Finally (Neighbor from Hell #12) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,44

the armoire that she’d found herself thinking about whenever she looked at this spot and ran her fingers down the intricately carved Celtic design. It was even more beautiful than she remembered.

“Do you like it?” Devin asked, drawing her attention to find him watching her.

“I love it,” she said softly as she looked back at the armoire, watching her fingers as they traced the Celtic design that must have taken days to create and amazed that anyone could create something this beautiful by hand. “I don’t understand. T.J. sent me an email telling me that it had sold so that I could take it off the featured page,” Charlie said, not mentioning that she’d drowned her sorrows in jelly donuts after that.

“I canceled the order.”

“Why?” she asked, throwing him a questioning look as she dropped her hand away from the armoire.

“Because I wanted you to have it,” Devin murmured softly as he gestured towards the cabinet as he stood up. “I wasn’t sure where you wanted it. If you want me to move it, I can-”

“It’s perfect. Thank you!” she said, cutting him off with an excited squeal as she rushed over to him and threw herself into his arms, eliciting a grunt as he fell back into the chair, taking her with him.

“You’re welcome,” Devin said, chuckling as he reached up to push her hair back only to end up cupping her face in his hands. “Are you sure you like it?”

“I love it,” she assured him as she found herself reaching up so that she could run her fingers along his jaw.

“What about the bureau?” he asked, making her frown as she looked around her small apartment only to find her bureau in its usual spot.

“What about it?” she asked only to feel her lips twitch when he said, “I hate it.”

“What’s wrong with my bureau,” Charlie said with a mocking glare that he easily returned.

“Besides the fact that I hate it?” Devin asked as she settled more comfortably on his lap.

“Yes, besides that,” she murmured absently when she caught the faint hint of his aftershave and nearly groaned when she found herself moving closer.

“It doesn’t match the armoire,” Devin said as his gaze locked with hers.

“That’s probably because I bought it a couple of years ago,” Charlie said, unable to look away as she felt his thumbs gently caress her skin.

“You should have told me that you needed a new one,” he said softly as she found herself moving even closer until only a few inches separated them and asked the only thing that mattered, “Why?”

Instead of answering her, Devin slowly leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead as she closed her eyes and released a shaky breath. After a slight hesitation, she felt his fingers slide down her neck, sending a shiver through her body and-

Found herself moved off his lap with a murmured, “Happy Christmas, Charlie,” as she watched him walk away.

Chapter 21

“I really can’t tell you how happy I am that you decided to come,” Jason, the large bastard that had somehow managed to track her down and drag her here, said with a satisfied sigh as he reached over and patted her on the top of her head as Kenzie struggled against the rope stopping her from beating him with the chair they’d tied her to.

“Me, too,” Trevor, the other bastard who’d helped drag her here, said, nodding in agreement as he reached over and pulled the duct tape they’d used to stop her from screaming for help off her mouth.

“I’m going to kill y-” she calmly began explaining to her cousins before Jason shoved a brownie in her mouth.

“I honestly don’t know why you’ve been avoiding us, pookie,” Jason said with a sad shake of his head as Kenzie sat there, quickly chewing the brownie as she glanced around her brother Reese’s living room, noting that more than half of their family was here and couldn’t help but sigh with relief when she didn’t see her father.

“You know why,” she mumbled absently as she looked for something that she could use to get her out of here before it was too late.

“Is it because you thought we would be mad that you kept the fact that you were married to the asshole from us?” Jason asked, shoving the rest of the brownie in her mouth as he asked, “Was that it, pookie?”

“I haven’t been avoiding you,” she bit out evenly after she forced herself to swallow the brownie that was