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The Tease...
“Everything—my emotions and my feelings—is
magnified and I’m sorry I can’t be my usual calm self but I felt like I was
under water and I couldn’t breathe.”
“Sounds like the usual female problems to me but
running away is something you do when you are nineteen. It isn’t the actions of
a grown woman. You need to come back here and tell Colin how you are feeling.
He isn’t going to take it easier just because it is coming from me,” Liam
explained in a pragmatic manner.
“I don’t expect you to tell him. I will call him
myself.” The doorbell rang and I sighed softly to myself. “Listen, I have to
go.”
“When do you plan to call Colin if I may ask because
you do understand you need to speak to him as soon as possible? Deirdre, this
isn’t a game—”
“When ever I get good and goddamn ready,” I
replied before I ended the call.
I set the iPhone on the coffee table and rushed
to the front door. There are times when one shouldn’t answer their door and I
soon felt like this was one of those times when I swung open the door and faced
one of the most handsome men I’d ever seen.
Hair the color of chocolate with burnished
auburn highlights and pale green-blue eyes faced me in a face of absolute
perfection. His looks were finished off with perfect features featuring a
Roman-shaped nose, high cheekbones and sensually full lips; a creamy complexion
with just a hint of color and a build that was tall though far from imposing.
At approximately six feet and a slim one hundred and eighty pounds, everything
about him was just perfect.
“Hey,” I greeted feeling like a bit of an idiot.
I had absolutely no idea who the hell this man
was nor what he was doing on my doorstep.
“Hello,” he began before a pink tongue slid over
those perfect soft lips. “I’m your next-door neighbor. Name’s Drake…I am a chef
at Rouge, an upscale restaurant on the beach and I am trying out a new recipe.
I know it’s a terrible cliché but do you have any Sugar in the Raw? The recipe
calls for it and I could have sworn I picked some up but I can’t find it.”
I raised my eyebrow in a sarcastic manner.
“You’re joking, right?”
His green-blue eyes lit up in faint amusement.
“About what exactly? Being a chef or needing
to borrow sugar?”
“I’m not sure…both actually? And are you really
my neighbor?”
He nodded his head before he fingered the
growing goatee he wore. “Listen, I know I sound like a walking cliché. Welcome
to my life. Yes, I am your neighbor and I am indeed pathetic enough to need
sugar for a recipe despite being a chef at Rouge, an obnoxiously expensive
seafood and steak restaurant with a location literally on the beach.”
I had no intention of allowing my tough resolve
to break but I began to laugh hysterically and he joined me shortly afterwards.
“The name is Deirdre Bardot.”
“You mean like the famous French actress?”
“Yes.”
“Drake O’Connell at your service. You have no
idea how embarrassed I am about the situation which we are meeting one another.
A beautiful woman like yourself deserves a dozen white roses and a nice bottle
of Pinot Grigio to welcome you to the neighborhood. Sorry I haven’t brought
either one and come asking for something from you instead of giving to you,” he
explained in a hypnotically deep and sensual voice.
I crossed my arms against my breasts. “You’re
lucky I am a health nut and the only sugar I keep on hand is in the raw. How
much do you need?”
“A cup should do,” he replied in a voice that
sounded extremely relieved.
I left the door open as I walked to the kitchen
and opened the pantry. Since I had nothing but time, everything was organized
as if I had lived in the place for years instead of a week. I grabbed half a
package of Sugar in the Raw and walked it back to the doorstep where Drake
still stood.
“I know this is more than a cup but you can keep
the rest. Think of it as a present from me to you.”
Our hands touched only slightly at the exchange
and it was pure electricity. I didn’t want to imagine those hands anywhere near
any part of my body and secretly hated myself for feeling anything at all when
the situation between Colin and I was far from resolved.
I was the first to pull away and attempted a
warm smile of encouragement but fell short.
He turned to walk away but then he stopped and
faced me again. “Why are you being so nice to me? All I know about you is you
turned up into town rather suddenly and bought Ground Beans from its struggling
owner. I’m a bit concerned about what it seems you’re running from…or is it whom you
are running from?”
My whole body language changed at the drop of
the dime. “I am not running from anything or anyone. Believe me, if I was a fugitive, I wouldn’t tell you but
since I’m not, I don’t owe any sort of explanation to you. Enjoy the sugar for
your recipe.”
Before he could reply, I slammed the door in his
face and leaned against the locked door, my heart thundering in my chest.
How the hell did I end up with such a nosy
freakin’ next door neighbor and why the hell did he have to be so damn good looking?
To Be Continued...
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