins filled the house. The baked goodies
had been my welcoming gift when Sarah moved in three years ago; now
I was making them for my new neighbor.
    An hour later
the round-caps filled a basket, and I waited in the living room,
peeking through the window at each passing car. The house next door
seemed more abandoned each minute. Night neared. The black driveway
at the front reflected moonlight in a puddle. I stuffed a muffin in
my mouth, upset I wouldn’t get a chance to meet my neighbor today,
and probably not tomorrow, given that I had a day-long photo
shoot.
    No car appeared
in the neighboring driveway for three days, and I finally gave up
seeking him out. On Saturday, I lounged in the sun in my back yard,
sporting a new bikini. The mid-day sun began scorching my exposed
skin in minutes. Careful not to tan over the line where my modeling
swimsuits would end, I flipped onto my back. The Cavaliers on my
left side were on vacation and my new neighbor hadn’t arrived yet,
so I lowered the straps from around my neck and off my front.
    I applied the
sunscreen with care and lay back. The light breeze cooled my heated
skin, at times teasing my nipples with pleasurable puffs. The
chirping of a sparrow sounded from the feeder and I opened my eyes
to have a look. My gaze flew to the movement of blinds in Sarah’s
old house. Startled, I cupped my breasts and I hurried inside. Was
he there? When had he arrived? And most importantly, was he a
peeping Tom?
    Inside, I
rushed to get dressed and bumped my hip on the corner of a
dresser.
    “Ouch!
Shit!”
    I buttoned up
the white shirt over my naked front and then examined the side of
my hip, just beyond the fabric of my bikini. The spot began
swelling and turning red. A bruise would not go over well at the
photo shoot on Monday. The new photographer would freak.
    The doorbell
rang.
    Annoyed, I
wobbled to the front door, half dressed. I expected a salesman and
frowned. Rage began to boil inside me. The new neighbor was a
frickin’ peeping Tom, and here I was, trying to be a Welcome Wagon
with baked muffins! The only muffin he was interested in was not
one I’d baked.
    Pulling on the
front door, I got my frown and my “no” ready for whatever someone
was trying to sell me. The tension on my forehead eased when I saw
him. Just over a head taller than I was, bronzed to perfection, he
stood in the doorway, sporting only Hawaiian shorts. The white
mid-day light framed his silhouette; sun shining from behind him
cast an aura around the god-like body. I lowered my gaze to where
the top of his shorts hung below his hip bones and revealed a
perfect triangular pelvis. His abs looked like they had been
painted on, and I had an urge to run my hand along their center
line.
    My mouth
watered and felt dry at the same time. I shaded my eyes with my
hand from the glowing sun, wishing I could see his face
clearly.
    “Can I help
you?” I mustered. His body pulled me in like a magnet, and the heat
I’d felt from the scorching sun now seemed to radiate from him.
    “I’m sorry. If
I’d known you were tanning, I wouldn’t have looked.”
    Was this my
neighbor?
    “You’re the
peeping Tom?” I fumed, hearing the anger vibrate my voice. Why
would someone so hot need to ogle me? With that body, he could have
anyone he wanted.
    “Please, I’m
truly sorry. I just wanted to open the window...April? Is that
you?” he asked.
    I stepped back,
using the doorframe’s shadow to help me see. The cool blue eyes
didn’t match his dark complexion. Their unmistakable bright shade
sent me back in time. No