“Thank you. For this.” I looked back at the house. “And for yesterday.” The warm spring air pulsed between us as I lost the rest of my words.
“You don’t have to thank me,” she said, her voice a hoarse whisper, as if she’d felt this thing I was trying to forget about between us too. “I was happy to be there for you, and staying with Bennie helps me too. You aren’t the only one who’s spent years avoiding things. So, thankyou,” she said, shoving my shoulder.
I caught her wrist when she tried to pull away.
“I’m glad you’re finally realizing that you deserve better.”
“A punch in the face wakes a person up, I guess,” she said with a nervous laugh. “It’s a real eye-opener?—”
“I won’t let anyone hurt you like that again. Ever.”
I had no idea where that had come from, but it was true. The thought of Stella hurt and alone still triggered a red-hot rage inside me.
Because she was my friend, because she deserved a man who protected her instead of hitting her, one who would worship her instead of steal from her.
“Lee, I—” Stella started before exhaling a deep sigh, our eyes still locked. I held on to her wrist and felt myself inching toward her, one millimeter at a time, as if some outside force was pulling me to her.
What the fuck was I doing? Panic laced through me with every bit of distance I was about to close. My hand clutched her wrist, her pulse hammering against my thumb.
I couldn’t do this. I shouldn’t do this.
But fuck if I didn’t want to.
“Lee!”
Our heads jerked to Diane, my next-door neighbor, as she rushed toward us with a silver tray.
“I was about to ring your bell,” Diane said, breathless, as she came up to us. “I made you both dinner for tonight, if you don’t have it planned yet. I thought, with Debbie leaving, at least you wouldn’t have to cook. Not that you can’t, but Bennie loves my ziti.” Diane smiled, darting her eyes between Stella and me.
We’d jumped apart, and I was both grateful and annoyed at Diane for stopping me from a huge mistake.
“She does,” I said, clearing my throat while I took the tray out of her hands. “We both do, thank you. This is Stella, the friend I told you about who will be taking care of Bennie for the season.”
“Ah, yes,” Diane said, taking one of Stella’s hands in both of hers. Diane was in her sixties, her short black hair never an inch out of place. She smiled at Stella, her black-lined green eyes creasing as she examined her face. “What a beauty you are. I heard you and Lee are longtime…friends.”
Diane was sweet and thoughtful, always cooking something for us and babysitting for Bennie in a pinch, but she, along with her husband Jimmy, was into everyone’s business. If you wanted the scoop on anyone in the neighborhood, Diane was always the source.
Nosy was good when I was on the road and I needed someone to keep an eye on Stella and Bennie, not so much now as her mouth tilted in a smirk when her gaze flicked to me, as if she knew what she’d almost interrupted.
Yes, thank God Diane was both thoughtful and curious when she’d come up to Stella and me like she had.
“Thank you,” Stella said, giving her a big smile. “Lee and I grew up together.”
“That’s so nice. I planned to swing by with my husband this week to introduce myself. We’re one big family in this neighborhood.”
“Lee said he had good neighbors,” Stella said, sneaking me a look.
Our neighborhood was more social than you would expect in the city, the younger families mingling easily with the older homeowners who had been there since my parents moved in. Diane always tried to keep the neighbors together, and she and Jimmy watched out for all of us.
But Diane loved to talk, and I was sure in the next twenty-four hours, everyone she met would hear about my new babysitter and howclosewe seemed. Maybe that would stop her from mentioning her single nieces to me in every conversation.
I had no doubt there would be extra eyes on us now, which was a good thing.
Getting into another dangerous moment with Stella I might not be able to come back from wasn’t.
“Well, it was nice to meet you. I’m sure I’ll be seeing a lot of you once you officially move in.”
Diane smiled and strolled back to her house.
