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Or he could be the one to leave.
Chapter Four
Gavin
I watched from my window as Kim was talking to the new tenant living next door.
I hadn’t gotten her name and halfway wondered if I should have asked Kim what it was before I got off the phone the night before, but then I decided it didn’t matter much.
There was a small part of me that wondered what they were discussing over there. They were too far away for me to hear what was being said, even with my windows open, but from their facial expressions, it seemed like the conversation was pleasant.
I hadn’t been specific with Kim the night before, so there wasn’t anything about me in particular she’d be addressing with the new tenant. So, what the fuck did I care?
Was I worried she was over there talking shit about me?
Let her. I liked being left alone, and if she could get it through the new tenant’s head that I don’t want to deal with shit in any regard, who cares what that girl thinks of me? She could think I’m a monster for all I care. As long as I’m left alone, right?
But I can’t exactly ignore the new problem I’ve developed.
And that’s the fact I can’t get this girl out of my head.
Every time I close my eyes, I see her face. The way she looked at me with fire in her eyes. The passion that was ignited in her as soon as I came against her. Clearly, she was the kind of girl who didn’t take shit from anyone, and that was wildly attractive in my world. Even if I was the one she was butting heads with yesterday afternoon.
I liked feisty women, and it made me curious to know more about her.
Kim didn’t visit with the new tenant long, and soon I heard her starting her four-wheeler and driving off. I was glad I wasn’t paid a visit following the neighbor’s. I really didn’t want her to make a big deal out of the conversation we’d had the day before so much as I wanted her to screen the tenants who were coming in more carefully. I knew that wasn’t exactly fair, since I didn’t know much about my new neighbor.
But I also felt that it wasn’t unreasonable to ask as I was paying rent here, and I cared about the kinds of people who moved in next door. I had been very clear about this entire thing when I had moved in, and I hoped my wishes would be taken into account when they chose who to rent the next-door bungalow to.
I looked out the window once again, just in time to see the girl get up and head back inside her bungalow after Kim left. I was curious to know what she was doing here. Where she worked, why she came to Islamorada of all the places in the Keys to live. Perhaps, most of all, I wondered how long she planned to stay.
That wasn’t the sort of information I could get out of anyone but her, and to do that, I was going to have to strike up some sort of conversation. God knew after the way things had gone the day before, I wasn’t about to walk over and just introduce myself. Fuck that. Not to mention I didn’t want to give her the impression I wanted to be friends or anything like that.
Mostly, I just wanted to figure out how long I had to put up with her being here.
Then I could start counting down to when my life could go back to normal.
I paced from the kitchen to my living room and back again.
For the first time in a long time, I felt stuffy. It was as though the walls were closing in on me, and I just wanted to get out of the house for a while. After yesterday, I wasn’t going to just go out back like I normally would. I would be driven insane wondering if she was paying any attention to what I was doing.
No, the only thing there was for me to do was head further into town.
There was a good café that wasn’t too far from the complex. I could easily walk over there and get a cup of coffee. So that’s what I did.
“Look who’s out and about on this fine morning,” Keanu, the man behind the counter, announced when he saw me. “How you doing today?”
“I’m alright,” I said. “Thought I would get out of the house for a bit.”
“Since when?” he asked.
“Since I got a new neighbor,” I growled. “I’ll take a large black drip.”
“Coming up,” he said. He rang up my order before pouring the drink, then pointed toward the bar for cream and sugar.
I clicked the lid on top and took a sip as he continued the conversation.
“Uh-oh, new neighbors, huh?” he asked. “I thought you were too far away from the rest of the complex to have neighbors?”
