“Not bad. You?”
“Same. Always happy to get out of my work clothes, though.”
She was being friendly, nice, and Jenna had not been raised to be a rude person. At the same time, she wasn’t prepared to get into the “what do you do?” conversation. Not yet. She was too tired. “I totally get that,” she said instead. “About to do that myself. Have a good one.” With that, she headed inside and closed the door behind her. With her back against it, she blew out a long, slow breath.
Arnold didn’t let her peace last long, putting his paws up on her legs, and she squatted down to greet him.
“Hi, handsome,” she said quietly, scratching behind his ears. “Ready to go out?”
As Arnold wandered the back yard, she got dinner ready for him and the cats, then poured herself a glass of Chardonnay. Once Arnold came in, all three animals got dinner, and she stood in the kitchen, sipping and watching them, her heart filled with so much love.
“Who needs a woman?” she said softly to the empty room. “I’ve got my boys. I’m good.”
Upstairs in her room, she changed out of her jeans and sweater and into joggers and an oversized hoodie—her favorite one, washed and worn soft. She clipped her hair up into a pile, and when she came downstairs, she tried to be subtle about checking the front porch. To her relief, Sawyer was gone, so she grabbed her wine, a book, and a fleecy blanket off a chair and put them all outside on the porch. In the coat closet, she kept an adjustable baby gate, so she pulled that out and put it on the porch, across the opening to the steps. This way, Arnold could come out with her and not wander off the porch into the yard or street. She dragged his donut bed out as well, and soon, the two of them were settled in nicely, Jenna on the loveseat and Arnold giving the entire porch a good sniff-down.
The book she was reading was a new romantasy—which was a genre she wasn’t quite used to but found herself enjoying very much—and she was three chapters in when the door next door opened and Sawyer came out. Jenna quickly turned the book so the cover couldn’t be easily seen and was immediately irritated at herself.
“Well, hi there, buddy.” Sawyer scratched the dog’s head as she glanced up at Jenna. “Arnold, right?”
Jenna nodded, feeling an unreasonable sense of betrayal from her own dog, who clearly wanted to be friends with the new neighbor.
Sawyer was dressed nicely in a black casual dress and a jeanjacket over it. As if reading Jenna’s mind, she said, “Not gonna be able to get away with this jacket for much longer.”
“It’ll be cold before we know it,” Jenna agreed with a nod, tearing her gaze away from Sawyer’s bare—and very shapely—legs. Then she noticed the gate. “Oh. Let me get that.” Book set down, she opened the gate, keeping Arnold back with a foot, and let Sawyer off the porch.
Sawyer turned back and Jenna saw those blue eyes through the lenses of her glasses. “Thanks.”
“Sure.”
Halfway to her car, Sawyer stopped and turned back to her. “Oh. I wanted to apologize for my mom and sister taking up the whole driveway.” She grimaced. “I didn’t realize it until I saw you parked halfway down the street.”
Jenna waved a hand. “No worries.”
“Okay.” Their gazes held for a beat before Sawyer gave one nod. “See you.”
Jenna replaced the gate, sat back down, and watched as the Honda Accord backed out of the driveway and coasted away down the street. The whole time, only one thought rolled through her head on a loop: Why did Sawyer Hall have to be so fun to look at?
“Am I late?” Sawyer said as she reached the table where Courtney sat. She bent and kissed her sister’s cheek, then sat across the little round table from her. Courtney already had coffee and an empty plate, a crumpled napkin and a smattering of crumbs littered the space in front of her.
“No, no, I was early.” Courtney scowled. “And starving. So I didn’t wait. Sorry, Charlie.”
Sawyer laughed. “Don’t apologize. Pregnant women never need to apologize.” She indicated the empty plate with her eyes. “I’m gonna get something. Want more?”
“Yes, please.”
Sawyer laughed. “You got it. Be right back.”
A few minutes later, she returned to the table with her own latte, a bacon, lettuce, and tomato panini for herself, and a chocolate croissant and a cranberry scone.
“You decide if you want the croissant or the scone.”
“What if I want both?” Courtney asked with a grimace.
“Then you eat both. There are more. I’m not worried.”
They dug in.
“How’s the new place?” Courtney asked through a mouthful of scone. “All unpacked?”
