Page 17 of Read With Your Heart

From the moment I saw her, I’d known she was trouble.

Now look what you did, Leon. You kissed her in front of her not-yet-ex-old-man and her family, starting a pissing match and the inquisition. They’re all going to want to know when I’m marrying their little princess, and it’s too bad because I like Jess Carter. He’s a decent guy.

“That was . . .” Tom’s wife, Karyn, fans her face, and Tricia’s eyes bore into the table. I swear she’s about to set it on fire.

“I should get going,” she mumbles and reaches for her bag over the back of her chair.

“How’d you get here?” Jess asks her, the concern visible on his face as he watches his sister. I realize I’m not the only one getting asshole vibes off her ex.

“I walked.” She stands, hiking her tote over her shoulder and smiles weakly at Jess. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Wait,” her brothers say in unison, but I’m the fool that interjects with, “I’ll walk you home.”

Now both brothers are beaming fireballs at me, and I turn my head from brother to brother. Holding up a hand to emphasize I’ll stand down, I add, “You guys got it. I get it.”

I do. They’re being protective of their own, and that’s admirable. I’m trying to protect my sisters as well. I’ve only ever done that from afar. It wasn’t smart for me to linger around my younger siblings. I wanted to provide them with a better life by keeping my distance.

“It’s only across the alley, so no one’s ‘got it’ but me.” Tricia uses air quotes, and it’s girly-shit cute.

Karyn reaches for Tricia’s wrist. “Be smart, Tricia. You shouldn’t be walking home alone.”

My head turns to her sister-in-law. The last thing I would call Elk Lake City is dangerous, but there’s something unsettling around the table.

“It’s time for me to head out as well. I need to check on my sisters.” I push back my chair and stand. “I only live across the alley as well, so I can walk you.”

Jess huffs, and I look up at him, ready to thank him for the invite to join him for a beer. He’s been cool to handle Mrs. Drummond for me, who’s clearly old and a bit forgetful. She’s also wary of me because I’m different from her. Tattoos. Accent. Skin. Some people…While I don’t want to frighten her, I know I do. I’m new here, so she doesn’t trust me, but as Jess is someone familiar, she listens to him.

“Hey, thanks for—”

“You know you two are neighbors, right?” Jess interjects, and I look over at Tricia. The first thing that comes to mind is the neighbor across from my bedroom window. The girl in outline each night with dark hair, a sweet nightie, and . . . holy crap. I’ve seen her naked. On one of those first nights after she moved in, I saw her walking around after a shower. She’s got a tight body, and I swallow back the fantasies I’ve had of her.

It all makes sense in a way. I thought I was just mixing up the woman in the alley with the neighbor, but they are one and the same.

And the sexiest thing I’ve seen her do at night is tuck her feet into the edge of her sheets, put on a pair of eyeglasses, and read. Being a Shakespeare man myself, I watch her, wondering what’s so interesting in whatever book she holds. I’ve wondered what her face looks like up close. Does she smile or frown? She laughs sometimes because I see her head tip back and her shoulders shake. She covers her mouth with her hand when she gasps. It’s all a bit creepy that I know these things about her. I get that.

Tricia looks up at me, but I ignore her gaze. I reach out for Jess’s hand to shake it and do the same with Tom.

“Call me,” Karyn says to Tricia, positioning her fingers near her ear like a phone before I follow Tricia out into the alley.

“Sorry about all that,” I say again after only a few feet of awkward silence. I scratch at the back of my neck like I have an itch, but it’s a nervous habit.

She waves her hand as she did earlier, dismissing everything that happened, including that kiss. My mouth hardly touched on hers, but she didn’t lean away. She followed me when I pulled back, and I wanted to take it further. Right there in the bar, I wanted to shove my tongue into her mouth and kiss her breathless. She looked a bit dazed when I drew away, and it had been kind of empowering, sweet even.

It isn’t that I haven’t been with a woman since leaving the slammer, but it’s not like I’ve had a connection with anyone either. Not after the mind games an old friend with benefits used to play with me. I’ve never had someone sweet like this teacher walking next to me.

“Your brothers aren’t wrong. You shouldn’t be walking around at night alone, even if this is Mayberry.”

Her head turns to me. “You seem too young to know what Mayberry means.”

“Like you’re so old,” I mock.

“I’m thirty-two.”

I snort. “You look twenty-five, and I’m older than you.”

Her eyes shift back to me as we cross the alley. I’m following her lead, but we’re basically going to the same place, and I’m wondering if she knows this as she hasn’t mentioned it.

“I’m thirty-five,” I clarify. Thirty-five with no formal education and a prison record. It’s a wonder I have a job, which was difficult to obtain at first. One reason I moved here was to get away from my past.