Lovely Neighbor by Alexa Riley Page 0,16
dining room. “What would you like to drink? I’ve got beer, wine, and water.”
“Wine, please.” She takes the dishes from me and sets the table.
She puts me sitting across from her and I wonder why I ever got a table so big. I grab our drinks and bring them back into the dining room but move my plate next to her so we’re both at the corner.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t know where you liked to sit.”
“This just makes it easier to share,” I say and move my chair a little closer to her too. “Which one are you going for first?”
“My favorite is sesame chicken, but this one smells really good and I don’t know what it is.”
I look at the box and poke around a little with my chopstick. “Yeah, I don’t either. I think I just told them to get me one of everything.”
“That explains all the boxes.” She smiles as she takes a container of rice and spoons some out on her plate.
“So, I just want to get the awkwardness out of the way first.” Her eyes widen and she puts her food down and waits with a serious expression. “What kind of shampoo do you use because I need it.”
A smile tugs at her lips as she picks up her chopsticks. “It’s Midnight Garden. Grams got it for me for Christmas last year and I loved it so much I kept getting it.” She laughs as she shakes her head. “Why are you asking me that?”
“The scent of it on my sheets drove me crazy.”
She blushes as she looks down at her food and tucks her chin. “Is that a good crazy or a bad one?”
“Depends.” I take a drink of water and stare at her while she glances up at me.
“Are those my hair ties on your wrist?” She points to the orange and baby blue elastics and I look down at where I’ve rolled my sleeves up.
“Yes,” I answer and don’t offer them back to her.
She flips her hair over to her other shoulder. “I’ve been looking for them. My hair is driving me crazy.”
“I think it’s beautiful. But you’re not getting them back.”
She thins out her lips to try and hide her smile while her green eyes scrutinize me. “And why not?”
“Well, they’re in my house so technically they’re my property.”
“I’m in your house too.”
“I know.”
The two words hang between us for a second before she shrugs. “Fine. I’ll consider it payment for letting me stay here.”
God, she’s fucking cute when she’s teasing me. Why do I like flirting with her so much? I never spend more than a few moments with a woman before I’m ready to run. But thoughts of how I can get Erin to stay are churning.
“Oh, it’s gonna cost you more than two hair ties.”
“I’ve already agreed to dinner.” She waves her hands around as she takes another bite.
“You think that’s what this place is worth? Some lousy rubber bands and Chinese food?”
“If they’re so lousy I’ll take them back.”
“Not a chance.” I wink at her before I take a drink. “Can you tell me what happened the other night?”
She lets out a sigh and I hate that I’ve taken the mood down. “I’m not really sure yet, but someone broke into my apartment and ransacked the place. My landlord emailed me some photos and they’re pretty bad. It doesn’t look like anything is stolen, but I didn’t keep any valuables there so I don’t know what they would have taken. I don’t even have a nice TV and I had my laptop at the shop when it happened.”
“When do you have to go back?”
“I can leave any time.” She sits up straighter and looks around. “Do you need me to go?”
“No!” I say, too loudly and too quickly. “No, sorry, that’s not what I meant. I’m working on a case with my sister and staying at her place.”
“She’s a lawyer too?”
“Yeah, we have a firm together.” She asks me a bunch of questions about work and I wonder if it’s because she doesn’t want to discuss what happened at her place. I get it, but I need to follow up with the detective I put on this and see what he was able to find out.
“Thanks for stocking up the refrigerator for me,” she says as she leans back in her chair and picks at a few half-empty boxes.
“How do you know I did that for you?” I smile as I use my chopsticks to dig into