I wouldn’t mind. At all.
But there’s broken ceramic underfoot, spilled coffee drying fast, and my irritating younger brother watching us with the kind of suspicion that kills momentum instantly.
So instead, I clear my throat and adjust my hold on the cat like this is normal. Like I didn’t just accidentally stake a claim.
Ivy finally blinks, and her lips curl into a smile.
And that’s when I know I’ve crossed a line I can’t uncross.
An hour later,things are mostly back to normal.
Well, almost.
Drew sucks in a breath, his thumb frozen mid-scroll, an unbroken coffee mug abandoned on the counter.
“Oh no,” he says softly.
I take a sip of the coffee Ivy made, savoring its perfect taste. “What?”
Ivy leans closer to him, still glowing in a way I haven’t stopped noticing. “What are you looking—oh.”
I lean over Ivy’s shoulder. Drew turns the screen. “Old Mill Row Neighborhood Watch Facebook Group.”
My eyes scan his phone, and a sigh slips out.
I used to believe privacy was a given.
Old Mill Row is the kind of neighborhood where people wave politely, bring casseroles when someone gets sick, and pretend they aren’t absolutely feral with curiosity. I bought this house because it was quiet. Predictable. Safe.
Apparently, that was optimistic.
Every neighbor on the street tried to befriend me at least once. They descended like vultures carrying casseroles the second I pulled into the driveway, Marcus’s U-Haul idling behind me.
Questions flew at me from every direction.
I barely made it inside before slamming and locking the door like I was fleeing a crime scene.
I thought they’d given up. Decided privacy was something I’d earned.
I was very wrong.
My jaw tightens. “Why are you in that group?”
“Because I like to know when the street loses its collective mind,” he says, already scrolling. Then he clears his throat. “Okay. Here we go.”
I brace myself.
KarenW859:Did anyone else’s Ring camera catchSebastian Locke HOLDING HANDSlast night?!?!
Ivy clamps a hand over her mouth. “Oh no.”
I scrub a hand over my face. “Of course they did.”
Drew scrolls.
LindaPLovesTea:WAIT. Sebastian Locke?? The new guy in town?
TomR_RingCam:YES. I thought my camera glitched. He was walking toward his house on Old Mill Row.
