Read Online The Neighbor [The Complete Collection] by Abby Weeks - Free Book Online Page A

glad the house was empty again. It seemed, the more time she spent away from Ben, the more she enjoyed the solitude. She had felt as if there’d been an intruder in the house since Ben got home last night. Now it was hers again. She went to the front of the house to make sure Ben’s car was gone and then she slipped out of her pajamas and left them on the hall floor. She walked straight back to the kitchen and opened the patio doors and stepped out into the cold air.
    This was becoming something of a habit, she thought, but she couldn’t help it. She grabbed one of the poolside lounge chairs and lay on it. It was hardly eight in the morning and the air was so chilly that steam was rising up from the pool through the roses. The flowers were so rich and beautiful looking. She decided that however long it took, and however cold she got, she would lay naked on that lounge until Henry saw her. She wasn’t sure what she was trying to accomplish and she wasn’t sure what would happen when he saw her but she didn’t care. She wasn’t going back into her house to face another desperate day of loneliness while Ben cheated on her.
    In the chilly air her nipples hardened and goose pimples popped up on her arms and legs. She looked ghostly white. A few minutes passed and she was visibly shivering but she didn’t care. She looked at all those thousands of red rose heads floating in the pool and thought there was no where else in the world she should be but here.
    When Henry came down to his kitchen and saw her out on the recliner, shivering like a homeless puppy, he came straight out.
    —Mrs Carver?
    Janey looked up and saw Henry standing above her in his robe.
    —Come inside at once, he said. You’ll catch your death out here.
    He took her by the hand and rushed her into the kitchen, shutting the patio door behind her.
    —Let me get you a blanket, he said.
    —No, she said. I don’t need anything.
    —You’re freezing.
    —I don’t care. I don’t want to be covered up. I feel like I’ve been covered up my entire life.
    She hugged her body with her arms for warmth. Henry looked at her a few seconds, his eyes drinking in her naked, white flesh.
    —Well, let me put up the heat then, he said.
    He walked over to a digital thermostat on the wall and pressed the plus button a few times, setting the house temperature well above normal. Immediately Janey felt warm air flow from a vented slit by the floor. It felt a lot better.
    —This kitchen has heated floors, Henry said. It should warm up pretty soon.
    —Thank you, Janey said.
    It was a strange situation. She was sitting at the counter in this almost complete stranger’s house, stark naked. She looked at Henry. He smiled back at her.
    —I’ll put on some coffee, he said.
    —That would be nice.
    He had a very fancy looking espresso machine and he scooped coffee from a steel tin and placed a metal filter carefully on the scoop. Then he cranked it into place and hit a switch. Within a few seconds, a delicious aroma of fresh coffee filled the room. He heated some milk on the stove and poured her a cup of hot milk and then poured some espresso into it.
    —Thank you, she said.
    He nodded as if making her coffee was something he did every single morning. She felt surprisingly comfortable, sitting naked at Henry’s breakfast bar, sipping coffee. She felt again the warm, protective feeling of Henry’s gaze on her bare body.
    —Thank you for the flowers, she said to him softly.
    —You’re welcome, Janey. May I call you Janey?
    —Of course, she said, smiling.
    —You’re a very beautiful girl.
    —I don’t know how you managed to get so many roses delivered on such short notice.
    He smiled. —I have some friends in the business.
    Janey finished her coffee and then looked at Henry, returning his gaze.
    —What are we going to do? she said and smiled as wickedly as she knew how.
    She had no idea what she was doing, or what she was suggesting, and she felt a little guilty for