Which was why it was so out of character for him to rush outside when he’d seen that it was Stephanie, and not Simone. His impulse hadn’t been a “neighborly” one, though he knew that nothing could happen between the two of them. For several reasons. For one, his life was a mess, and one that he had no desire to clean up. Which led to reason number two: he wasn’t in the market for anything serious, and casual didn’t really work when you lived next door to someone. Not that it was even an option. Unlike her sister, Stephanie was definitely not giving him the green light. If anything, she was putting up pretty clear signals that she had zero interest in even getting to know him, much less anything more than that.
Yet, here he was. Staring down at the woman that had somehow managed to work her way into his thoughts and dreams without even trying.
“Thanks.” He tilted his head towards the plastic bin that she held in one hand, gripping it so tight he could see the whites of her knuckles.
She blinked several times, like she was being woken up from hypnosis. Then she glanced down to where he’d indicated and then back up. Her movement caused a light scent to waft through the air and it wasn’t the hydrangeas planted up the walkway. It was Stephanie. And it wasn’t a guess. Ace was sure of it because over the past month, there had been several times when he was in his side yard and steam from her bathroom window would drift through the air with the exact same scent of strawberries and mint. She must’ve just showered because her hair was still damp. Images immediately sprang to his mind that he shouldn’t be thinking about if he wanted to keep his loose basketball shorts from tenting.
“I was just returning the favor.” The words rushed out of Stephanie’s mouth as she clumsily pushed the bin that was beside them into the side yard and shut the gate behind her.
Ace’s mind was still working to erase the inappropriate visions of naked skin under hot water from his mind, so instead of answering her with a coherent response, he simply repeated her words to try to catch up. “Returning the favor?”
Her head bobbed up and down as words once again came pouring out of her mouth as fast as water spilling over Niagara Falls. “Yes. You put out my trash last night and you mowed my grass. You didn’t have to do that. I mean thank you, but it wasn’t necessary. I was planning on getting to that this weekend. It’s the first weekend I’ve had off in…” She blew out a heavy breath. “I don’t know a month or so, but it was on my list to get done. Not at the top. It was like number three. Laundry and grocery shopping are one and two. But laundry’s kind of an all-day thing so I was going to take care of the lawn as soon as I got back from the store, so you really didn’t have to do that.”
Damn, Ace couldn’t help but smile. She was cute when she rambled. He’d never considered rambling a turn-on but with Stephanie it was charming. Captivating. He could easily lose himself just listening to her sweet voice.
She lifted her arms and her eyes widened as she continued, “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate you doing what you did. It’s just that it would’ve been taken care of today…or tomorrow at the latest. And as far as the trash goes, I would love to tell you that I would’ve remembered to set it out, but in all good conscience I can’t. The last few days have been a blur and yesterday when I got home trash was the last thing on my mind.”
“What was on your mind?” he asked.
Normally he didn’t grill people about their inner thoughts. The last thing he ever wanted to know was what people were really thinking. Most of the time he didn’t even want to know the things they deemed important enough to say out loud. But there was something different about Stephanie. He wanted to know what she thought, what she dreamed of, what she felt. He wanted to know everything.
“What?” Her expressive doe eyes peered up at him beneath dark lashes as a wrinkle appeared between her brows.
“You said trash was the last thing on your mind last night. So what was on your mind?”
“My bed.”
The second the word bed left her lips a blush rushed up her pale cheeks. Ace was starting to wonder if there was anything this girl could do that wasn’t equal parts adorable and sexy. The physical evidence of her embarrassment drew him like a moth to a flame. His hand twitched at his side as an overwhelming desire to reach out and run his thumb along her flushed skin crashed over him.
He crossed his arms to ensure he kept his hands to himself.
“Your bed,” he repeated and his voice grew deeper.
“No, I mean yes but not to do…I just meant…going to bed.”
His chin dipped as he nodded in understanding.
“To sleep,” she quickly clarified. “I was thinking of my bed to sleep in it.”
A funny feeling spread through Ace’s chest as he stared down at Stephanie. It was light, pure, and warm, like sunshine. The closest sensation he could compare it to would be a shot of whiskey warming from the inside out, but that still didn’t come close to describing it.
The strangest urge came over him to tell her how she made him feel. To try to explain what he was experiencing. But since that would probably make him sound like a stalker, instead he asked, “Are you going to the reopening tonight?”
It might seem an odd question to ask, since they’d never discussed the event before. But since the entire town was talking about it, he thought it was a pretty safe bet that she would’ve heard about it.
“Yes, I am. Are you?”
Was that hope he detected in her question? He wasn’t sure, but the thought intensified the feeling radiating through him.
“Yep, I’ll be there.”
Her full lips lifted into a wide smile, revealing a row of perfect white teeth, and the power of its force was palpable. Her smile wasn’t just a smile, it was an intoxicating combination of sheer joy and innocent seduction.
A totally undeserved sense of pride crashed into him like a Mack truck that he was the one that had put it on her gorgeous face. He wanted to do it again and again and again. In fact, the thought of another man making her smile the same way had possessive instincts he didn’t know he had rising up to the surface.
“Okay, well…” She dipped her head as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. When her gaze met his again, her face was once again flushed. “I guess I’ll see you tonight.”
“See you tonight,” he repeated lamely as she turned and headed back to her condo.
She lifted her hand in a small wave as she rounded the corner and he knew in that moment that whatever this was, whatever was happening between them wasn’t neighborly. It wasn’t casual. It wasn’t even serious. It was…he didn’t know what it was. But he had a feeling tonight might be a good time to try to figure that out, especially since he was leaving tomorrow.
Chapter 4
Tonight is going to be great, Stephanie told herself as she emerged from the bathroom to find her sister seated at her vanity across the room putting on lipstick.
When Simone’s eyes met her sister’s through the reflection horror registered on her features and she froze. “Are you wearing that?”
Stephanie glanced down at the navy blue maxi dress that she’d just put on. It was loose, comfortable and she could wear flats, which was pretty much the trifecta of perfect outfit selection. “Yeah.”
Her sister’s voice dripped with disbelief as she slowly lowered her lipstick. “Tonight?!”
Any lingering doubt that her sister didn’t approve of her ensemble was erased with the incredulous emphasis she’d managed to infuse into the singular noun.
Thankfully, she’d never been a huge fan of her sister’s “less is more” style so Simone’s opinion didn’t bother her in the least. “Yes. Tonight.”
Simone swiveled towards Stephanie. Once facing her Simone placed her hands on her knees and pressed her lips together as she inhaled slowly through her nose before saying with calm authority, “No.”
“No?” Stephanie echoed.
“No. I cannot, in good conscience, allow you, my sister, to go out in publ
ic in that.”
Stephanie rolled her eyes. She had a habit of doing that when her little sister was around. “It’s not that bad. I look fine and I’m comfortable.”
“Clearly.” Simone sneered.
“Why are you acting like that’s a bad thing?” Stephanie had never subscribed to the beauty-is-pain philosophy. She subscribed to the, I’m-a-nurse-on-her-feet-twelve-hours-a-day-and-I’ll-wear-a-garbage-bag-if-it’s-comfortable philosophy.
“Look, it’s not your fault.” Simone stood and crossed to the closet. “You wear scrubs every day. Your perspective is skewed. Damaged, really. But never fear my dear, your fashion forward sister is here.”
As much as she appreciated her sister actually taking an interest in her life for once, she really didn’t want to be the recipient of a well-meaning but ultimately disastrous dress-up session. “Simone, I’m fine, I don’t need you to—”
“What about this?” Her sister pulled out a dress that honestly Stephanie had forgotten she even owned.
It was her sole little black dress. The skirt was loose and flirty, hitting right below her mid-thigh. With a halter-top and an open back, it showed more skin than she was used to displaying.
Amber Sloan, who owned Bella, a boutique clothing shop in town had designed it especially for her as a thank you for Stephanie’s volunteer services at several of the programs Amber and her mother Susan spearheaded at the local women’s shelter.
Stephanie organized a free medical clinic for the women’s shelter twice a month. She never expected to receive anything in return and was taken by surprise when Amber gifted her with the one of a kind design. Her plan had been to wear it to the first event that warranted such a special dress. It’d been sitting in the back of her closet for the past two years.
Now, the thought of putting it on stirred the butterflies that resided in her stomach to life. Well, it was actually the thought of Ace seeing her in the dress that had those suckers flitting around in there like they were on speed.
“If you’re not going to wear it, I am. This dress does not belong on a hanger, it belongs crumbled up on the floor.” Her sister’s brows wagged up and down.
Stephanie held out her hand. “Give it to me.”
Simone whooped as she threw the garment at her. Catching the fabric mid-air, Stephanie couldn’t help smiling as she grabbed her lace up heels from the organizer that hung on the back of her door and headed back into the bathroom to change.
Her sister spoke through the door. “Guess what? I found out some intel on tall, dark and sexy when I was down at the river today.”
Stephanie grinned to herself as she slipped off the maxi dress that now seemed so plain and boring. She’d found out some intel of her own, like the fact that he would be coming to the reopening tonight, but she kept that tidbit to herself. “Oh, really?”
“Yes. Ace is short for Andrew Charles Elliot. He’s a bodyguard at Elite Protection but was in the Marines, for like…ever. He served under Seth in Special Forces, which is how he got his job. Seth recruited him as soon as he found out that Ace was getting out.”
Stephanie’s smile dropped along with her heart. Simone had managed to learn more about Ace in twenty-four hours than Stephanie had in the weeks that he’d lived next door. In fairness, she’d been trying to avoid any information regarding the man that she still mentally referred to as trouble. But still, it stung that her sister, her little sister knew so much more about him than she did.
“He’s from Georgia and he’s single and he plans to stay that way.”
“What? Is he going into the priesthood or something?” Stephanie teased as she stepped into the dress.
“Maybe. He’s turned down every female that has stepped up to the plate. Every single batter struck out. He’s polite but keeps everyone at a distance.”
It was like Simone was describing someone else. That wasn’t the man that Stephanie knew. Ace was warm, friendly, and—she might be reading too much into it—flirty. He hadn’t technically asked her out this morning, but he’d made plans to see her tonight. Though that could’ve simply been a way to shut her up. She did have a tendency to ramble whenever he was around. Words just burst out of her mouth like a popped fire hydrant. Her mind started running down all possible scenarios.
Had he mentioned the reopening in an innocent attempt to be a good neighbor?
Had he just brought up the event as a tactic to change the subject?
Was he simply trying to be polite?
Was he merely trying to shut her up?
Did he really have no interest in seeing her socially?
Did people her age even use the term seeing her socially?
Why did she always feel so much older than her almost twenty-six years?
Why was this the first time she’d had an opportunity to wear her one of a kind little black dress in two years?
With effort she stopped herself before she spiraled further. As she finished tying her shoes she was determined not to go down the rabbit hole that those answers could lead to. She was a worrier. An over-thinker. Worst possible outcomes were her go-to. She couldn’t be certain if she was born with these traits or if they were learned responses of survival thanks to her unorthodox childhood. Nature verses nurture and all that. But whatever the reason, it was something that she was trying to curb and reprogram her brain’s wiring.
Standing with renewed fortitude she faced the mirror, pulled her hair out of the ponytail holder that it spent most of its time in, and ran a brush through the thick waves. This was her night off. She was going to a grand reopening of one of her favorite restaurants. Ace would be there. Not to mention a host of other eye candy thanks to all the Sloan brothers in attendance. Sure they were all happily married, but a girl could still look. In fact, it was safer that way.
Admiring a man, from afar of course, that had absolutely zero interest in you was perhaps the safest form of admiring. No harm, no foul. No love, no heartbreak. No trust, no abandonment.
Just outside the door, her sister was still going on about the fact that no one had been able to break through, or even scale, the walls that Ace put up.
“Maybe they just weren’t his type,” Stephanie interrupted her sister’s rant as she put on a fresh coat of lipstick and applied a lash-volumizing mascara.
“That’s impossible. Believe me,” Simone spoke with confidence.
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes I do.”
“You can’t.”
“Yes I can.”
Setting down her mascara, Stephanie’s head fell back. Conversations like this with her sister were exhausting. “How? How do you know that?”
“Because, I was practically topless in his garage yesterday and he barely noticed. I think he’s probably batting for the other team.”
“What?” Stephanie flung the door open. “You were what?”
“Oh my god.” Simone took a step back and her jaw dropped.
Seriously? Irritation flooded through Stephanie as she waited to hear whatever criticism her sister had now.
She braced herself for Simone pointing out that the dress was too short and she didn’t have the legs to pull it off. Or that she should pull her hair back up, because it was too thick to be down and “swallowed her face.” Or that she needed to wash off her make-up unless her plan was to work a corner after the party.
Whatever her sister said, she could take. Lord knew she’d heard all of those things and worse from her mother, more times than she could count. Still, she wanted to get the critique portion of the evening over with.
“What?” Impatience got the better of her and she snapped. “Just say it.”
“You look…” Simone stared at her in a wide-eyed daze, unable to complete her thought.
Irritation instantly morphed into insecurity. It had to be bad to render Simone speechless. She must look utterly ridiculous.
Stephanie didn’t need her sister’s approval but this was more than that. This was horror. “I’ll
change.”
“No!” Simone reached out and grabbed Stephanie’s arm halting her retreat. “I’m just…I was so shocked when I saw you. You look so freaking hot! You’re always pretty, but this is next level shit. I had no idea you had this…” Her sister released her arm and waved her hand up and down, “…in you. You’re like Hollywood-supermodel-hot. You’re—”
“Okay, I won’t change. Just stop,” she cut her sister off as warmth crept up her cheeks. She didn’t take compliments very well and wanted to move the conversation off of her. “What do you mean you were topless in Ace’s garage yesterday?”
“Oh,” Simone waved her hand dismissively, “that. Yeah, I went over and asked him to put sunblock on my shoulders before I went to the river and I untied my top.”
Stephanie closed her eyes. Her sister’s behavior didn’t surprise her, but that didn’t mean she liked it. Knowing that she couldn’t hide from this forever because she may owe her neighbor an apology, she opened her eyes and asked, “What did he do?”
“He left me hanging.” Stephanie’s tone clearly implied—can you believe it?—as if it was unthinkable. “He told me that I seemed like a resourceful girl. He was sure I could handle it and to have a good day. Then he disappeared inside his condo.”
She couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. Most men wouldn’t handle that situation with as much class and humor. He really was trouble.
“And when I took a pizza and beer over last night, he told me he already ate and he had work to do.” Her sister’s eyes widened and her head tilted to the side as if she’d just delivered Exhibit B on her Ace-bats-for-the-other-team theory.
“Maybe he did have work to do and he had already eaten.” Despite her upbringing, Stephanie’s first instinct was to give people the benefit of the doubt.
“Really? Work to do?” Simone crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Yeah…I don’t think so. But it doesn’t matter anyway because I am going to be part of a very important dating study and I can’t have him messing with my stats.”
All He Needs – Ace & Stephanie (Crossroads Book 10) Page 4
