Naughty Neighbor - Lauren Runow Page 0,65
says, shaking her jacket off.
“I hope you don’t mind if I crash your girls’ night.” Jake takes it from her.
Mel looks at him with a pleasantly surprised grin.
“Mind?” she says. “Honey, I’ve been dying to meet you. Charisse got a good look a few weeks ago. All I’ve had to go by is the picture on the Moreau Flowers website.”
“Melody!” I chide as Jake laughs deeply.
“You stalked me?” he asks.
“Hell yes. I had to show her the man who was taking up Lacey’s time and attention. Very nice headshot, by the way. I didn’t know you were a floral designer. And your family is adorable. The picture of you and your parents on the About page is so swoony,” Charisse defends.
“Agreed.” Melody walks toward the buffet in my dining area with her bottle of wine and takes out an opener. “I’ve ordered from you before, but I’ve never been inside. We’ll have to discuss ideas for my corporate holiday party in a few months. I’d much rather give the business to someone I know. And I expect the friends-and-family discount.”
“Of course,” he says easily as he joins Melody.
Jake takes the bottle from her hands and starts to open it while she grabs four glasses. They’re talking about flowers and wine as I pull Charisse into the kitchen. I peek past her shoulder to make sure Jake isn’t facing us.
“You look like a maniac. What are you doing?” she asks as I pull her down toward my lower cabinets.
We’re now squatting on the floor as I do one more look to make sure he’s not peering this way.
My eyes open wide when I whisper out, “He told me he loves me.”
A huge grin wraps around her face as she covers her mouth, so she doesn’t squeal. After her initial glee wears off, she says, “That’s amazing. I’m so happy for you.”
I slap her hand. “Are you kidding me? This is crazy. We just started dating.”
“What’s crazy is you. Right now. You’ve always been quirky, but this is a little too dramatic, even for a woman who writes dramatic romance.”
She stands up and looks down at me like I’m a child. I stand and brush my hands on the back of my jeans.
“There are many reasons why this is wrong. Maybe he’s an obsessive lover who uses it too freely. The words lose their meaning.”
“Does he strike you as the serial lover boy?”
I huff, “He dates a lot but no. It just seems too soon. Like we’re still in the getting to know you stage. The game is over.”
“Game?”
“Does he, does he not—”
“You’re being ridiculous. And scared. You’ve known each other for a while now. Maybe not personally, but this means, he’s been pining after you. He’s just happy to finally get what he wants.”
I give her a deadpan expression. “You can’t be serious. I just don’t think it’s—”
“What? Possible to know when you’ve found the one?” she interrupts me. “Did he expect you to say it back?”
Biting my lip, I answer, “No.”
She places her hand on my arm. “Don’t push him away. He seems like a really good guy. It’s possible you found a genuine man. They do exist. I promise. My dad was one of them.” Our eyes meet, and she places her other hand on my other arm. “Stop freaking out and enjoy the moment, will ya?”
I nod and give her a weak smile, my skin prickling. We grab our glasses, and there’s a pretty good chance I’ll drink way too much wine tonight.
Charisse and I join Melody and Jake, who are now in my living room. Someone put music on, and they’re in a pretty active conversation for two people who just met each other.
“You didn’t tell us Jake’s family has a cottage on the lake,” Melody accuses as I come into view.
All of the wonderful memories instantly flood through me, and I can’t help but smile. I slide next to Jake on the couch. “Yeah, it’s beautiful. We had a lot of fun.”
Charisse winks at Melody, making me hold up my finger to point at them.
“No way. This night went from girls’ night to double-date night, which means there’s no way we’re discussing our sex life,” I say.
They instantly clink their glasses together as Melody sings, “That means our girl is getting laid!”
“I told you that TikTok video was a genius idea,” Charisse says.
Jake’s eyes meet mine, and I can see confusion written all over his face. “That wasn’t your idea?”
Melody responds, “I’ll admit, I was against