by Ella Goode
I’ve spent months in the wild capturing images of animals and then of spaces—old ruins, long forgotten caves, endless plains. It’s good to be back among people. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed the connection until I was back. I swing around and tap a few keys on my computer to bring up the photos I took two weeks ago of a plump, gorgeous brunette. She was standing in front of a law office licking an ice cream cone. Her face was tilted upward, and the sun was kissing her nose. Her eyes were slightly closed, and her lips were slightly parted. The expression on her face was one of bliss. Twenty frames later, the cone was gone and the expression changed to weariness and then to determination. She had to go back to work. She straightened her shoulders, tucked a napkin into her purse, and marched into the building as if she was going to an execution.
She came out six hours later, her shoulders hunched and her face exhausted. I wanted to pick her up and spirit her away to some private cave where no one could find her. There I would feed her ice cream and rub her tired feet. That sort of thing is sadly frowned upon, so I did the next best thing. I followed her home. Then I rented an apartment across from hers. Soon, I’ll be marrying her and finally taking her away on that escape. Soon.
Four
Dove
My feet throb as I stand in the conference room waiting for two more of the practicing lawyers to get here so I can take their dinner order. I didn't know this was a part of my job.
I was supposed to sort mail and retrieve it. It’s crazy the amount of certified mail that is sent out from here each day having carriers pick it up. It is a full-time job, but somehow I keep getting more and more things tossed at me.
I can't avoid it either. Every other time I drop something off at someone’s desk I’m asked to do another task. So I do it because I’m not even sure if I can say no. I am getting close to my ninety-day evaluation which would include a raise, and I’m not willing to risk not getting it.
Thomas and Dunn finally pick what they want off the menu, and I write it down. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get out of here soon, but it’s not looking that way.
“Why don’t you have a seat here, honey.” Thomas taps the seat next to him. “I’m Sure Graham and Miller will be here shortly. Take a load off.” I don’t want to sit down next to Thomas. The man is handsy. I also hate how he is always calling me by a pet name. They range from honey to sweetheart and a few babes thrown in there as well. I’m not sure he actually knows my name at this point. But every time he calls me by something else I get a creepy feeling.
Luckily, before I have a chance to respond, both Miller and Graham walk into the conference room and give me their orders. I’ve never been so grateful to see my bosses.
“Anything else?” I ask.
“Why don’t you order something and join us?” Thomas suggests. The man is old enough to be my father.
“I have dinner plans already.” His eyes narrow on me. Miller and Graham both openly smile at the awkwardness.
“Boyfriend?”
I shake my head no. “My sister.”
“Place the order, Ms. Evans. I’ll handle the delivery. Go have dinner with your sister,” Dunn cuts in, giving me a half smile. He’s easily my favorite here. I’d heard his assistant was retiring soon. I was hoping I might be able to fill her spot.
“Thank you so much.” I give him a smile back before I slip from the conference room. I place the order on my phone before I grab my stuff to head out of here. I check the time and see I’m going to have to wait another twenty minutes for the next train.
My mind drifts back to my new neighbor. It’s been doing that all day. I’m not sure why. Not having an interest in men was easy. My mom was a romantic at heart. The problem was she always picked the wrong men. She had a thing for rich, entitled jerks. I made a vow to myself that I would never end up with one of them.
She got her heart broken too many times to count. It makes my own heart ache thinking about how she never did find her happily ever after. I think until the day she passed away she still held some kind of torch for my father. He never deserved her, but love is blind sometimes and not always in a good way. I’ll never understand what she saw in him.
I plan to keep my promise to myself. Then why do I keep thinking about Jay? He’s not some rich snob. At least I don’t think he is. He can’t be if he lives in my building, but his SUV was fancy.
I’m not sure what something like that might cost. I don’t even have a driver's license. I take the train everywhere. It is faster generally, but it was also nice to get a ride in his SUV. A car is a luxury that I won’t be able to afford for a long time, if ever.
I give Chuck, one of the security guards, a wave goodbye as I head out of the building. I pause when I see the familiar SUV from this morning sitting at the curb, but the windows are too dark for me to see in.
Then I see him. Jay rounds the front of the SUV, walking toward me. What is he doing back here? I don’t know if this should freak me out or if I should find it sweet.
“I was down the street. I was going to stop by and see if you needed a ride.” He gives me a warm smile and his bright blue eyes hold my attention. He changed, and he’s now in a pair of jeans and a black plain shirt that stretches across his wide chest.
“You didn’t have to do that.” He gives a shrug like it really is no big deal.
“It’s the neighborly thing to do.”
“I can’t date you,” I blurt out. His eyebrows raise, but that smile stays on his face.
“I know, but we can be friends, right? We live across the hall from each other.” I worry my bottom lip between my teeth. He generally seems like a nice person. The problem is I’m not sure I can be his friend. I keep thinking about him in ways that you don’t usually think about people that are only friends. Hell, I masturbated to thoughts of him last night, and it was the fastest I’ve ever gotten myself off. I told myself it was because it had been so long since I’d done that. Even with me going off so quick it still hadn't been enough. I think my body knew he was across the hallway and wanted more. He was only a hop, skip, and a jump away, and my body didn’t want second best when the real thing was so close. But he’s right. I’m going to be seeing him every day most likely. It would be nice to have a friend besides my sister.
“We can be friends,” I agree. Not sure I have much of a choice.
“Then let me drive you home. We’re both going to the same place.” I look at my watch seeing it’s almost seven already. My sister will be there soon.
“Okay.” He opens the passenger door for me. I slip in. He rounds the SUV, jumping in and taking off. I steal looks at him out of the corner of my eye. “So what were you doing over in this part of town? Do you work here?”
“I was taking some pictures. That’s what I do for work.”
“Oh wow. A photographer?”
“Yeah. I turned my passion into my work.”
“I have to admit. I’m jealous. To get to do what you love and get paid for it is a dream come true.”
“Do you not like your job?” I let out a small laugh.
“I pretty much hate it, but there is a spot opening up for one of the lawyers. He’s going to need an assistant. I’m hoping I can snatch it up, but I’m guessing I’m not qualified with only an associate's degree.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. I bet you get it.” He makes a turn at the light. “Did you always want to go into law?”
“No. I got my associate’s in early childhood. I’d planned to go for my bachelor’s but my mom got sick and then I lost her.” I look down at my hands. Those words never get easier to say. He reaches over and rests his hand on top of mine, giving them a squeeze. I’m not sure why I shared that.
“I’m sorry.”
“Thanks.” He pulls up to our building a few moments later. I spot my sister's car already here. Jay parks a few spaces down from her. She is going to be tickled pink that she will be able to get a peek at him. This couldn't have worked out better for her if she
planned it herself.
Five
Jay
“So you’re Jay,” says the sister as she sizes me up in the parking lot.
“I am.” I slide a glance toward Dove, who is avoiding eye contact so she doesn’t have to admit she talked about me with her sister.
“I’m Avery.”
“The sister,” I add as if I’ve held some deep, meaningful talks with Dove about her family.
“Right.” A smile spreads across Avery’s face. “What do you do?”
“I’m a photographer.”
Her eyebrows go up. “A struggling one, though?”
“Avery!” Dove snaps to attention.
“What? He just moved in here, so he doesn’t have a lot of money.”
“Neither do I,” Dove snaps. She takes Avery’s arm and starts dragging her to the lobby. I trail behind and plot how to finagle a dinner invitation out of them.
“I could give you a loan.”
“And I don’t want one.” Dove spies me over her shoulder and hurries her sister along. Time to make my move or I’ll be left out, literally.
“You here for dinner, Avery?”
“Yes, I am. Why?”
“If you two haven’t cooked up anything yet, you should let me take you out.”
Dove’s looking a little ragged around the edges. I don’t know if it’s because she’s feeling emotional about missing her mom or her work tires her out. Either way, I want to wrap her up in cotton and tuck her into bed.
Avery pulls to a stop. “I’m listening. Go on.”
I engage in some quick mental deductions. Avery is worried about her sister and isn’t impressed by my occupation or the size of my wallet. What I need to do is to reassure her that I’m a stable functioning adult that can support her sister in the life that Avery thinks Dove should be accustomed to. “Stone Tavern?” My agent took me to the place when I first got back. The menu didn’t have prices on it, so it should be impressive enough for Avery.
Her eyebrows go up. “That place is hard to get into.”
“Is it?” I didn’t know. I’ll have to call Davis for help then, which I don’t want to do. He wants the book, and if he thinks that I’m distracted by a woman, he’ll try to remove her from the equation, and then I’ll have to murder him, and none of that seems like a great outcome. “How about a different suggestion then?”
“Let’s just eat here. I’m tired and don’t feel like getting dressed up to go out,” Dove chimes in. She plucks at the front of her blouse—a pretty blue thing with a high ruffled collar that frames her gorgeous face. “Didn’t you say you were bringing dinner over anyway?”
Avery moves her hands behind her back. “That must be some other sister.”
“You’re my only sister.”
I cock my head to the side and spot a plastic container dangling from Avery’s hands. I reach over and take the box out of her grip. “Dining in it is. I’ll bring wine. Which do you want? Red or white?”
“It’s manicotti so red,” Avery tells me. She slides a look to Dove. “As long as Dove doesn’t mind. Should we eat at your place?”
A vision of my bare walls, bare floor, and cardboard table flash in front of my eyes. “No.” I say it too forcefully, and both women look taken aback. “No,” I repeat but this time with a smile. “I just moved in, and my place looks like a hurricane swept through. Besides, Dove’s place is nicer than mine.”
“Dove’s place is nicer?” Avery’s voice is rising in concern. I can already see that my name is being struck from her “potential husbands for Dove” list.
“Don’t be a snob,” Dove hisses under her breath.
“I’m not. I was just...surprised,” Avery says, slightly defensive. “Anyway, let’s go eat. I’m starving.”
“I’ll meet you in five.” I slip inside my door, making sure that the nosy sister can’t get a glimpse of my sad apartment. Once Abel is done, I’ll throw a big party for Dove and her family, but until then, it’s off limits—even for Dove. I grab the wine and stroll back across the hall. The door is open, which makes me frown.
“Something wrong with your lock?” I ask, kicking the door shut behind me.
“We left it open for you,” Dove says. She’s at the table, putting out plates. Her sister is in the kitchen. I carry the bottle over and pull out my pocket knife to uncork the wine.
“You shouldn’t leave your door open and unlocked ever,” I tell her.
“Even against you?”
“Of course not me, but it could’ve been some weirdo wanting to take advantage of you.”
“You’ll protect me,” she jokes.
“You’re not wrong, but what if I wasn’t here?”
“Then the door would be locked.”
“Better be.” I pull out the cork and set the wine down with more force than necessary.
“Or what?” Dove wonders.
At this point, there’s little I wouldn’t do for her, but I don’t know if she’s ready to hear that. I take a step closer, eliminating the distance between us. Her eyes widen, but she doesn’t back away. “Do you want me to spell it out for you?”
Her tongue comes out to wet her lower lip. My cock pulses to life.
“Spell what?”
I can’t remember what we were talking about. The minute her pink tongue appeared, all rational thought dissipated. My eyes zero in on the way her mouth glistens, how her lips are parted exactly the right distance for me to slip my tongue inside. “Honey, whatever it is that you want, I can give it to you.” I slide an arm around her waist and bend over her, ready to lay a kiss across her lips that will make us both forget our names.
“Um, are we having dinner or should I leave?” intrudes a voice from the kitchen.
Dove nearly leaps out of my grip like I was a big cat about to maul her which, I guess, wasn’t so far off base. She disappears into her bedroom, leaving me to stare at a half mad, half intrigued Avery.
“Where do I send a copy of my balance sheet?” I ask.
Six
Dove
I wash my face concentrating on removing the smudges of makeup from under my eyes. No wonder my hot neighbor was down with only being friends. I look like a hot mess. I run a brush though my hair, coming to the conclusion that this is the best it’s going to look tonight. I ditch my work clothes, pulling on a pair of sleep shorts and shirt before grabbing my fuzzy socks.
When I go back into the living room, I’m surprised to see Avery and Jay laughing it up about something. They are suddenly all chummy.
“I poured you a glass,” Jay says, motioning to the glass on the coffee table. They are both sitting on the floor, and the food is in the center of the coffee table. I sit down, and Jay starts to spoon food onto my plate.
“Thanks.” I give him a smile. Avery’s eyes bounce between us. She wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I know what that means. How the hell did she do a complete turnabout? She was grilling him about money two seconds ago, which was embarrassing. And now she’s laughing and breaking bread with him.
It’s not like I have money either. I’m sure as hell not going to judge someone for not being loaded. In fact, every rich man I’ve ever met has been an asshole. I think I’ll stick with the man that lives check to check but treats you right. Jay pulls off a napkin, handing it to me next.
See, that is sweet. Sometimes it’s the small things that matter the most. I’d rather have someone who is kind and considerate to me than someone who would lavish me with gifts and throw me aside when the next best thing comes along.
I don’t know why I’m even thinking about this. I don’t plan on dating Jay, or anyone else for that matter. I do have to admit that he has been sweet since the second I met him, making it really hard for me to stick to that no dating plan. I pick up my glass, taking a healthy swig and trying to get my nerves under control. I pray Avery doesn't say something else to embarrass me.
“So you guys are sisters?” Jay asks, looking between us and obviously recognizing that
we look nothing alike.
“We share a dad,” Avery informs him. I take another drink of my wine. I can feel Jay’s eyes on me. I think he can sense the awkwardness that bringing up my dad has caused for me. “Dove hates him. She clams up whenever he’s mentioned.”
I give her a look. “We share the same sperm donor. He’s not my father.”
Avery gives a half smile. “I’m not giving up on the two of you.”
I wish she would. I’ll never forgive him. I’ll never forget how hard he made my mom work because he didn’t want the world to know about his dirty secret. I would always remember how strong my mom was, though. How she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of letting him pay her hush money. She raised me by herself, supporting me on her own.
Even if for some crazy reason I could get over the whole never claiming me as his daughter crap and he wanted to try and have some kind of relationship, it would feel as though I was betraying my mom. Which is something that I would never be willing to do.
“The only great thing my father did for me was give me Avery.” She reaches out and grabs my hand, giving it a squeeze.
“I found out about her three years ago and tracked her down.”
I smile, thinking back to the day. “I was sure she was there to scream at me,” I admit.
“Yeah, I’m older than Dove, and my parents are still married.”
