Love Thy Neighbor Read Online Free PDF Page B

skin
tone, dark hair, muscular bodies, amber-colored eyes and big white
smiles with a single dimple. Trick also looks like them, being
cousins and all, but he’s a little shorter and has hazel eyes.
    Ridiculously hot. All of them.
    Trick arrives at the booth and Lola pounces
on him. He chuckles and whispers something into her ear. She takes
his hand and they walk away. I smirk. One guess what they’ll be
doing in half a minute.
    I hate my stupid ass for looking out for
Ghost. And just when I give up, I spot him at the VIP bar with a
dark-haired pretty woman.
    My chest aches. I absently rub at it.
    I stand and tell the others I’m going to the
downstairs bar. Mimi and Tina smile knowingly.
    Oh, yeah, babies. On the prowl.
    As I walk away, my heel catches and I
stumble. I’m falling.
    Oh, crap!
    Arms close around my waist and hold me
firmly. The person helps me steady myself and asks, “Are you
alright?”
    I brush the hair from out of my face, look
up and almost choke on my tongue. In front of me stands a man. A
tall, built, very good-looking man. He has blue eyes and black
hair.
    I stammer, “Ahhh- I- Ye- Uh huh.” He
smiles.
    Oh, wow.
    What a smile it is. It’s wide and showcases
his perfect white teeth. I like a man with great teeth. His eyes
crinkle in the corners. The smile transforms his face. He’s
gorgeous.
    I can’t believe it but I’m blushing.
    He chuckles, lets go of me, then offers his
hand. “I’m Cole.”
    Hawwwwt.
    I’m suddenly a little shy. I put my hand in
his and respond quietly, “I’m Nat.” I avoid his eyes.
    Still holding my hand, he lowers his smiling
face to look into mine and asks, “Would you like to get a drink
with me, Nat?”
    I bite my lip to stop my smile. He looks at
my bottom lip and stops smiling. I quickly release my lip and reply
softly, “Yes. I’d love that.”
    A smile forms on his face as he pulls me
closer and holds my hand as we walk down the stairs together.
    That sure didn’t take long!
    ***
    “So, you work at the clothing store across
the street, you’re twenty-eight, you’re of a Croatian background
and you’re very single?”
    Sipping on my cosmopolitan, I nod my head.
“Yep. That’s me in a nutshell.”
    Cole smiles. “Well, me in a nutshell
would be pretty short too. I’m thirty-two, all American. I live
downtown. I’m a personal trainer and I’m also very single.”
    Uncomplicated.
    Just what I need.
    I smile and lift my drink. “To being very
single.” He smiles and touches his drink to mine. We sip and I feel
a hand on my arm.
    Still smiling, I look up to see Ghost
looking blankly at me. “I need to talk to you.”
    I stare at him in disbelief for a moment
before I hiss, “Now? Right now?”
    I look back at Cole and I’m not sure what
happened to the guy I was sitting with a minute ago. Gone is the
friendly smile and in its place is a glower. His brows have
dropped; he looks terrifying. His grip on his glass is so tight I’m
afraid he’ll break it. Cole’s voice is dead calm as he asks, “Is
there a problem here?”
    Before Ghost has a chance to answer, I
respond, “No. Ash is my neighbor. He probably just got some of my
mail again?” I look at Ghost with pleading eyes. “Right, Ash?”
    Ghost’s face has softened slightly and he
looks me in the eye when he replies, “Yeah. Sure.” He doesn’t sound
convincing so I act up a bit. I put my hand on his arm and smile.
“I’ll come by tomorrow and get it. Say hi to Tasha for me.”
    As soon as I mention Tasha, Ghost’s eyes
turn hard and he replies quietly, “Yeah, whatever.”
    I watch as he walks away.
    What did he need to talk to me about?
    Cole breaks my thoughts. “So, he’s your
neighbor?”
    Looking up, I see he’s clearly confused. He
toys with his drink and looks absently through his glass.
I smile and exaggerate my reply. “Oh yeah! We’ve known each other a
while now. In fact, just the other night I had to go over there to
tell him and his lady friend to keep the