Number Neighbors - Emma Hart Page 0,28

tangent for sure.

I put the glass down and looked up in time to see Isaac walking past the front of my house. He paused for a moment, and I turned around so it didn’t look like I was stalking him.

Not that I was stalking him. Although there was every chance it would remain on the list of options.

I mean, if I was going to get arrested for stalking someone, it may as well be someone as hot as him.

It wasn’t in the plans, you understand.

Jesus Christ, my mind wasn’t even making sense to me anymore.

Was this panic? Was this how it ended for me? Was I going to answer the door in a hot mess of panic and freaking out?

Oh, God, I was.

Three knocks at my door jolted me out of my inner monologue. Just.

I took a deep breath and went to answer the door. I pulled it open and froze when I saw Isaac. He was standing there in a light gray polo shirt that made his eyes seem extra green, and a smile played on his lips, but it was the gorgeous bunch of pink and red flowers he was holding that made me pause.

“You brought me flowers?”

His smile widened. “Well, we never actually decided if we were calling this a date or not, so I didn’t wear a shirt in case you thought I thought it was. Then I didn’t want you think I didn’t care, so, here we are.” He held the flowers up by way of a final explanation.

I took the flowers from him. “They’re beautiful. Thank you.”

I didn’t think it was possible, but his smile went even wider. “I’m glad you like them.”

“Yoo-hoo!”

Oh, God, no.

Not Mrs. Keighley.

I leaned forward and poked my head out of the door.

It was Mrs. Keighley.

“Good evening, Mrs. Keighley,” Isaac said politely. “How was your day?”

Why was he engaging her in conversation? He was too nice for his own good.

“Mrs. Keighley,” I muttered.

She looked between us. “Are you having a date?”

“No,” I replied. “Just dinner between friends.”

“Then why do you have flowers?”

“It’s a date,” Isaac said quickly, reaching out and touching my arm. “Our food is about to be delivered, and I’d hate to be rude…”

“Oh, of course! I was just wondering…”

Of course she was.

“Do you have any time to see to Snuffles this week? She’s not eating as much, and I meant to come by today, but I had an emergency…”

Snuffles? Who the hell was Snuffles?

Isaac smiled warmly. “Sure. Bring him by in the morning. You might have to wait a bit, but I’ll see her.”

“Thank you!” She clasped her hands to her chest. “Now I’ll let you kids get to your date.”

“Good night, Mrs. Keighley.” Isaac pushed me inside and stepped in, quickly shutting the door behind him. “Bloody hell,” he whispered. “She’s hard work.”

I just about resisted the urge to hit him with the flowers. “What did you tell her this was a date for? Now she’s gonna go tell everyone!”

“It is a date.” He grinned lopsidedly. “You know it is.”

I forced a pout onto my face and walked inside. “Whether it is or not, now Grandma is gonna be on my ass because we told her it wasn’t a date.”

“Your grandmother is a hoot. Where does she get her crazy from?”

“I have no idea. She probably buys it in bulk from China or something.” I shook my head and put the flowers in the sink. I wasn’t even sure I had a vase, but maybe a glass would work if I cut the stems.

I filled the sink with water and left the flowers there. “No vase,” I explained.

Isaac’s lips tugged to one side. “Of course. Do you want me to get one from my place?”

A knock at the door answered the question.

“No, that’s the food. I’ll buy one tomorrow.” I smiled and scooted past him to the door. I opened it, grabbed the food, and pulled some money from the bowl on the side table to tip him. Once he’d left, I closed the door and took the pizza through to the living room where Isaac was pouring the wine.

I put all the food down on the coffee table and sat on the edge of the sofa.

Isaac surveyed all the boxes. “Are we expecting anyone else?”

I frowned. “No. Why?”

“You ordered half the pizza place, Hannah.”

“I didn’t know what to order.” I shrugged and reached forward, opening each box. “So I went for a little of everything. Oh, wait! I have paper plates in the cupboard!”

I got