He turned her way and muttered what she assumed was a greeting before returning to his paper.
Someone needed more coffee. Then again, he hadn’t been all that friendly last night either. As she walked down the deck steps, she remembered that Mrs.Miller said he kept to himself.
Maybe she should ask the woman about changing the key code since Sam knew it. She’d thought of that about midnight when a sound awakened her. But it was only Rio, gnawing on Sadie’s favorite sandals.
While the dog sniffed around in circles, Sadie took in her surroundings. The deck itself took up most of the yard. The beach began only twenty feet or so beyond the property line. There were already joggers and shell seekers at the waterline. She couldn’t wait to put on her tennis shoes and hit the shore. Mrs.Miller had said it was a busy public beach—the access pathway cut through on Sadie’s side of the house.
She glanced back at her neighbor, still locked in on his newspaper. His thick black hair was sleep tousled, and his facial hair hovered between five-o’clock shadow and beard. He was a handsome man, if a little on the Neanderthal side, with thick prominent brows set over amber eyes—lion eyes. And even though they were barely into June, his olive skin was already bronzed.
Well. She should probably stop staring.
Rio found an agreeable spot by some sort of palm bush. “Good job, Rio.”
After a cup of coffee she’d go for a nice jog, then she’d head to the store and stock up on food—including the ingredients to make Sam’s goodies. Nothing softened up a neighbor like baked goods. She’d make those today so she could focus on plotting her book tomorrow. Her publisher wanted the proposal ASAP.
The thought of that task overwhelmed her. Not to mention the large sum of money she owed. Her stomach twisted hard.
She mentally took a brush and painted a swath of black across those worries. She didn’t have to think about any of that today. Today, she’d jog on the beach. She’d enjoy every last one of those shower jets. (She’d had a delightful soak in that clawfoot tub last night.) And then she’d bake a yummy cake for her neighbor.
***
Sam flipped the burgers, the savory aroma of grilled beef making his stomach growl. He’d been inside most of the day—hiding, let’s face it. Because little MissChatterbox and her tiny yappy dog had taken over the deck this morning.
First she’d appeared straight out of bed to let the dog out, then she’d returned, minus the dog, in a pink leotard thing that left little to the imagination. She’d come back from her jog glowy somehow and with more energy than she’d had before.
She had left the house for a while—groceries, she’d said—but by then it was lunchtime and he decided to go to Vinnie’s Diner. By the time he’d returned, so had she.
So he stayed inside for the afternoon and watched the Braves lose to the Reds. Then he fell asleep on the sofa because he’d lain awake half the night reliving that ridiculous meeting with his neighbor and wondering how he was going to avoid her the whole summer when she so clearly wanted to talk, talk, talk. He wasn’t necessarily opposed to conversation in general, mind you. He chatted with clients and... well, family.
Okay, he wasn’t the talkative sort. But he’d come here to think and take abreak, for crying out loud. If today was any indication, he’d be tiptoeing around his neighbor all summer.
The yapping dog had woken him from his nap just after five, and he remembered the beef patties he’d bought at the Piggly Wiggly. Weighing the odds of having another encounter with Chatterbox, he grabbed the beef and slipped outside.
Now said burgers were done and—bonus—he’d managed to avoid the woman next door. Congratulating himself, he set the burgers on the loaded buns and shut off the grill.
“Hi, neighbor.” Sadie slipped out onto the deck, wearing her third outfit of the day—white shorts and a blue top that bared her shoulders.
Nice shoulders, he had to admit. As far as shoulders went. Since when did he care about shoulders? “Hi.”
“Wow, that smells great. Do you grill out a lot?”
He grunted and glanced back at the grill. “Came with the house. You can use it if you want.”
“I didn’t even think about that when I went to the grocery. But to be totally honest, I’ve never used a grill. My apartment doesn’t have a balcony, and I wouldn’t even know how to turn it on.”
He grabbed his seasonings and turned for the door. “It’s not difficult.”
“Well, maybe you can show me sometime. I love a good grilled steak. Are they hard to cook? How do you know when they’re done the way you like? I prefer medium myself, and I use a thermometer when I’m broiling, but I don’t know if the house has one of those.”
Mercifully his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out. “Gotta take this.”
“Oh, sure. Enjoy your dinner.”
He slipped back inside and checked the screen. Sighing, he set his plate on the coffee table and took the call. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, honey. What are you doing? Is this a good time to chat?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
