Inevitable (3 page)

“Good for him,” I said, pulling the curtain from Hilary’s hand and letting it fall back into place.

She took a quick drink and walked back to the table, sitting down with her glass in hand.

“Once Caleb opens his new place I’m sure you’ll meet a nice guy to sweep you off your feet,” she said.

“I’m done with men.” I walked back to the sink and refilled my glass. “At least for a while anyway.” It wasn’t a lie. My plans included fixing up my house and focusing on teaching. No man would fit in that plan.

“You can’t be done already. You’re only twenty-two years old! Way too young to be a man-hater.”

I chose to ignore her, looking down at the melting ice in my glass.

“Come on, you’ve only had one serious boyfriend your entire life, Cassandra. Consider him your test-run before meeting the perfect guy.” Hilary maneuvered her chair to face me causing a loud squeak to fill the small room as it slid across the linoleum. “Mark was a dick, but realistically high school sweethearts rarely work out. You have to put yourself back out there. Sheltering yourself in the middle of nowhere all the time is not the way to land a guy.”

I raised my brows with a cynical look. “Since when do you know how to land a guy? You never get past the first date.” My voice was laced with amusement that I couldn’t seem to hide.

“I’m waiting for Mr. Right.” She grinned, but her voice faltered and I caught the small glimpse of melancholy in her tone.

“You mean you’re waiting for Caleb Townsend.” I pulled out the chair across from her and sat down. It felt good to relax after our jog. I peeled off my shoes and socks using the tips of my toes. My bare feet tingled when the warm air hit them.

Hilary chugged down the rest of her water and stood up ignoring my comment. She placed the empty glass in the sink. “I better get going. I need a shower and then I need to pick up some groceries.”

“Maybe you’ll run into Caleb?” I smiled, hoping to lighten her mood.

She rolled her eyes, there was a subtle smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

I never thought a guy with a reputation for trouble like Caleb, would catch her attention. But he did and I’ve been hearing about it from her ever since.

“I wonder if the little boy will be in your class,” Hilary said, lingering in the doorway.

“Who knows? He looked too young for kindergarten.” I hated to admit it, but a part of me hoped he wasn’t in my class. Living next door to his father, looking that amazing on moving day, would be hard enough.

She scoffed. “It’s going to be interesting watching you with all those little kids considering you’re an only child and never even had a single cousin.”

“Hey! I babysat.”

“Mh-hm, that’s exactly the same thing.” She laughed walking toward the front screen door that filled the house with a cool breeze.

“I’ll see you Saturday at Caleb’s grand opening, right?” I called out.

“Try Friday. I need your help finding the perfect dress. And I expect to have the full scoop on the new neighbors by then.”

My gaze wandered back to the window when I heard the rickety screen door slam shut.

New neighbors. That would be a change I’d have to get used to. I wondered what the family’s name was, or more precisely what the gorgeous man’s name was. He didn’t appear to be more than thirty; maybe I was overstepping assuming the little boy was his son. He could be his nephew, or even a family friend.

I looked down at my hands resting on the table, and shook my head laughing at my unrealistic, yet wishful thinking. What’s the matter with me?

After a few more minutes of enjoying the peace and quiet, I stood and walked to the sink, placing my empty glass inside. I was in desperate need of a cold shower, not just from the scorching run, but also from the sweltering image forever engraved into my mind of the new mystery man.

Chapter Two

First Impressions

I
awoke to the echo of hammering seeping through my open window. Rolling to my stomach, I buried my head in the cluster of pillows and groaned. I already hated having neighbors.

Slowly the noise began to fade away and my eyes slid shut. The haze of sleep was eager to claim me once more and I was more than happy to comply when an unearthly roar filled my room terrifying me wide-awake. I leapt out of my once cozy bed whipping my head to face the window, chest heaving. The sound could only be described as a jackhammer, but what the hell would anyone need that kind of machinery for first thing in the morning?

“Ugh!” I stomped my foot, irritated, on the cold floor dragging myself out of the bedroom. My fingers ran through my disheveled hair, pulling out any knots they found as I headed down the short hall to find out what exactly was causing me to lose sleep.

I stopped in my tracks and grimaced at the grandfather clock in the corner of my living room.

Damn.” That couldn’t be right, it read eight fifteen.

My internal alarm had always awoken me first thing every morning at seven sharp for my run. Annoyed, I brushed my hands over my sleepy eyes and sighed before continuing to the kitchen at the back of my house.

With a silent but wide yawn, I trudged to the window and pulled open the dull green kitchen curtain decorated with faded embroidered flowers that I’d been meaning to replace. My gaze instantly landed on the young woman standing near the pool in the Miller’s backyard.

Her long light-brown hair laid stick straight down her back. A trimmed body in tiny white shorts and low-cut pink tank top told me everything I needed to know.
Damn it!

She belonged to the beautiful mystery man I spent my night dreaming about. No wonder I overslept. My internal alarm had been too busy enjoying the free show the nameless man put on for me last night. It had been months since I’d experienced any type of sexual dreams—due to the lack of stimulating men in my town—and this was by far the most memorable.

I groaned. Some people had all the luck. I wondered if someone stole mine away or perhaps I was suffering the consequence of a past life and was doomed watching everyone around me fall in love and live happily ever after while I sat alone baking birthday cakes for their kids.

Whoever this girl was, she must have been amazing in her past lives because she had too much going for her. Even the estate she was now living in would fall under the category of dream house for half the country.

She appeared to be barking out orders, one hand on her hip, the other pointing to different areas around the yard. I found her surprisingly irritating. It wasn’t like me to be jealous, especially over some guy I’d not officially met, but it wasn’t just about him. I could never say it aloud, but a small piece of me envied her even with only one glance. Gorgeous husband, adorable son, and a beautiful home—it’s all I’d ever dreamed of.

I dropped the curtains and muttered, “Well, that’s that.”

It was official; mystery man was off the market. There was no reason to waste any more time fantasizing about him finding me sunbathing, in the backyard, wearing the tiny bikini Hilary talked me into buying the previous summer. It wouldn’t end with Mr. Hotness flirting and enticing me to join him for a dip in his pool.

Not only was he already taken, but also from the looks of it, the pool was being destroyed.
Just my luck.

Within the hour, I found myself falling back into my morning routine—jogging in peace. Hilary would never accompany me again, that I was certain of. In all the years I’ve known her I’ve never seen her so exhausted. She worked out at the gym in the evening. The complete opposite of myself.

When I rounded the first corner, all thoughts of the Miller’s pool and the flawless new neighbors had cleared from my mind. Everything was perfect. A cluster of clouds that for once made me feel grateful shielded the morning sun.

The fresh smell of dew and the morning air filled my nostrils with every soothing breath. Music filled my ears, blaring Adele on repeat.

A smile crept over my face when I approached my usual turn around, the small road sign indicating ‘you are now entering city limits.’ My feet sprinted forward, quickening my pace. As I crossed the road to go back up the way I came, my entire body drained of all the serenity I felt moments earlier.

I continued jogging, but my steps grew slower and heavier, when my eyes locked with his.

There he was—my new neighbor. The Greek god that had filled my night with visions of endless passion, jogging with nothing but a pair of dark-grey shorts that screamed designer and a devilish smirk. My eyes locked with his sculptured abs and trailed down the perfect V disappearing into his shorts.

Shaking my head to pull myself from the hypnotizing trance, I put on my friendliest smile and prayed it came off less awkward and contrived then I knew it was.

The catastrophic ripple of emotions whirling inside me left me dumbfounded. It was not like me to feel a pull like that toward any man, especially one that was possibly married. I reached down and slid my finger over my iPod, ending the music.

“Morning,” he said, his eyes lit with amusement and for some ungodly reason I closed my eyes and continued jogging past him too stunned to speak.
Smooth!

What was it about this guy that sent my body preparing for mutiny against every notion of morals I swore I had. Thankful I was past him I grew painfully aware he could possibly be turning around in the same location, which would put him directly behind me once again.

Instantly my entire body went rigid. Damn, how long had he been behind me?

The thought of having done something ridiculous or embarrassing with him unknowingly watching caused my ears to smolder and stomach to drop.

I’d never felt that self-conscious, and all I could do was replay the last half hour I’d spent running. Heat filled my body, a shudder shot up my spine and wrapped around my neck when the memory from fifteen minutes earlier replayed through my pounding head.

Noticing a puddle of water, I leaped over, arms fluttered gracefully over my head, in what could only be described as the
perfect
ballerina jeté.

I groaned inwardly.
What the hell was the matter with me?
Thankfully I had not expanded on the thoughtless move, although doing so would have forced me to whirl around and see him sooner rather than later.

Just my luck, instead I continued jogging on and…
oh, no
. My blood ran cold, legs heavy as weights slowing me down as nausea ripped through me, I flushed, cringing as my face grew hotter and without a doubt redder.
Oh God
.

I ripped out my earbuds with trembling hands and threw them over my shoulder picking up my pace, trying to not collapse from humiliation. The memory of stopping to tie my shoes shortly after leaving the house hit me like a sledgehammer to the gut. After double knotting my laces like a child, I stood and…those damn shorts.

I blew out a ragged breath and bit hard into my bottom lip recalling the moment I stood up, shorts riding up my rear, and pulled them free.

Kill me now
. I wanted so badly for the earth to open up and swallow me whole.

I had to force myself to believe he had yet to hit the pavement behind me when that happened. The thought of him watching me remove a wedgie from my ass was too much to bear.

That was it. Not only did a flawless, confident beauty already have him,
I
was the dork that danced over puddles and wore shorts so small they had to be physically removed from my rear.

Yeah, I nodded my head, no need to worry about impressing him now.

Dear Lord, why did I have to wear this outfit today?
I cringed, jogging faster and glancing down at my skintight shorts. They were faded blue with a pink stripe down each side. My mother bought them when I joined track in high school…my freshman year. My halter top was nothing more than a grey sports bra, shrunk from multiple trips to the laundry room, and showing off more than I intended on letting anyone around here see.

It was a rare occasion someone traveled this road especially at this hour. That was until his moving truck nearly ran me and Hilary down and now this.

I was pulled from my self-deprecating chastisement when I heard him clear his throat.
Oh no.
I looked to my left and there he was, in step beside me.

“Um, hi.” I sighed at my lack of poise. Stuttering was not my usual conversation starter but since we were both already aware of how giant an idiot I’ve acted thus far this morning, I shook it off.

He was staring at me with a crooked smile, as his gaze shifted shamelessly down to my chest.

I made a face that I was certain he caught and pulled up my top, hoping to hide the cleavage spilling out, capturing his attention.

He said nothing, but I caught the glimpse of humor in his eyes before he looked straight out at the empty road ahead of us.

It was the sexiest laugh I‘d ever heard. Rolling my eyes, I continued my brisk pace, keeping my gaze ahead of me.