AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Notice that I’m not William George?”
I lick my lips involuntarily. “I noticed.”
For a fraction of a second, her eyes flick down to my mouth. Just as quickly, she averts her gaze. Her eyes lock onto mine. “Tell those nosy busybodies to stay away from me. That goes for you, too.”
Then she slams the door in my face. I stare at it for a moment, noting that its gray paint doesn’t contain even a hint of blue, and wonder how my first meeting with Avery could have gone so badly, so quickly. Glancing to the cat for help, I see that he’s turned his back on me, too.
“Everyone’s a critic,” I mutter.
Chapter 4
Hunter
“It’s not funny,” I complain as my brothers cackle into their beers. “I shouldn’t have even told you.”
Griff, Jonah, and I get together for burgers and beer at one of our houses at least once a week. This week, it happened to be my turn. After the meeting with Avery, I went home to lick my wounds and drink a six-pack of IPA in peace. I’d forgotten all about hosting my brothers for dinner until the moment they’d knocked on my door.
“I’m here on official HOA business, ma’am,” Jonah mocks, adopting the no-nonsense tone of a police officer. After more than ten years with the Mercury Ridge Police Department, he can slip into cop mode with as much ease as another man puts on a jacket. Griff hums the theme song from Cops under his breath before bursting into laughter.
For a moment, I forget to be annoyed and bask in the sound of Griff’s laughter. He’s been in a bad mood for almost a decade—ever since his fiancée broke off their engagement and disappeared without a trace. Then I remember that he’s laughing at me, and I punch him in the arm. Hard.
“Ow,” he says, wincing. “You’re the one who pissed off a sexy woman just because Betty Lou McMillan told you to. If you want to hit something, start with the person you’re really angry with.”
“He means yourself. Not Betty Lou,” Jonah chimes in.
“Yeah, genius,” I growl, “I got that.”
Griff gazes at my backyard. The setting sun shines on my immaculate lawn and Griff nods in approval. “It’s a nice yard,” he concedes, “but it’s not worth having to deal with the HOA. There’s a house on my street for sale. The yard is smaller, but it has a nice deck.”
Jonah points in the direction of Avery’s house. “Hell, there’s going to be a house for sale across the street. No HOA and you wouldn’t even have to hire a moving truck.”
Griff flashes me a grin. “You blew your chance with the pretty girl, but I bet she’d still take your money if you offered to buy the house.”
After Griff and Jonah leave, I stare into the flames of my backyard fire pit and think of Avery. The orange and red tendrils of fire remind me of her hair. I’d give anything to run my fingers through her hair.
My brothers may be right. This HOA business has gotten out of hand. I don’t care what color people paint their doors, nor do I care if they install cat prisons in their front yard. And now the HOA is interfering with my sex life. Or at least my potential sex life. I have no doubt that Avery and I would have been dynamite in bed.
Maybe it could even have been more…?
I push the thought aside. There could never have been more than sex between Avery and me. I don’t do relationships. After watching the pain Griff went through when Mercy broke off their engagement and shattered his heart, I have no desire to experience anything like that.
Not ever.
No matter how cute she looks in her cat-eye glasses.
Chapter 5
Avery
As I stand beneath the stream of hot water and lather shampoo into my hair, I growl in frustration. I’m still fuming from the encounter with the sexy fireman this afternoon. Who does he think he is, showing up at my door and demanding that I get rid of Simba’s catio? After enduring the travel from Colorado to North Carolina, the last thing I’m going to do is take away Simba’s refuge at the whim of an HOA that my father wasn’t even a part of.
I bet Hunter Griffin is used to getting his way, with his All-American good looks, muscled body, and tempting smile. Well, I, for one, am immune to your charms, fireman.
With a forlorn meow, Simba peeks his head around the shower curtain. I can’t help but laugh at the sight of his pink nose and big, yellow eyes. He keeps the rest of his body safely behind the curtain to avoid getting wet.
“Hiya, Simba. Am I taking too long in the shower? Are you getting lonely?”
He meows again.
