Fuck. Round and round we go.
I feel like I’m trapped on the world’s most fucked-up carnival ride.
I’ve thought about giving in to Becca’s demands more times than I care to admit over the years.
Hell, there was even one night when I did.
But fucking hell. I can’t.
Because no matter how much I care about Jameson, the thought of being with Becca makes me want to stick my head in a bucket of bleach and ammonia.
Balancing the best I can on this tightrope of shit I’ve created, I give her the same answer I always do.
“You know I’m not ready for a relationship.” I ignore the white-gold band burning a hole in my pocket. “It’s best we both focus on Jameson and get our shit together.”
Tearing her arm away, she blows out a breath. “Yeah…okay.”
With that, she climbs inside her car and starts the engine.
I walk around to the passenger side, but she halts me. “Sorry, change of plans. I have to go take care of some shit.”
I’m about to tell her I’ll watch Jameson, but she reverses out of the parking lot.
I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to him.
“Can you go the other way?” I tell the Uber driver when I see the bridge approaching.
Not only does the bridge remind me of Kit—who I’m forcing myself not to think about right now—I want to check out the actual neighborhood so I’m more acquainted with my surroundings.
He promptly makes a U-turn and veers down a side road.
Moments later, we turn down a street and pass a few gated mansions.
The guy whistles. “Must be nice to be loaded.”
I open my mouth to tell him it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be—and not to expect a bigger tip from me—but a moving truck parked next door to Kit’s parents’ house snags my attention.
Given the movers are transferring things into the house instead of out, it seems my wife has some new neighbors.
I don’t think much of it…until a familiar golden lab runs onto the street with what appears to be a football jersey dangling from his mouth. The driver slams on his brakes in the nick of time, narrowly missing the mutt.
You’ve got to be shitting me.
Chapter 4
Kit
Closing my eyes, I turn face down in the pool and spread my arms out as wide as I can. The summer sun beats down on my back as a weightless feeling takes over.
I wonder if this is how they died after their plane fell out of the sky a few months ago.
Floating peacefully into oblivion without any pain.
I really hope so.
Water fills my ears and I realize I forgot to wear my earplugs. I’m about to get out, because if I come down with another ear infection, my Nanna will blow a gasket, but there’s a tight grip around the back of my neck and a force propels me deeper into the water.
Panic sets in as I open my eyes and flail my arms, desperate to get some air into my lungs. That only makes it worse, though. My eyes sting from the chlorine as I look around the pool floor and my chest burns from the lack of air.
A wave of dizziness washes over me as the flight drains out of my body. I close my eyes again, giving in to the woozy feeling taking over.
Suddenly, the force is gone, and I hear someone screaming as I’m pulled out of the water.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” my Nanna yells.
I’m about to tell her it wasn’t my fault and I have no idea what happened, but it’s not me she’s yelling at.
It’s my Uncle Garrison.
“Kit?” a voice calls out, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Are you okay?”
Crap.
“Yeah.” I shake my head, feeling like an idiot for zoning out. Especially in front of her. “Sorry.”
Amber gives me a smile, one that makes me feel warm all over.
Pretty girls have always been my kryptonite.
Unfortunately for me, Amber is hotter than the damn sun.
And for some strange reason, I think she might actually be into me because we’ve been bumping into each other a lot today.
Unless she has a severe caffeine addiction.
Either way, it doesn’t matter because she’ll be gone soon. Evidently, Porn Rub only hires the talent to stay and shoot multiple videos for a week…and then off they go.
“Tomorrow is my last day here,” she says as if reading my mind. “Me and a couple of people want to go out for drinks to celebrate after we wrap up, and I was hoping you could come.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to decline, because getting wrapped up in a beautiful girl is the last thing I need right now…but it’s not like this is a date.
At least, I don’t think it is.
I clutch my cup of coffee tighter. “Can I bring my friend Juan?”
Juan can be my safety net and make sure I don’t do something stupid.
Like get drunk and take her back to my hotel room.
“Sure.” She moves closer and I get a whiff of her flowery scent. God, she smells so good. “As long as you’re there, I don’t care who you bring.”
I swallow hard. She’s definitely screwing up this not a date notion I had.
“I uh…I should probably get back to work.”
Despite saying this, my feet don’t move. Something Amber notices.
“Or you could stay here…with me.”
Dammit. It’s like dangling a bone in front of a dog.
“I—” The sound of my phone ringing cuts me off and I quickly fish it out of my pocket.
A weird twist infiltrates my chest when I see Hubby flash across the screen.
“I have to take this,” I tell Amber as I dash out of the coffee room.
“Hey,” I answer. “What’s up?”
“I don’t know what kind of shit you’re trying to pull, but I am not the motherfucking one.”
His voice is low. Lethal.
Uh-oh.
I open the door to my office. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He snorts, but it doesn’t sound jovial. It sounds threatening.
“You really expect me to believe you had no idea about my brother and his little entourage moving into the house next door.”
Record. Freaking. Skip.
“I’m sorry…what? Asher, Breslin, and Landon are living next door?”
That’s definitely news to me.
I’ve spoken to Breslin a few times this week. You’d think she would have mentioned something so important.
A gruff sound of irritation leaves him. “Looks that way. Yesterday my Uber driver almost ran over their dumb dog.”
My heart sinks. “Oh, my God. Is he okay?”
I swear I hear him growl. “The dog is fine, Bishop. I, however, am not. You better fucking take care of this. Because if you don’t…the deal is off and I’m out.”
I rub my temples, trying to thwart off the headache he’s giving me. “I’ll try, but I’m not exactly sure what I can do about it. It’s not like I can march over there and demand they leave the house they just bought.”
“The fuck you can’t,” Preston barks before the line goes dead.