me she has a drama rehearsal or a girlfriend she wants to spend the night with?" he teased. "Although, when she doesn't, you're still allowed to come over just for the hot tub. The PG version, I mean."
"Ian," I hissed, glancing over to make sure no one could've overheard that.
"What?" he asked. "I'm just being neighborly."
I poked his very solid chest. "You most certainly aren't."
So he grabbed my hand. "Careful, you might hurt yourself doing that."
"I will have you know my fingers are stronger than you think."
He laughed and looked away. Slowly, he turned his eyes back to mine. "Then you've been single too long. I promise it's better when you let us handle that for you."
It took a second, but when I realized what he was hinting at, my mouth fell open in shock. "And you don't think you're being a little presumptuous?"
He just moved closer, still holding my hand in his. "You, Elena, are the one who said ok. I'm just taking you at your word."
"Maybe you can turn down the sex appeal to about a five while we're surrounded by children?" I begged.
That made him let go of my hand, but only so he could drape his arm across my shoulders. "Do I want to know what you ranked me at before?"
"Twenty," I assured him.
So he leaned close to my ear. "Then I'm doing better than I thought, but your daughter's getting closer. Yes, I've been keeping track."
Damn, could this guy get any better? So far, I only had one complaint: his age. And in the last few weeks, he'd made that seem like the dumbest thing in the world to worry about. Ian Langdon was most definitely not a little boy. Oh no, he was all man, and one I definitely didn't mind being held up against - until my daughter noticed.
She was with a lighter-skinned black girl who I assumed was Samantha. The pair glanced our way then burst out in a fit of giggles. That made me pay them just a little more attention, but what my daughter said was the very last thing I ever expected to hear.
"That's not my dad. That's Ian," she told Samantha. "He lives next door with Trent, who's over there. Pax is... in the red shirt by the drinks. Lane's the really big guy over by Roman, and Seth looks kinda like a surfer." She glanced around. "That one."
"Those are your neighbors?" Samantha gasped. "They're so gorgeous!"
"I know, but they're cool, too. So much better than my dad. He treats me like I'm some kind of alien, but these guys? I dunno, Sam, maybe it's stupid, but they like my mom, and I really hope she dates one of them. I don't even care which."
"So you can get the view?" Samantha asked.
Gabby rolled her eyes. "Not like that. They're more like what I wish my dad was like. Trent's the one helping me memorize my lines."
"You think he'd help me?"
Gabby shrugged. "Maybe. We'll have to ask my mom if you can come over, but I bet she'd be cool with it. I'll ask him on the way home, and I know he'll do it. He's the one that picked me up after the script handouts."
"Damn, I honestly thought that was your dad."
Ian gently bumped my shoulder. "If you give me a head's up, I might be willing to help you survive the sleepover those two are about to plan."
"You," I told him, "shouldn't be able to understand teenagers this well."
"I've been studying. See, there's this beautiful woman I'm trying to impress."
I pressed my elbow into his ribs. "Keep it at a five, Ian. You're pushing seven."
"Yes, ma'am."
CHAPTER 28
Thankfully, things returned to normal after that, but the rainy weather had brought cooler temperatures. I now needed a coat to walk to work. On the upside, we had a lot fewer houses to show, since no one wanted to be outside. That meant Ashley jumped in to help me. It was the only reason I made it home at a decent time on Wednesday. The problem was that my place was empty.
Trent had agreed to help the girls with their lines before their tryouts. I'd assumed they were going to be at our house. Instead, a note on the fridge said to go next door for tonight's performance. The googly-eyed smiley face proved Gabby had written it.
After changing into something a little more comfortable, I hurried across the lawn and tapped on the door. It opened almost immediately. Lane was