As I rip my gaze away, a pink-haired barista calls, “Order for Cami!”
“Oh, thank God,” I mutter, snatching my drink and darting toward the exit, bells clanging traitorously as I shove the door open.
Ms. Palmer’s beach house is only a few blocks away. I’ll simply sprint back there, shelter in place for the next…I don’t know…one hundred eighty-something days?
“Excuse me,” a gruff timbre from behind calls out, stopping me in my tracks.
I spin around, swallowing hard when my eyes land on Neighbor Guy. “Um…yes?”
“I think you might?—”
“Be the woman you rudely slammed into the other night?” I interject with a huff. “For your information, streaking isn’t my thing, but there was sand—lots of it—and then I realized I’d forgotten my towel, but no biggie; the house next door seemed empty—which it obviously wasn’t since,bam, you rammed right into me during my mad dash—and now, I’d like to go into hiding, thank you very much, because,hello, super embarrassing.”
Head tilted, Neighbor Guy examines me for a beat, no doubt mentally digesting the spiraling word buffet I spewed cold and fast.
My heart thumps against my chest as he steps closer, narrowing the safe gap between us.
“Actually,” he explains, “I think you might’ve forgotten this.”
Dangling from his hand is a white pastry bag, the nameCamiwritten in bold black.
Ugh. I forgot my stupid bagel.
Because apparently, not only am I the girl who runs around naked at night, I’m also the girl who flees coffee shops like it’s her rom-com debut.
“Um…thank you?” I say—or ask?—like it’s a question, taking the bag as he hands it over. “So kind of you.”
Unsure of what to say next, I nod and turn on my flip-flops, resuming the three-block jolt back to Ms. Palmer’s house, flight mode fully engaged.
Why couldn’t I have said something cool or clever? Oh, that’s right. Witty me got chipped away by the asshat ex who eroded my spark with needling digs I pretended not to hear.
Neighbor Guy’s gruff tone halts me yet again. “I didn’t slam into you, by the way.”
Brows raised, I pivot to face him. “Really? ‘Cause my dignity and I remember it a lot differently.”
Only…the second our eyes meet, my confidence wobbles.
Maybe this Adonis isn’t my neighbor after all? Fuck my life. Nowthismoment is about a thousand times more embarrassing.
He clears his throat. “Youslammed intome.”
And just like that, I’m somehow even more mortified than before. Which, frankly, should have been impossible.
Still, beneath the flush of total embarrassment, a smile sneaks up as I walk away. Something tells me this won’t be the last time I talk to him. Or snap at him. Or find his biceps offensively attractive.
CHAPTER 2
Knox
Didn’t think I’d see her again.
Not in a bougie cafe with scones, oat milk, and a ridiculous chalkboard sign that read:We’ll Brew You a Cup of Love.
Yet there she stood, ahead of me, in line at Seaport Coffee Café.
After placing an order, she stepped to the side, calm and collected.
Her gaze slid past mine, nonchalant, as if she didn’t recognize me.
