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I turned back to her and sent up a silent apology to Lucky. Technically, he’d spotted her first, even if that spotting had been through shady means. Bro code and all that.
But I was the one who was moving into this building. She was my new neighbor. I was honor bound to chat with her and get to know her while she looked so attractively sweaty.
Okay, so side benefit.
I lifted a shoulder. “His paper plane has been unexpectedly grounded.”
“Don’t think its made of paper. Unless he’s one of those who stuffs toilet paper rolls in his jeans. Do guys really do that?”
I had to grin as I leaned against the jamb. “Guys really do a lot of things, though I think socks are more common.” I shrugged. “Sorry, can’t say definitively.”
“Oh, right, because of course you’ve never needed to do anything like that.”
I didn’t bother to hide my smirk. Hey, she’d continued this particular line of conversation, not me.
“If I was the ogling sort, I’d just look to see myself. But I prefer a little mystery.”
“What’s your name, Mystery?”
“Luna.”
“Nice to meet you.” I held out a hand and she clasped it after a moment. I waited for sparks. Expected them, for some weird reason. When there was nothing, I frowned. “Do you have a last name?”
“Nah.” She released my hand with a satisfied smile. “I’m like Madonna. Who needs more than the first?”
“Us ordinary people who teach school, for one. I don’t want my students calling me Cal.”
“But that’s what the hip teachers do, isn’t it?” She smiled again, this time in a much less practiced way. “What do you teach?”
“Second grade at the Catholic school.”
Her expression warmed exponentially. “It’s Hastings.”
“What?” Why was she so damn beautiful? It shouldn’t be legal.
“My last name is Hastings.”
“Mine is Beck.” I rubbed the back of my neck as Lucky turned on the music in my apartment and started singing along loudly.
Since when did he like Sinatra? Or like butchering Sinatra, because wow.
Her lips twitched. “I know that. You know, August and all. But thank you for the confirmation.”
When I lingered in the doorway, not wanting to leave just yet, she arched a pale brow. “Since you’re just moving in, you can’t need a cup of sugar.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised what I might need. You don’t happen to have any children you’ll be enrolling at school?”
“No.”
“Any husband to help you make those nonexistent children?”
She glanced over her shoulder at her fully furnished apartment. I couldn’t see much with her blocking my view, but the place felt relaxed and serene. Much like the woman herself. “Appears not.”
“How about a boyfriend?”
“Are you auditioning?”
“I’d like to know what the audition consists of before I sign up. If it involves that shiny pole over there…” I gestured into her spacious apartment, which seemingly had the same layout as mine. “Regrettably, I’ll have to pass.”
