Her Big Neighbor

“Are you okay?” Edward asks.

“Yeah,” I say. “I was just going to—” I pause for a second, swallowing the truth that I want to go get coffee. “I have time now, if you’re okay to go to the store for the ceiling fix. Had a few minutes so I figured I’d ask.”

He gives me a small smile, and looks as relieved as I feel seeing him. “Yes, absolutely.” The look he throws his brother over his shoulder is not a friendly one. “I’ll be back shortly. Try not to destroy the house.”

Kevin rolls his eyes and shuts the door. Edward winces. I look at him, and he gestures to his car. As we’re walking. “I was going to ask whose car it is. But I guess I figured it out.”

“Yeah, that’s Kevin. He showed up unexpectedly last night. Was definitely not a planned visit. He asked if he can stay with me for a bit.”

The way he sighs after that statement tells me it’s not something that he’s looking forward to. Clearly not a lot of lost love between brothers.

“Where are we actually going?” Edward asks as we get into the car, not hesitating to take my hand across the center console.

“Coffee. I want a better latte than I can make here.”

“I can do that,” Edward says. He sounds tired.

I wait a couple of minutes, enjoying the feeling of my hand in his before I ask. “So what’s really going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said that Kevin wanted to stay with you, but you’re not exactly acting like that’s okay. Is there a different reason that he’s here? Besides making strange comments about me sunbathing?”

I don’t miss the way Edward’s jaw tightens. Clearly he’s not pleased. “I’m sorry about that. Believe me when I say that I’ll be having a word. My brother doesn’t exactly think before he opens his mouth. He doesn’t think before he does anything. Ever.”

“Are you all right?”

He sighs again. “I’m fine. There’s a lot of history between us that makes our relationship hard. His marriage isn’t the best. They’ve been on again and off again for several years, and it seems like it’s off again, and it might be for good this time. He needed a place to cool off, so he came here.”

“He’s done this before?”

“Unfortunately.” Edward lifts the hand that he’s holding to his lips and kisses it, never taking his eyes off the road. “He and I are very different people, and even if none of the things he’s done had happened, we would still have a hard relationship because of that.”

I’m still fluttery from the way he kissed my skin, but I try to focus. “I imagine that this will sound a little heartless. But if you don’t want him in your house, can’t you ask him to leave and get a hotel?”

“It’s technically still my parents’ house. It’s mine in everything but name, but it is their name. And they’ve made it clear to me that they want Kevin to have a safe space to retreat to, no matter his history. “

“Can I ask—”

“I’ll tell you,” he says quickly. “I promise I will. Just not right now.”

I lean over and rest my head on his shoulder. “Fair enough. I’d rather just spend time with you anyway. Other than the unexpected company, was your day okay?”

“Long. I wanted to get through it so that I could see you.”

“I was the same,” I say softly. We’re almost to the coffee shop, and we just rest in each other’s company. I think again about the words that popped into my head on his porch. Boyfriend. “Is it weird?” I ask. “To feel this close after a couple days?”

“Maybe. I had the same thought last night. But I don’t care.”

“Neither do I.”

He pulls into the parking space, and I look up at him. “Right before I knocked on your door I was thinking about what I should call you.”

“Call me?”

“I mean…” I can feel the blush creeping up my neck and cheeks. “Are you my boyfriend? Is it too soon to say that?”

Edward takes my face in his hands and kisses me softly. “I don’t want it to be too early to say that.” It almost seems like he wants to say more, but the silence grows large between us. Something feels bigger than just defining a budding relationship, and my stomach does a flip-flop.

Finally, he asks. “Coffee?”

“Yeah.”

We walk hand in hand to the entrance, and he opens the door for me, allowing me to go in first.

“What do I get if I can guess your order?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” I try to keep a business face on. “What do you want?”

Edward quickly leans forward and brushes his lips to my ear. “You know what I always want.”

I shiver. God, how does he manage to do that? “You can always have that.”