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“That and for the crepes.”
“You and your crepes,” Victor said laughing, squeezing Lara tightly against him. She gave him an absolutely adoring look and Maria felt a little twinge of jealousy. Only because she couldn’t remember a time any man had looked that way at her or she at him. Kinda sucked. Fortunately, Victor broke eye contact with his fiancé before Maria had time to become uncomfortable or feel like a complete outsider, looking back up at her with an inviting smile. “We were hoping you might be able to sit down and hang out with us for a bit, too.”
Man she liked Victor. He was absolutely sincere in his invitation, not at all awkward or reluctant to spend some time hanging out with his fiancée’s sister, even though they were on a date. So she sat down with them and they chatted, and talked a bit with Ryan and she got to hear some of the ideas Victor and Lara were batting around about the wedding. As a bridesmaid she knew she was going to hear a lot of wedding talk over the next year, but she was okay with that.
She talked with them until about halfway through their meal, when she went back to work, letting them have the rest of their date to themselves. Their visit did make her feel better, especially since—unlike the rest of her family—they didn’t make any remarks about her single state or seem to feel the need to tiptoe or be “considerate” of the fact that she was single. They just talked, shared their joy, and had a good time. Which was exactly how she wanted it.
The rest of the week, Maria didn’t make it out to the pool while the Greek god was there. Which was disappointing. She ended up having to work later than usual a couple nights and was just too exhausted the next morning to get up early enough. Not that it kept her from the pool but being there just wasn’t nearly as exciting without the possibility of running into him.
And it kept her thinking about how he lived just a floor below her.
Maybe it would be worth it to reach out to him. Just see what happened.
At the worst, she could try to make a new friend, right?
Every so often, she actually had a full Saturday off. This was one of those weeks and she decided to make some granola. A guy with a body like his who worked out every morning probably wouldn’t want a plate of brownies, but she could make some pretty killer homemade granola. It was healthy, easy, and gave her an excuse to more formally welcome him to the neighborhood.
Yeah, most people weren’t this kind of neighborly anymore, but that was okay. He had no way of knowing she didn’t normally do this. She had mentioned Mrs. Pierce when they’d talked, so he knew she was friendly with at least one of her other neighbors. The others she all knew by name, which wasn’t too hard since there were only three floors of apartments, with four apartments on each floor except the ground which only had three plus the laundry room. It was part of why she liked living in a garden apartment; even if you didn’t know your neighbors, you at least knew who they were after a couple of months.
The smell of toasted oats, almonds, and coconut filled her apartment as she got ready. When she took the tray out of the oven, everything looked nicely browned and crispy. Yum. Just give it time to cool and then she’d add something a bit sweet, maybe raisins or even chocolate chips. Or maybe just a bit of honey.
She’d picked out her favorite pair of jean shorts— - not daisy dukes because she didn’t like her ass cheeks hanging out, but they fitted her curves nicely and came to just about three inches under her butt, which meant she was still showing off a fair amount of leg but she didn’t feel like she was showing too much—and a bright blue tank top. Thick straps with a deep V-neck edged with lace, it had an empire waistline so the fabric under her bust it fluttered a little more freely, covering the parts of her stomach she wasn’t a huge fan of. Strange how she could feel totally confident walking out in a bikini, but she didn’t like it when her clothing was stuck to her rolls.
Maria shrugged. Just one of the many contradictions of being a woman she supposed.
Since her hair was relatively well-behaved today, curling without too much frizz, she decided to let it fly free. Chances were she’d put it up later, but sometimes she liked the feeling of the big mass bouncing around her shoulders and upper back. It just felt fun. Plus, she’d been told by a lot of men that they loved seeing her hair like this. Although, most of them wanted to touch it and run their fingers through it which just made her want to smack them. Naturally curly hair did awful things when people ran their fingers through it.
Mixing the granola up with some raisins, deciding against the chocolate chips, Maria hoped he would be home. It was the middle of the day on a Saturday though, so her chances should be pretty good. Unfortunately, she wasn’t on the side of the building where she’d have a view of the pool, but if he followed his usual pattern it was too late in the day for him to be there anyway. Humming to herself, she wrapped up the granola in the red-colored plastic wrap she had left over from Christmas.
When she rapped on his door, she shifted back and forth on her feet, feeling a bit nervous and hoping he really was as nice as he’d seemed at the pool.
“Coming,” she heard him call.
Well, at least that answered the question about whether or not he was home. She shifted her weight again, finding a comfortable position and pasting a smile on her face before she could talk herself into abandoning the granola at his door and running. It was just nerves. Totally normal.
The door opened, and she nearly dropped her jaw. He was wearing a black tank top that was practically suctioned against his gorgeous body and a pair of workout shorts and he looked absolutely, effortlessly delicious. The dark color of his tank top just made his golden boy looks even brighter and his blue eyes glow even bluer. Everything about him screamed confident male, from the shaggy mess of his hair to the way he was leaning against the door frame. It wasn’t until a slow smile crept across those expressive lips that she realized she was staring.
“Um... hi again. I brought you some homemade granola. You know, to welcome you to the neighborhood. Officially. I was gonna make cookies, but I wasn’t sure if... um yeah.” Mentally screaming at herself to shut up, Maria thrust the granola at him. His eyebrows went up in surprise, but he accepted the offering, the warmth of his hand brushing against hers and making her skin tingle as he took the packet of granola from her.
She was just about to flee until she realized his eyes had dropped to her chest and he was making a slow perusal of her own outfit. Warmth flooded through her and she suddenly felt a million times more comfortable. When his eyes came back up to hers, unashamed of his blatant examination, she was able to smile at him completely naturally.
“Thanks,” he said. “It looks delicious. And for the record, snickerdoodles are my favorite.”
“Favorite?”
“Kind of cookie.” His smile was almost blinding. Maria did her best not to swoon. “But I’ve never had homemade granola before, so that’s something to look forward to.”
“It’s really easy to make.”
“I’ll have to get you to teach me sometime.” He glanced over his shoulder, she couldn’t see at what. “I’d invite you in for a drink or something, but I was actually just about to head out to hang with some friends.”
“Maybe some other time,” she said, letting some of her natural flirtatiousness slip into her manner, since he seemed like he might be receptive. It felt like there was a little spark, a little connection between them. Sure he might be a player, but he was hot and she was single and not looking for anything serious. “I’m the daytime manager at Murphy’s Meals, if you ever wanna come in and visit. I can get you a drink for free.”
Rick gave her a long measuring look and she actually got the impression of his eyes shuttering a bit, shutting her out. The change was subtle but abrupt and she blinked. The connection between them had shut down just like that, which told her she hadn’t been imagining it. Something that didn’t exist couldn’t disappear, and she definitely felt the loss.
“Sorry, I probably won’t be able to do that.”
She huffed, bringing herself back fully upright, thoroughly annoyed at the abrupt rejection. Especially because she had a feeling she knew why he’d suddenly gone cold. She shouldn’t have been surprised a guy who looked like him would be willing to have a drink with a girl who looked like her in private, but not out where someone might see them.
