like it's dying," I finally said, gesturing to my house. "I could hear the clanking from my bed."
Her luscious lips parted in realization. "Oh my goodness, were you asleep? I'm so sorry. I figured everyone would be at church, and I wanted to make sure I..." She snapped her mouth shut. "And you don't care. Right. I can finish this later. I'm really sorry I woke you."
I nodded a few times, taking the chance to look her over again. Ashley had to be yanking me around. This woman was definitely my type. I had a weakness for curvaceous brunettes, and she qualified. I also preferred older women. They were a little more settled, and I wasn't exactly in a position to do a lot of spontaneous things. If she didn't live next door to me, I'd be putting on a lot more charm.
Instead, I said, "Well, Lane's still passed out, and you do not want to wake him up. So why don't you wait until tomorrow to do that?"
Her face fell. "Sorry. I just really want to make a good impression." Her eyes closed and she sighed. "And now I sound pathetic."
"You sound nice," I told her, crossing the distance to offer my hand. "I'm Ian, by the way."
"Elena," she said, pronouncing it Eh-lay-na, with a noticeable Spanish inflection.
"Well, Elena..." I tried to say it the same way she did, but I was pretty sure I failed. "The cookout starts at seven. You should bring your daughter."
"What cookout?"
The one I was making up right now to introduce her to the rest of the community. The excuse to introduce her I'd talked about with my father and sister yesterday. Sadly, I couldn't say that, so I decided to improvise.
"It's a thing I do in the summer," I said instead. "Invite the neighbors over, have some drinks, some adult conversations, and do the neighborly thing. I mean, this is supposed to be a community, after all."
She took a little step back, a nervous gesture that tugged at all of my protective alpha instincts. "I'm not even unpacked. I certainly don't have anything to bring, and tomorrow's my daughter's first day at a new school, so I dunno…"
"It's not a problem," I assured her. "Just bring yourself and your daughter. It'll be a great chance to meet everyone and the kids she'll be going to school with." Yeah, my sister was going to owe me big time. "I'm surprised Ashley didn't mention it, though."
"She told me to take the weekend to settle in and unpack. That's all."
Oh yeah, I was definitely going to throw Ashley under the bus. "Well, she should've. I know she's going to be there. Well, here. Seven o'clock tonight. Dress is casual. Just some poolside relaxation."
"I..." She shook her head slightly, and I knew an excuse was about to come next.
So I made sure that couldn't happen. "No excuses. You will come over, enjoy my cooking, and meet the people who live around here. Unless you think you're too good for us?"
"No!" she insisted.
Which was exactly what I'd expected her to say. "Good. Now leave the lawn alone. Your mower's dangerous, and I don't need my neighbor cutting her leg off just to ruin the party." Smiling, I took a step back. "Seven o'clock. Be there."
Before she could say anything else, I walked away. First, I needed a cup of coffee, then I was going to drop it on my darling sister that we were hosting the entire neighborhood for dinner. Oh, and she was definitely calling all of them, just to make sure that first, they knew we had a human in our midst, and second, that it was all Ashley's idea.
On the upside, if I was going to be jumping through hoops like a trained dog, then at least the person I had to keep an eye on was worth looking at. And speaking of that, I should warn the guys that our neighbor was about to be a guest. Lane needed pants for this - if he would even agree to socialize. Pax would have to be put on a proverbial leash. Thankfully, I could count on Seth and Trent to make this easy.
The moment I walked into the house, I announced, "We're hosting the pack for dinner. Seven tonight. This place needs to be cleaned up."
From the couch, I heard a growl. It wasn't directed at me, per se, but it made me feel better that everyone else was just as annoyed as I was.