Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 76436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
She doesn’t see me at first, but then she looks over at me.
Her eyes widen.
“You need some help?” I ask.
She quickens her pace. “No, I’ve got it!”
Yet as she pulls at the handle of the bin with small, gloved hands, it’s clear that she doesn’t. Or maybe she does. If she’s lived here a while, she’s obviously dragged her garbage can into her garage many times before now.
I take a few steps toward her and—
She stumbles backward, losing her grip on the large trash can. A soft gasp escapes her lips, and in that moment, she reminds me of my Lindsay—that shimmer of stubbornness in her eyes, her unwillingness to give in or give up.
“Are you sure?” I ask again, already moving toward her before she can answer.
She stares daggers into me. “I’m sure.”
She lugs the large bin into her garage and then closes the door.
And that’s that.
Angie Simpson lives three doors away from me.
And I never knew it.
Fuck.
Chapter Seven
Angie
My heart is beating a mile a minute.
Dr. Lansing? Jason? Jason, who kissed me like no man has ever kissed me before?
He’s my damned neighbor?
How did I not know this?
I’m not the neighborly type. I didn’t go knock on doors and introduce myself, and no one came to my home bearing homemade cookies or a casserole.
I don’t have time to think about it. I need to clear up the clutter because my study buddies will be here in half an hour for pizza.
Which I should probably order.
Tillie scampers into the kitchen, sniffing at my feet. She gives me an inquisitive look. She can tell I’m unsettled.
I kneel and scratch her ear. “It’s nothing for you to worry about, girl.”
I also should’ve listened to their discussion about pizza toppings. All I remember is Ralph’s no-anchovies edict.
Everybody likes cheese and pepperoni, right? Tabitha said she’s not vegan, and her sandwich had meat on it. Ralph and Eli also ate meat. Pepperoni and cheese it is.
I put in the order on a food app and then go into my bedroom. I pull my hair out of its ponytail and brush it out, letting it float around my shoulders. Then I change out of my jeans and T-shirt and into leggings, a long sweatshirt, and fuzzy socks. My usual study attire. I see no reason to change my habit just because three classmates are coming over.
I walk back out, hang up some coats that are just lying around, and then head to the kitchen to clean up in there.
I’m startled by a knock on the door. Tillie starts barking.
“Coming,” I yell. “You guys are early.”
I lead Tillie to the back door and let her out into my backyard. I then open the door without looking into the peephole. After all, I know who it is.
But I let out a gasp.
What was I thinking? Of course it’s not Tabitha and the guys. Security would have called me.
It’s someone else. Someone who lives in the neighborhood.
Jason Lansing is standing there.
Looking amazing in a leather jacket. He was wearing down before, but now it’s leather and what looks like a cashmere scarf—could be Burberry—his cheeks ruddy from the cold.
“Oh,” I say. “Can I…help you with something?”
He sighs. “I just wanted to apologize. You know. For today. For…”
Kissing me?
The words are on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t get them out.
“I didn’t mean to cross any boundaries,” he says.
One could say that his showing up at my front door is another crossed boundary, but I don’t want to mention that.
A tiny part of me isn’t upset that he’s here.
His gaze is steady now, serious, and filled with an intensity that has my heart fluttering.
“We’re good,” I say hastily. The last thing I need is for him to feel awkward around me. He’s my professor. And my neighbor. God, this is a mess. “Don’t worry about it.”
He lets out a breath with a cloud of condensation. “Good. That’s…good.”
Should I invite him in? It’s cold, after all. But I’m expecting people. And the house…
“Would you like to come in?” I finally say. “I can make some coffee…or something.”
He puts his hands up in front of him. “No, no. That’s okay. I guess you know now that I live here. It’s a quick few steps to my place.” He narrows his eyes. “I didn’t realize you lived here, Angie.”
“Since September.” I kick absentmindedly at the floor. “I guess you didn’t see my brothers and cousins hauling all my stuff in.”
“I was probably working.”
“Yeah. Right.” I blink a few times. “Of course. You’re a surgeon.”
He looks down. “I wasn’t doing surgery.”
“Oh?”
“No. I mean… I don’t operate anymore.”
“Why not?”
He takes a deep breath in. “That’s a long stor—”
Before he finishes the word, Tabitha walks up onto my stoop. “Hey! Dr. Lansing, what are you doing here?”
“Jason, please,” he says. “It turns out that Angie and I are neighbors.”