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Sawyer scratches behind Zeus’s ears, and the dog’s entire body vibrates with excitement. Leave it to him to name his damn dog after the king of the gods. “Didn’t Quinn tell you?” He reaches forward and takes the chewed-up rubber out of my hand, then lifts his brows in question at Quinn.
“Tell her what?” she squeaks, and I hold my breath, knowing this isn’t going to be good.
“I figured you knew.” Sawyer points to the beautiful house to the left of mine. “That house over there is mine. Hudson and I have been buying properties around the lake for a few years, and I thought it was time to move out of my condo and get a little more privacy here.” One side of his mouth tips up in a cocky smirk, and my fingers burn with the urge to smack it right off his face. “Looks like we’re going to be neighbors.”
For a moment, I stand frozen, staring at him.
Then I look from my house tohisand wonder how hard it would be to ask the movers to pack everything back up and put it in storage. Icouldstay with Quinn for a few more days. A week maybe. Just until I can find another place.
“You okay, Red?” He points at my head and laughs. “You’ve got a little smoke coming out of your ears.”
Oh hell no.“Absolutely. I was just thinking how convenient it must be to live two houses down from your brother. When you get scared at night, the big bad MMA fighter can come and check your closets for you. I’m assuming the whole bed-wetting issue has cleared itself up. If not, I could probably prescribe something to help with that.”
“It was one time,” he bites back, and I smile my best pageant smile at him and tsk.
“Whatever you say.” I link my arm through Quinn’s. “See you later, Sawyer.” With a little wiggle of my fingers, I wave goodbye and drag Quinn toward my house. But not before Sawyer gets the last word.
“You can bet on it.”
In a move I can only call a momentary case of complete insanity, I turn my head and look back over my shoulder and catch Sawyer—the asshole—Kingston watching me walk away. His hand rests on Zeus’s head, and his eyes are glued to my ass. I may add a little extra swing to my hips as we walk into my house.
Eat your heart out, asshole.
* * *
Sawyer
Instead of going home, I head across the yard to my brother Hudson’s house and let myself in, then clear my throat when I see I’m interrupting him and his wife, Maddie.
“If my tongue’s down her throat and my hand’s full of her ass, you can feel free to show yourself right back out of the house, man.” Hudson lifts his hand and gives me the finger as Maddie buries her face in his neck.
“Sorry, brother.” I say the words. Doesn’t mean I actually mean them though.
Maddie turns around and rubs her baby bump. “Come on in, Sawyer. Did you eat?”
“Sunshine...” my brother whines.
Maddie shakes her head and giggles. “Follow me, boys. I’ll make eggs.”
“No,” I choke. “That’s okay, Mads. I’m good.” Maddie can’t cook at all. She once boiled water for pasta and forgot the stove was on. They had to throw the pot out and repaint the kitchen. Between her and our stepmother, Ashlyn, I’m not sure who’s the worse cook. They’re both pretty bad. “But I’ll grab a cup of coffee, if there’s any in the kitchen.”
Maddie shrugs. “Suit yourself. It’s decaf.” She lifts up on her toes, cupping Hudson’s cheek, and presses a kiss to his lips. I look away, somehow feeling more like an intruder with that small intimate gesture than I did walking in on them a few minutes ago. “I’m going to get some work done. I’ll be in the office if you need me.”
Hudson levels me with a glare as I help myself to the remainder of the coffee. “Wanna tell me why I’m standing here talking to you instead of worshipping my wife?”
“Wanna tell me when you decided to rent out the house next door to Wren Davenport? And why the hell didn’t you tell me before?” I stood on the side of my house for a good twenty minutes this morning, watching the movers carrying things into the house, but not knowing whose they were. At least until Wren and Quinn pulled up.
Wren Davenport.
I definitely didn’t expect to see her moving in.
A shit-eating-grin spreads across Hud’s face. “Guess it slipped my mind.”
“Fucker.” Hudson and I are only a year a part. But he’s always played the part of the annoying younger brother like a pro. “A little warning would have been nice.”
“I’ve been telling you for months, we need to hire someone to handle this shit full-time. Maybe now you’ll listen.” He grabs a green protein shake from the fridge and chugs it.
“Dude. I’m an MMA fighter, and you own the hottest bar in the city of Philadelphia. We got into the whole lakeside real-estate thing for fun and to make a few bucks. I had no fucking clue it would be as big an undertaking as it is. You’re the boy wonder slash business genius. You’ve got to know we need help, or we need to give up the rentals we’ve got and stop buying up properties around the lake.”
