“It’s nice to meet you.”
She tilted her head, studying him. The cardigan beneath his open jacket was cute. Such a dad thing. But in a good way. A total DILF.Dammit.There was no denying it. If given the opportunity, she’d like to hop-on-pop.
Hmm.The plans in her mind began to shift. Maybe instead of sneaking into his place, she could wrangle an invitation. Flirt her way in, so to speak. It would definitely make the job easier. More enjoyable, too.
First step, make him feel comfortable around her. Welcome in her world so he’d be more likely to reciprocate. “Would you like to come in? It’s freezing out there.”
He hesitated, glanced over her shoulder, then took a step back. “I can’t. I’m, uh, working.”
“At nine o’clock on a Friday night?” She raised a dubious brow, getting her flirt on. “That’s no fun.”
“Yeah, well, do me a favor and keep the music down,” he grumbled. Then he turned and stalked away, his long strides taking him back across the lawn and to his house.
“Wow,” she murmured, brows drawing together in a frown as she closed her door. “Did that seriously just happen?”
Her idea to charm him crashed and burned.
She’d read through his file and knew he didn’t have a wife or girlfriend. The only woman in his life was his adult daughter, Emma. From her own observations she knew the man practically never went anywhere. She never saw him bring women home. He was one serious loner. And the sting of his rejection made her start questioning her own self-worth. She knew she was rusty, but was she so bad that solitude was preferred to her company?Ouch.
Glancing at her reflection in the nearby mirror, she saw an older version of herself than she would’ve liked. Smile lines, check. Faint wrinkles around her eyes, for sure. But she had some makeup on and had thought she looked fairly cute and entirely harmless in her yoga pants, sweatshirt and fluffy slippers. Well, until he’d flat-out dismissed her invitation.
Apparently, she wasn’t Jayson Knight’s type.
Well, that really sucked. Because her silver fox neighbor was hot as hell. Too bad he wasn’t interested.
But that’s probably a good thing,she told herself. The last thing she needed was another one-sided relationship that would leave her once again questioning her life choices and nursing her spurned heart.
It would also mean less complications when she took down him and his buddies.
“Fuck,” Jayson ground out, slamming his front door closed. Had he really told her to keep her music down? Why had he come off like such a grouch? The only thing worse would have been telling her to stay off his lawn. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” he asked himself.
His mood turned from bad to worse. He shucked his boots, tossed his coat on the peg, then stalked into the kitchen. With a sigh, he grabbed a beer from the fridge and downed half of it in several long swallows.
“Welp, good job, old man. She invites you in and you start babbling about working and run away like your ass is on fire. Way to get back in the game.” Hell, he was more rusty than he thought.
Rolling his eyes, he dragged himself over to his recliner and plopped down. Defeat washed over him, and he wondered when he’d turned into Grumpy Old Man of the Year. It had definitely snuck up on him.
He used to like going out and being social. Enjoyed meeting new people. Back when he had more energy and knees that didn’t crack with every step, he went fishing, hiking, boating and skiing. Now? Not so much.
Hitting the button to lift his legs, he settled back in his recliner, but he didn’t turn on the TV. Just thoughtfully sipped his beer as he pictured his new neighbor, Sabrina. Remembering how, right before he’d knocked, he’d gotten a glimpse of her dancing around the room through the window. Sexy and carefree. Shaking her hips and tossing her hair.
Damn, there was a lot about her that had burned into his mind. Her shoulder-length, caramel-colored hair with honey highlights that matched her amazing honeycomb eyes had fascinated him. He’d never seen such incredible eyes before—a golden hue with dark brown rims. She was average height, maybe five-five, and he could tell there were some generous curves hidden under her sweatshirt. She was younger than him, but not inappropriately so. He’d never date anyone young enough to be his daughter. That was a big no in his book.
She’d only been living next door a couple of weeks or so, but from his quick look inside, she seemed settled in. He’d noticed the feminine touches—candles, trinkets and other decor, a large, framed picture ofSunflowersby Van Gogh. He’d recognized it because Emma used to have the same one.
Fitting. The way he’d caught her dancing, looking so bright and carefree, reminded him of the cheerful flower.
Finishing the final swig of his beer, he plunked the bottle down on the armrest and frowned. Tonight was the first time they’d met, and he’d screwed it up. She probably thought he was the biggest, lamest idiot. He’d certainly done nothing to prove otherwise.
“Okay, so you messed up,” he murmured to himself. “Doesn’t necessarily mean you’re done.”
She had invited him inside, and he was going to cling to that fact and figure out a way to make it happen again. To turn things around. This was his chance to wade into the dating pool again. And he didn’t have to deal with the online bullshit. He could do it the old-fashioned way.
But first, he had to make up for running scared and acting like he wasn’t interested. Because he couldn’t deny it. He was very interested in getting to know Sabrina better.
Time to hang up the ol’ cardigan. Because this dad is going for it.
Chapter three
