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More laughter spilled out. “Well, she moved to the wrong town then. I give it a month and that lovely cottage next to you will be empty once again.”
Griffin almost took that bet but stopped himself. There was something about her. Until he put his finger on what that was, he wouldn’t make any bets.
The house next to him had been a revolving door. Too many new tenants in the last year. Eight to be exact. Eve made it number nine. He didn’t know what was wrong with the place. Maybe it was cursed.
“I gotta go, man. Let’s grab lunch tomorrow.”
Griffin agreed and hung up. He grabbed himself a beer, popped the top, and threw it in the trashcan under the sink. With his kitchen toward the back of his house, his window gave him a great view of her house. Right where her bedroom was. She had no curtains, so he could see her carrying a large bag into the room. The frown that marred her face made his heart skip a beat. Made the protective instincts he was born with flare to life.
His new neighbor was hiding something.
Something that frightened her.
It was his job to serve and protect, and that’s exactly what he planned to do. Whether she liked it or not.
2
The first thingon the agenda—besides her morning coffee—was to find the nearest store that sold curtains. It hadn’t occurred to her when she bought supplies at the mall to grab curtains. She had spied her neighbor once while he was doing something in his kitchen. He hadn’t been in there long, so she knew he wasn’t cooking. When she realized he could turn and spot her staring at him, she fled her bedroom. It had been a long, sleepless night of tossing and turning on her floor knowing he could see into her room. Thatanyonecould see into her room.
So yes, curtains were the first thing on her to-do list for the day. The second thing would be to find a job.
She had spent all day yesterday unpacking and putting away the few belongings she had. By eight o’clock she’d been done and had nothing to do but read a book. The journey had been exhausting, so that hadn’t lasted long, falling asleep on the hard ground. Maybe she’d add find a bed to her list today as well.
Around eight o’clock a knock on her door had her jumping, hating herself for the reaction. If she was going to blend in, then she needed to keep calm at all times.
She opened the door to a young man who wore a gentle grin and kind eyes.
“Sorry to bother you so early. Mindy said you arrived yesterday. Welcome to Sleighville. I’m Teddy and I live a few houses down the street. If you need anything, especially your lawn mowed, I’m your guy. At least for the summer. I start college in the fall.”
Well, this was unexpected. The offer to mow her lawn, and the fact a teenager already knew she had arrived. Note to self: watch what she said to Mindy, who obviously loved to gossip and spread any kind of news.
“That’s…very kind of you.” She had no lawn mower and had never mowed a lawn in her life. “I’ll take you up on that offer.”
Teddy’s smile widened. “Great. You have a wonderful day, Ms. Johnson. I’ll be by next weekend to mow.”
Eve waved good-bye, watching as he strolled down her pathway with merry steps. She hadn’t even needed to tell him her name. She wasn’t sure what to think about everyone knowing everything about her without ever meeting them before.
An hour later, she locked her door and drove her new car around town. When she entered the general store that seemed to have anything she wanted, she wanted to turn around and walk out. The Christmas music blaring through the speakers sent a chill down her spine. She ignored it as best as she could, grabbing a few curtains without paying much attention to the colors. It honestly didn’t matter. As long as she had something to block the windows.
She tossed the bags into her car before deciding she’d walk down the main street and get a closer look at things. Her steps slowed when she neared the cafe, her lips widening into a grateful smile.
Help wanted. Need a friendly, energetic person to maintain the front counter.
Eve was friendly. Energetic? Well, when she needed to get stuff done, she could pull out the energy without blinking. But with people, she was not so great. Again, she wanted to twirl around and walk out when the Christmas music blared through the speakers. Did every store play the dreaded tunes? That would get old real quick.
But she needed a job, and she’d endure whatever she had to to survive. Right now, she was in survival mode.
“Hi, welcome to Noel’s Cafe. What can I get you?” the upbeat woman behind the counter asked.
She had long brown hair pulled into a chaotic ponytail with a black apron strapped around her body that read “Noel’s Cafe” with a twig of holly. Her smile was beaming and her voice had a merry tune. Eve hesitated to ask about the position if she had to work next to a peppy, overly-happy person like her.
But she needed work.
“I was wondering about the help sign. Is there a manager I can speak with? I’m Eve.” She made sure to brighten her smile as much as the woman’s. Hers definitely was fake. Not like the woman across from her.
“You got her!” The woman held out her hand. “I’m Juliet. I own the cafe. Do you have any experience working in customer service?”
Her entire life felt like she’d been in customer service. Always on display, making sure no one had anything to complain about. The customer was always right.She nearly rolled her eyes as the thought slipped through her mind.
