Number Neighbors - Emma Hart Page 0,36
at the store. Wanna grab a beer?”
Actually, I did.
“Sure. I need to get this stuff home, but I can meet you somewhere.”
“I need to grab some stuff anyway.” He cocked his thumb in the direction of the store. “Say an hour? At Pete’s?”
“The sports bar just off Main Street?”
He nodded. “That work?”
“Sounds good to me.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN – ISAAC
Boozy Book Club
The bar was hopping with people. I didn’t follow much American sport—baseball was about all I understood—so I had no idea what was happening in this hockey game that was on.
I did, however, like the beer.
The food was pretty good here, too.
I already felt better just for having gotten out of the house. Sometimes, it was lonely living here by myself. Friends were in short supply and my family was thousands of miles away, and all today had proven was that I had to make a concerted effort to settle here—properly.
Not half ass it.
“So how did you and Immy meet?” I asked.
Mason chuckled. “We met in college. We were… friends with benefits. I graduated before her and we lost touch because I never called her.”
“I bet that went down well.”
“If you like having bricks dropped on your head,” he said wryly. “I happened to move in next door and here we are. I won her over again.”
“You’re still making up for it, aren’t you?”
“Look at that. Some things are universal.” He smirked. “How did you end up here?”
“Here as in America or as in this town?”
“Either. Both.”
“My ex-girlfriend’s dad had a vet clinic in New York. We met when she was in England for university, and when she decided to move back home, she asked me if I was interested in going with her.”
“You did?”
I shrugged. “I was young, newly qualified, and struggling to find work as a vet where I lived. Her dad helped me sort all the paperwork and I moved over here.”
“Wow. That took some balls.”
“I’m still wondering if it was the right thing to do,” I admitted. “I ended up here because we broke up and honestly, I hated New York. I’m not a city person, so it was a big adjustment.”
“Yeah, but why here? Did you close your eyes and put a finger on a map?”
I laughed. “You’re not too far off, mate. I applied for jobs all over the country that were in smaller towns and waited to see who’d give me one.”
“That’s insane.”
“I know. But it worked out. I’ve been here a couple years now and I like it.”
“I haven’t been here long. I only moved to be closer to my daughter, but I feel the same. It’s a great place. One of my neighbors needs some work, though.” He grinned and picked up his beer. “Jen is a special one.”
“You can say that again. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as eccentric as she is, and we have some real characters in the UK.”
“You better hope you don’t get roped into the book club,” Mason said. “That’s eccentric.”
“I’ve heard all about it. Is it wrong to say I’m a little scared?”
“Not at all. Believe me; I’ve met them, and I’m fuckin’ terrified.”
That wasn’t reassuring. At all.
“In fact, I think you’re about to meet them,” Mason muttered. “Jesus Christ, what are they doing here?”
I turned around, following his line of sight, and immediately saw them. They looked out of place, but it was Jen’s sunflower yellow dress that really caught the eye. She was accompanied by three other women; one in leather trousers, one in a plaid skirt, and another in jeans.
“Is she wearing… leather trousers?”
“Trousers? Oh, pants,” Mason said. “Yep. That’s Lil.”
“Right.”
“The one in the plaid skirt is Evelyn, and the jeans is Kathleen,” he continued. “If we hide, they might not—never mind. They’ve seen us.”
“Yoohoo!” Lil in the leather trousers waved. “Jen, look! It’s Mason and the hot vet!”
“Are they drunk?” I asked Mason.
He grimaced. “I think they might be. Dear God. I need to text Immy to come get them.”
“Didn’t you say she’s working late?”
“Shit.”
“I’ll text Hannah.” I pulled my phone out before he could say anything. The four ladies were making their way over to us, so I tapped out a fast message and sent it over.
ME: Your grandma and her friends are drunk at the bar.
“Hello, darlings!” The one in the skirt sat down next to me and batted her eyelashes. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Evelyn.”
Jen hit her around the back of the head with her bag. “He’s dating Hannah!”
“You’re dating Hannah?” all three other women