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I squint my eyes against the sun, trying to remember if I’ve seen him: dirty blond hair, brown eyes, average build. “Oh, yes, I think I moved in next to you. I believe I saw you yesterday morning as I was leaving for work,” I say.
“I’ve been meaning to come say hi and introduce myself, but work has been busy lately. I’m Grayson,” he says, reaching out to shake my hand.
“Hi, I’m Liz. Nice to meet you.”
“Welcome to the neighborhood. It’s nice to have a family next to me. The last tenants that lived in your apartment were college students. They were a crazy bunch.”
“It seems like a nice, quiet neighborhood so far.”
He laughs. “It should be, now that those kids are moved out.”
“Unfortunately, you’re replacing college students with a crying baby,” I joke.
“I’ll take that any time,” he says, smiling. “I’d love to meet your husband. I haven’t seen him around.”
I shrug. “No husband. Just me and Matthew.”
He doesn’t show any surprise at my statement. “Well, in that case, if you need anything, just holler. Sugar, milk, you know, whatever neighbors borrow.”
This man has some charm, for sure.
“Thanks for the offer. You never know when you might need sugar.” I turn my stroller back the way we came from. “Well, it was nice talking to you, but I was about to head home. I haven’t been grocery shopping, and my fridge is empty.”
“I’m actually heading home too if you’d like some company. You can a hundred percent tell me if you’d prefer to be left alone,” he says with a wink.
Left alone? I came out here to get away from the loneliness of my apartment. Maybe some company will do me good. Several families are out by the lake, so I don’t need to worry for my and Matthew’s safety. “Sure, I wouldn’t mind the company as I walk home.”
“Great. I don’t know many people here either. I moved here about six months ago and spent most of my time working.”
“What do you do?”
“I hesitate to say because I usually get one of two responses. Either it’ll freak you out, or you’ll become a groupie.”
“A groupie? Well, now I’m intrigued, and you definitely have to tell me. I promise not to be either freaked out or become a groupie.”
He grimaces before answering. “I work for the FBI.”
My eyebrows lift in surprise. “Oooh, that sounds neat. What do you do there? I’ve always been intrigued by the FBI.”
He snaps his fingers and grimaces again. “Well, dang it, you’re going to be a groupie after all.”
I can’t help but laugh out loud at the exaggerated, disappointed face he makes. I’m looking up at him and laughing as we turn the corner around our building.
“No, I just like those detective shows on TV and wonder if the job is really like that. I’d love to hear some real-life stories.”
My attention is still on my neighbor, and I don’t see the man waiting by my door.
“Liz?”
I jerk my head toward the sound of my name. I take several deep breaths to get my emotions under control as much as possible. My hand goes up to my throat, and I stop walking.
“Ethan? What are you doing here?” I’m so shocked at seeing him that my voice comes out harsher than I intended.
“Is everything okay?” Grayson asks. I hear the concern in my neighbor’s voice, but I can’t take my eyes off Ethan.
“It’s fine, thanks,” I tell Grayson. “Thanks for the walk. We’ll catch up later, okay?”
He steps into my line of vision, blocking Ethan temporarily. “Are you sure? I’m right next door if you need anything. Sugar, butter . . . or anything else.” Instead of the joking tone he used previously, he is now completely serious. Oh yeah, this is the FBI voice I’m hearing. I shake my head to clear my thoughts.
