He either has no idea what he’s done, or he just doesn’t care. Either way, I can’t laugh it off like it’s no big deal.
I wish I could believe that it’ll all smooth over like he obviously does, but my intuition is rarely wrong. And it’s currently telling me that Everly is right, Meyer wants to distance themselves from anyone that makes the smallest of waves, regardless of fault. And because of Travis, I’m someone that made a wave.
“Thank you for your neighborly concern, but in the future, I think it’s best if you mind your own business.”
His brows pull together and he stares at me, his expression is confusion with a hint of amusement. “So that’s a no then to dinner?”
I grab a hold of the door with one hand and step back, slamming it shut in his perfect, handsome face.
3
TRAVIS
Well, that didn’t go as planned.
I stand in my dining room, it’s the only room in the house on the bottom floor with a window that looks out toward where Hannah is staying, and stare toward the quiet home next door. There hasn’t been any movement, except the occasional light turning on and off in different rooms. I’ve been in Martha’s house only a few times, but it’s enough that I can guess where Hannah is and what she’s doing.
In the kitchen, in the living room, and finally upstairs in one of the bedrooms.
When all the lights go off at eight, I assume she’s gone to bed. Something I should seriously consider doing. We have an early morning practice before the team leaves in the afternoon for a game in Seattle tomorrow night.
I need to go to bed and forget about my neighbor. Instead, I pull up a chair.
I feel bad and I feel…intrigued. She’s sexy and assertive and I think I’m in love. For the first time in months, I’m excited about someone. Unlucky for me that someone hates my guts.
I’ve come back from worse. I’m nothing if not persistent when it comes to getting something I want.
Which means, I need a plan.
I call Ruby first.
She answers before the second ring. “Hey, Trav. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. I have a quick question for you.”
“Me?” The hesitation in her tone is warranted, I suppose. Ruby and I are tight, but I don’t regularly call her for advice. Actually, I don’t call anyone for advice. I’m more of a figure it out on my own kind of guy. That being said, I love putting myself in the middle of other people’s problems, so I guess it was only a matter of time before the tables turned.
“Yeah.” A light flicks on next door. The same bedroom as last time. She must be staying in that room. Fuck, I sound like a stalker.
“O-kay.”
My pulse races when Hannah comes into view. She’s changed from earlier and is in a long T-shirt that either covers her shorts or she isn’t wearing any. Her long, blond hair is down, and she holds her phone in front of her in a way that looks like she might be video calling someone. Boyfriend, maybe? I hope not.
“Is love at first sight a thing?”
There’s a beat before my best friend’s girlfriend asks, “Excuse me?”
“You’re an expert on love and romance, so I trust your judgment.” And I’m desperate for an answer. If I called anyone else, they’d laugh at me.
But not Ruby, she deals in happily ever afters for a living. “I don’t know aboutlovelove, but yes, I think you can have chemistry with someone from the moment you lock eyes.”
I knew it.
I hear her and Nick whispering in the background but I’m too distracted watching the girl next door. She’s beautiful but that isn’t it. I felt a connection with her in those short minutes before she found out I was the one who had the cops called. In my defense, she was going in through a window. But that’s neither here nor there. It was a misunderstanding that I plan to fix.
“Why?” Ruby asks, pulling my attention back to the phone.
The light clicks off again, stealing Hannah from view.
