by Natalie Ann
“Had to be interesting having two different personalities by the sounds of it.”
She laughed. “What did my dad say about Pops?”
“That he burst into tears when you asked to call him Pops?”
“Yeah. Pops is more emotional. Dad, he’s just a regular old guy.”
“He told me not to break your heart.”
“What?!” Why would her father say that to Philip? She’d given no indication that she and Phillip were anything but neighbors. Or did she?
Crap. Guess she kind of did, saying that Philip knew about him.
“He said you don’t tell too many people about your fathers. Or too many men.”
“People in general,” she said. “Not now anyway. Or at least until I know them more. I’m not sure why I told you so fast.”
But she did know because she wanted him to know she understood what it was like to be raised by a single father. Then it was hard to not tell him the rest.
Plus she did want to know his thoughts on the matter. Not that she’d tell him if he acted like some of the men she’d dated in the past they would have never gotten to kissing on his deck.
“Because you want me to understand you. You said not all men did.”
Her and her big mouth. When would she learn what to say and when?
“No. I’ve dated my fair share of losers. Not to say we are dating,” she said quickly.
“I’d like to though,” he said.
Okay, this was looking promising. “You would?”
“Blair,” he said, looking around, then lowering his voice. “I thought we felt the same way when we were making out on my deck. But we haven’t had much time together since, so maybe I’m seeing or wanting something that isn’t there.”
“No, you’re right. I want it too. I’m just trying to give you time to adjust to all the changes in your life. And there’s my business and then Livi is around.”
“I get it. It’s hard. I need to find a sitter.”
“There are a lot of teenage girls in the development if you really want to find one. Maybe we can have a date night when you’re ready.”
“Carol offered,” he said.
“Carol Shanahan? Your neighbor? You told her we were dating?” She didn’t expect that of Philip.
“God, no. She was being nosy and asking a million questions when I was trying to take care of the lawn last week. I couldn’t get away from her. She made a comment about us talking. My guess is she can see us.”
“Probably looking out her back window. She’s harmless really, but bored with her boys being older and out of the house.”
“She said something about that. About them going to college soon. She asked if I needed help picking Livi up or dropping her off at the bus stop. Maybe I’m reading more into babysitting and that isn’t what she meant.”
“Oh, I’m sure you aren’t reading more into it. But the truth is there are plenty of teenage girls around here that wouldn’t mind the cash.”
“And I suppose you know who they are?” he asked.
“I know a few of them. There’s a neighborhood website. I can invite you to it if you want. The Butlers started it years ago.”
“Butlers?” he asked.
“You really should research the place where you live. Didn’t your realtor tell you anything? Mine was wonderful. Ruby Gentile sold me the house. I saw her as the listing agent for your house, but my guess is you didn’t talk to her?”
“No. I was going through someone else. Anyway, who are the Butlers? Another family who lives here too?”
“They started this development. They own all the undeveloped land. If someone wants to build new, they go through them. Do you know about the park and playground and pavilion?”
“I do. I took Livi there the other day to play and she made a few friends. She’s been asking me to go back every day since. I probably should take her.”
“You should. Then she can meet some of the people who live here. And next weekend is the development party. I should have mentioned something before and I kind of forgot. I’ll be there. You should take Livi and meet more people. Anyway, back to this site. You get a notification if anyone posts a comment or question. Some of the teenage girls have posted that they babysit and a lot of them get asked.”
“I’ll definitely think about it,” he said, reaching for her hand. “If you want me to.”
“I wouldn’t be having this conversation with you if I didn’t,” she said, rolling her eyes. “So what did Carol say about me?”
She wouldn’t put it past any of her neighbors to make comments. Many weren’t happy she had the garage in back filled with her product, but it wasn’t a retail store so she wasn’t doing anything wrong. Delivery trucks were up and down this street daily with packages. Stopping at her house wasn’t out of the norm, as many people got deliveries several times a week.
No one came on her property except Michele a few days a week and she wasn’t disrupting the neighborhood. If anything, she was improving it with her gardens in her eyes.
“Not much,” Philip said, but he looked away from her.
“I think you aren’t being honest with me.”
“She said you were a sweetheart. She alluded to something going on between us, but I didn’t let on. It just made me feel uncomfortable.”
“That someone might know we want to go on a date?” she asked, feeling herself getting worked up.
He must have noticed. “Your father said you could be emotional. I can see it in your eyes that I’ve insulted you somehow.”
She sighed. “Sorry. Guess I’m worked up over my father’s visit. I don’t normally get that emotional anymore. Or I try not to.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve grown up and realized that the world isn’t always a pretty place to live in. That not everyone is as accepting of my family as you. And I have to remind myself that you know about my life and want to still date me.”
“Yes,” he said. “I know about you and I still want to do this.”
He reached for her, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in, then kissed her hard and fast and released her.
“Wow. I didn’t expect that with Livi in the other room,” she said.
“Then that should be answer enough for you on where I want this to go.”
Chapter Fourteen
Insane With Need
Another week had gone by and all it seemed he and Blair could do was steal a few kisses.
Livi was always around and he felt guilty thinking of a way to have her go to a sitter. A sitter he was still trying to find. Not unless he asked Carol. That thought came to his mind, but he brushed it off. It’d be too hard to do that knowing that she could see where or who he was spending his time with.
He might have been friendly with Carol that one time, and more open than he planned on being, but he wasn’t about to share that he was trying to start a relationship. How would that look for either him or Blair in the neighborhood?
He wasn’t sure but wasn’t willing to really take the chance either.
It was almost midnight and he was wide awake.
Thoughts of his sexy neighbor wouldn’t leave his brain and were driving him insane with need.
He threw the covers back and walked over to the window. His room was bright with the full moon shining through.
When he caught himself gazing at Blair’s property he knew he had it bad. There was more sex on his brain than when he was a teenager.
He was just getting ready to turn back and go to his cold lonely bed when he thought he saw a movement outside. He looked closer but then saw nothing. His eyes moved to Blair’s shop and he noticed a light on inside. Or flickering lights.
Could she be working this late at night? He guessed it wasn’t unheard of. He worked late at night too, but he didn’t expect Blair would be out in her shop mixing up lotions and candles.
He grabbed his phone off the nightstand and decided to call her just in case it wasn’t h
er and someone was in her shop.
But the call went to voicemail. He left a message. She was probably working, he told himself again. He’d seen the security system she had when he helped her unload those boxes the other day. If anyone was breaking into her shop, alarms would have been buzzing loudly.
Now he knew he overreacted so he sent her a quick text.
With nothing else left to do, he climbed back in bed and tried to shut his brain off and hoped to get some sleep.
***
Blair sat up straight in bed. She looked around the room at the darkness, knowing she wouldn’t see anything but almost expecting to anyway.
There was nothing worse than when a dream woke her and she felt it. Even when she tried to close her eyes and go back to sleep she couldn’t because it kept popping back up and wanting to engulf her.
That only happened when the dream upset her.
Just like this one.
She’d been hiding in the dream. Behind a door of sorts. Or maybe it was a wall. She wasn’t sure, but either way, the person she was looking at didn’t know she was there.
That person was Philip. She wasn’t sure of the location. It wasn’t his house or hers. Maybe his office? There were books on shelves and noises in the background. Nothing she could distinguish.
Philip was standing up, putting books on those shelves when a woman came in. Someone around her age, maybe a little older. She looked mature, classy almost. Not anything that Blair was.
But this woman was talking to Philip. Smiling at him. Flirting a little. Then they were kissing. Philip wasn’t doing the kissing, but he wasn’t fighting the person off either.
So here she sat in bed, looking around her room and wondering what the hell it meant.
She and Philip really didn’t have an exclusive relationship. They’d done nothing more than kiss.
Did her father showing up a week ago to help with Philip’s leak and put him on the spot have anything to do with this? Did she think that maybe he was turned off by the events that happened?
He hadn’t seemed it when they were talking in his kitchen. Or when Philip grabbed her and laid a kiss on her when Livi was in the other room.
That’s it! It wasn’t her hiding around the corner in her dream. It was Livi. And Philip and she were kissing and Livi wasn’t supposed to see it. That had to be what the dream meant.
But then why was it upsetting to her? Would Livi not want her father and Blair dating?
She threw the covers back, knowing that there would be no answers to those questions that she was asking herself. Questions she asked all the time when she woke up from dreams and wondered what they could mean.
You’d think by now she’d just go with the flow and see how it went, but her mind never let her do that.
It never let her just move on but rather made her feel steeped in quicksand with every move pulling her under until she found the answers.
She was going to put some citrus essential oils in her diffuser hoping that would give her a clearer mind as she tried to sleep but then realized sleep wasn’t going to come anyway.
Instead, she put some clothes on and went to the shop in the back to see what she might be low on. Sometimes if she did a little bit of work it would tire her out or help relax her. It’s not like there wasn’t always so much to do.
Once she was out there she booted up her computer and checked for sales and of course there were over thirty new ones from the morning. She’d gotten into the habit of only checking once a day—each morning—then filling them. If she checked nonstop all day she’d feel like she’d have to stop what she was doing to package them up.
She printed those orders out, the lighting still dim in the shop, the blue light on her printer flashing as it spit out the pages.
After she’d filled five of the orders and set them aside she felt she was tired out enough to go back to bed.
She glanced over at Philip’s house and saw the lights were all out. He was probably sleeping soundly. If she snuck over there and climbed into his bed she could tire herself out for sure. That thought made her giggle. It’d been too long since she’d had a man’s weight on her.
He wasn’t alone unfortunately. And though every time they’d kissed in the past weeks and she’d felt he wanted more, she wouldn’t make that move. He would have to do it.
She thought in her mind he was holding back and she wasn’t sure if it was because of Livi or her. She wanted to ask but wouldn’t do that either.
So instead of going to her neighbor’s and climbing into bed with him, she sighed deeply and made her way into her house.
Her phone was flashing on the table. She hadn’t remembered to grab it and bring it with her to the shop when she never left her house without it. Guess she was more distracted than she thought. Or more upset over the dream than she was letting on.
When she looked she saw it was from Philip and it wasn’t that long ago. Ignore my voicemail. I figured it was you working. Sorry. I’m not being a creeper or stalker.
She hit the button for her voicemail and listened. “Hey, Blair. It’s Philip. I couldn’t sleep and was looking out my window. Well, you don’t care about my sleep habits. Anyway, I was looking out my window and saw some lights in your shop. Just thought I’d give you a heads up there might be something going on.”
She smiled. Must be she was on his mind as much as he was on hers.
She figured he was sleeping by now, but she’d reply back just the same. Sorry, it was me. I couldn’t sleep either and had an idea I wanted to jot down, then decided to fill some orders. Sorry if the lights were a distraction.
After she hit send she wondered if she shouldn’t have been so open about that either. Would he think she was a workaholic?
And why must she always overthink everything in her life?
Chapter Fifteen
Playing Games
The next morning Philip got up and saw the text from Blair and felt silly for even sending her the message to begin with. What would she think of him that he’d sent that so late at night?
He hoped it wasn’t that he was a creep or obsessed with her. Well, he wasn’t a creep, but he was sure obsessed with her.
That sounded bad when he thought of it too.
He had to figure this all out somehow. He wanted more with her and had a feeling she did too, but for the life of him he didn’t know how to get there.
She’d been so embarrassed over her father’s actions and words and, though at first he was annoyed, Philip later realized that he’d be the same way when Livi was older. He didn’t care if Livi was sixteen, twenty, or fifty, he was going to have somewhat of the same conversation with any man that went near his daughter.
He wondered why Blair couldn’t sleep last night? Was she thinking of him like he was of her? Then he told himself to stop the crazy thoughts. They were two grown adults, not teenagers with a crush.
Then why wasn’t he making more of a move toward her? Or her toward him? Was she waiting for him?
He got out of bed and took a shower, then went to the kitchen to get some breakfast. He needed to get back to his office today and had to bring Livi with him. And while he was there he needed to figure out a way to get some time alone with Blair.
An hour later, Livi came downstairs rubbing sleep from her eyes. It was only eight, but he’d planned on getting her up if she didn’t wake on her own. “Daddy, what are we doing today?”
She always wanted to know what they were doing. Livi didn’t have it in her to sit still and he wondered if maybe he should find some sports or dance or something for her to join. Anything to tire her out.
But with school starting soon, he figured that might do the trick. Or he hoped it did.
“I’ve got to go to my office today and you’ll go with me. Afterward maybe we can get some lunch?”
He didn’t think he’d be there that long. He just wanted to bring some books over, get more things set up. IT had his laptop ready to go and he needed to make sure i
t was set and so on.
The professors would be back next week and he would start with meetings. Carol had offered to watch Livi for him for a few weeks before school started since he had to be in the office. He was reluctant to do it, knowing he’d need a sitter for next summer, but the truth was, he kind of trusted Carol more than he would a teen at this stage. He’d worry about next summer when it came.
“I like to go out to lunch. Can I bring my tablet with me to your office?” she asked.
“Of course. I know you’ll be bored otherwise. Let me get your breakfast and then you can go brush your teeth and get dressed.”
“Can you braid my hair?” she asked.
He felt like a clumsy fool doing that, but it was something he’d learned when she asked him. Livi liked her hair long, but she always wanted it out of her face. Or rather he wanted it up because by the end of the day it looked like a rat made a nest on her head.
So, one night he stayed up late and watched YouTube videos so that he could put a French braid in her hair rather than just a simple one that didn’t want to stay in either. He’d rather stick with ponytails, but they still knotted up at the end of the day.
“Sure.” He grabbed a box of cereal out of the cabinet, filled a bowl and poured milk over it. If he asked Livi what she wanted she’d say pancakes and he wasn’t in the mood to cook or clean up anything more than a bowl and a spoon this morning.
Thirty minutes later they were packed up and ready to leave the house. “How come I couldn’t stay with Blair today like I did last time?”
“Because she has work to do. She has a business to run.”
“I know, but I helped her last time. She said I’m a good helper.”
“I’m sure you are, but you can’t always stay there as it could slow her down or get in her way.”
Livi crossed her arms. “I’m fast, not slow. I can move faster if I need to.”
He laughed, knowing that the faster she moved the more she tripped and fell too. It was like her feet moved quicker than the rest of her body at times.
