Page 10 of Long Story Short

A groan leaves me as I get closer to the house. It’s absolutely beautiful from the outside—and massive. I thought my grandfather’s house was large, but this one might be even bigger. I slowly climb the stairs that lead from the backyard and up to the porch, mentally cursing my cat’s name with every step closer to a house my family doesn’t own.

“You know we have a perfectly good porch at our house, right, Mouse?” I keep going as if Mouse can actually understand anything I’m saying.

I climb the stairs and finally find Mouse perched on a cream-colored outdoor couch.

“Dang cat,” I scold, closing the distance to my cat. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Mouse’s only response is to lie down on the cushion as if he has no plans of leaving.

I sigh and shake my head. “Nope. We’re going back home before we’re spotted. Get up, Mouse.”

Mouse doesn’t get up. And I’m so focused on getting my cat off a stranger’s porch that I don’t even notice there’s someone else out here until a person clears their throat.

I scream and immediately back into the hydrangea bush behind me in an attempt to hide from whoever’s spotted me.

My eyes meet the stranger’s just as he opens his mouth to talk. “I guess my surprise visitor this morning isn’t a stray after all,” he declares, his voice deep and smooth as velvet.

I place my hand over my racing heart as I try to regain my composure. I use the time it takes me to gather myself to take in the man sitting a few feet away from me. He sits on a couch opposite where Mouse is. He wears a pair of black sweatpants and has one ankle crossed over his knee while a laptop sits in his lap. He’s got a black hoodie on and holds a coffee cup to his lips as he stares at me, waiting for me to respond.

“Of course he isn’t a stray. Look at him.” I rip my gaze from the handsome stranger’s and focus on Mouse. I brush his fur religiously and make sure his white-and-light-gray fur always stays clean. He doesn’t look like a stray at all.

The man lets out a low laugh, and I try to ignore the way it sends shivers down my spine. Something about his deep voice is intoxicating. I blame the early morning hour and the fact that I haven’t had caffeine yet. From the moment I woke up this morning, I’ve been searching for this dang cat.

“No, he doesn’t. What’s his name?”

I walk over to my cat and snatch him in my arms before he can run. I make the mental note to never accidentally leave the window open again. Mouse lets out one small meow of protest before he relaxes in my arms. “His name is Mouse,” I answer as I cautiously stare back at my neighbor.

It’s almost as if the stranger is actually taking me in for the first time because his eyes go wide as they trace my body from head to toe.

I shift awkwardly on my feet, wondering why heat blooms across my chest. I’m wearing a plush robe, covered for the most part, and yet I swear I feel the warmth from his gaze through my entire body. I hold Mouse closer to my chest, needing to focus on anything else besides the way my entire body feels hot underneath this stranger’s intense gaze.

He clears his throat, his eyes snapping to mine. “I’m…uh⁠—”

Mouse lets out a long meow, the sound making me jump because of how loud it was. He begins to squirm in my grasp, and I tighten my hold to ensure I don’t lose him for a second time this morning.

I give the stranger a smile. “We’ll get going before he manages to escape again. Wouldn’t want him trespassing on your lawn twice in one morning.”

The stranger rubs his lips together before the corner of his mouth twitches ever so slightly. “I wouldn’t mind.”

My cheeks feel hot, and I don’t know if it’s because I’m embarrassed by my cat and our trespassing, or if the heat is because of the way my neighbor is looking at me. Either way, I don’t want to spend any more time here to find out.

“Sorry again for my cat.” The words come out awkward and rushed as I begin to back away from the man and in the direction of my house. “He won’t be trespassing again.”

Before the stranger can respond, I’m turning around and running back down the stairs that lead to his lawn. Mouse lets out meows of protest as I hurry back to the house, but I ignore him.

I rush into the house and hold Mouse in one hand as I pull the window shut. My chest rises and falls in quick breaths as I try to push the sound of the stranger’s voice from my head. I came to the Hamptons to work. I need to finish my book. The last thing I need is a distraction. A neighbor who happens to be one of the most handsome men I’ve ever laid eyes on, with a voice that had my entire body breaking out in goosebumps, is a distraction I can’t risk.

Mouse wiggles in my grasp, and I loosen my hold to let him jump to the ground. He immediately runs over to the back door and paws at it.

I shake my head. “No, Mouse. No more escaping to the hot neighbor’s house.”

Meow.

I narrow my eyebrows. “You’re not allowed back over there. It’s been a long time since a man looked at me like that and got a reaction out of me, and that’s the last thing I need while I’m here working. You’re stuck inside.”

Mouse’s tail swats through the air. He stares at me for a few seconds before he turns around and races out of the room. I sigh and retreat to my bedroom, needing to get ready for the day so I can start working.

It isn’t until I look in the mirror that I realize I’m still in my robe. And picking up Mouse had led to the knot at my waist loosening, showing more of my chest than I realized.