head back in a quick nod to gesture behind him. “I live in the pool house next door.”
I had no way to verify this claim at the moment, so I just had to go with it. I mean, it wasn’t every day I had a hot guy carry me through a threshold. Lately, the most excitement I’d had was listening to other gamers scream profanities at each other while playing online.
Jacoby must’ve taken my slow nod to mean it was okay to continue, because he toed the door open and entered the house with me in his arms. For a split second, I was able to get lost in the fantasy of it all—bored, rich housewife meets sexually deprived pool boy. I was pretty sure that had already been done because it sounded relatively familiar. Regardless, it proved to be a sexy thought.
He set me down on the oversized white couch, propped my foot on the matching ottoman, and then left the room. The house—more like a mansion—wasn’t difficult to navigate. It wasn’t a manor by any means; there weren’t any wings to get lost in. So, I didn’t know if he knew his way around, or if he just figured it out as he went. Then again, I wasn’t entirely sure where he was going. I assumed the kitchen, but really, I didn’t know him. He could’ve been ransacking the rooms for all I knew.
Just before calling out for him, he came around the corner with a bag of frozen Pizza Rolls, a bottle of water, and two pills in his hand that he claimed were ibuprofen. “I found these in the cupboard, but it looks like you’re running low. You might want to have Dave grab some more in case your ankle doesn’t feel better in a day or so.”
I wasn’t exactly in the position to do a quick Google search to verify that the little orange tablets were, in fact, the anti-inflammatory he said they were. However, based on the number of these I’d taken over the years, I didn’t have much reason to distrust him.
“Thank you,” I mumbled around the pills on my tongue as I reached for the bottle of water.
After placing the Pizza Rolls over my sore ankle, he began to shuffle his feet toward the back door. “Is there anything else I can get you? The remote is next to you…what about your phone? Do you need me to get that?”
As much as I would’ve loved to have my phone to call my best friend and tell him all about my hunky neighbor, I had no idea where I’d left it. And I wasn’t about to send him on a wild goose chase around the house looking for it. “No, that’s okay.”
“So you don’t need anything else before I leave?”
Feeling incredibly uncomfortable beneath his stare, I crossed my arms and tilted my head to the side. “What were you doing in the back yard anyway?” I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t accidentally accuse someone of being a stalker while trying to innocently flirt. There was a reason I was twenty-eight and still single.
Well, there was probably more than one reason for that.
“A package of yours was delivered to my place, so I brought it over. I was just letting you know that I put it by your front door. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Why didn’t you just bring it to me? Wouldn’t that have been easier than walking all the way around to the front? Especially if you stopped at the gate on your way back.”
“Umm…” He stared at me with those same five creases lining his brow. Although this time, it didn’t appear to be concern etched on his face—more like bewilderment. “Sorry, I didn’t think you would’ve appreciated me coming into your yard.”
“Well, you kind of did, though.”
Jacoby dropped his head forward, laughed beneath his breath, and shook his head. “You’re right. My apologies. Do you want me to get it off your front porch for you?”
I had no idea what had been delivered, but if it kept him here for a few more minutes, then I certainly wouldn’t decline his offer. “If you don’t mind.”
He flashed me a smile that would’ve made my panties fall to the floor had I been standing and then headed out of the room. I couldn’t wait to tell Dave all about this, even though he’d never believe me. Then again, it was possible that pretending to be Tiff had given me a