“Yeah.” Why would she be pissed about that?

“Liked the house?” There was fire in her eyes, despite the glacial tone. Was she gearing up for a fight? How odd.

“My sister’s happy I live closer to her now. They helped me open some boxes too, after we took Lindsay out and got some ice cream.”

Skye straightened up, looking directly at me now and not her mail. “Oh. That was your sister?”

“Yes. Wait a second. Who did you think she was?”

Skye shook her head. “Never mind.”

I did mind. I moved closer, until she could no longer ignore me.

“Skye, who did you think they were?”

“I don’t know. The girl looked like both of you, so...”

“So you thought I was just flirting with my neighbor before my wife and kid arrived?” That had to be what she thought. I was pissed, but the urge to protect her overwhelmed me more. In my experience, when people expected the worst, it was because they’d encountered the worst. “For the record, they are my sister and niece.”

“I’m sorry, I just... I felt so bad last evening, you know. Thinking that I was.... I’d never do that. Get in the midst of a family.”

Despite all the pep talks I’d given myself, I wanted this woman, plain and simple. I needed her. I decided right then and there that I was going to get to know Skye better. She looked like just the thought of getting involved with another woman’s man made her feel sick. I regretted the misunderstanding, but I also liked that it had given me this insight into her personality.

“As I said, never mind,” she mumbled.

I could let it drop, but I wouldn’t let this opportunity slide by me.

“The way I see it, you owe me dinner,” I said, stepping a bit closer. I barely kept from reaching out. I needed to touch her.

She laughed. “What?”

“You thought the worst about me. Dinner will fix it.”

“How?” She looked half confused, half amused about my statement.

“You’ll see. And because I don’t want to invite myself over, and I’m not sure how good your cooking skills are, I’ll make us dinner.”

“My cooking skills are just fine, thank you very much.”

“Good to know. We can have the second dinner at your place if the first doesn’t fix things.” I kept my eyes trained on her, right until she averted her gaze. That need to reach out and make physical contact almost overpowered me, but I was still hanging in there. Barely. I couldn’t even explain it.

“What things?”

“You’ll see.”

She laughed again, crossing her arms over her chest. “What was that about not inviting yourself over?”

“That was before you told me you’re a good cook.”

She was wearing a sleeveless white dress. I couldn’t hold back any longer and touched her shoulder, drawing the backs of my fingers down to her elbow. She shuddered but instinctively leaned in to me. She was close to agreeing, but something held her back. She was fighting this with all she had.

“I don’t know. I’ll be in Manhattan until late this evening,” she murmured.

“I thought your family looked after the store on Sundays?”

“They do, but I’m meeting a supplier. It was the only day we both had time.”

“I’m adaptable. I’m going into the city too for a few meetings. We can eat later. You won’t deny your neighbor a ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ dinner, will you?”

Tags: Layla Hagen Very Irresistible Bachelors Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net