“But I like ideas,” Ellie said, pulling up in front of my Aunt April and Uncle Tyler’s house.
“You just want to win the bet,” I said. “But I told you—I am the boss of my feelings, and I’m off romance until Thanksgiving.”
“Christmas,” she said with a grin. “You changed it to Christmas, remember?”
“Right. Christmas.”
“Remind me whose house this is,” she said as we turned up the driveway. “I get all your aunts and uncles confused.”
“April and Tyler Shaw—they’re Chip’s biological parents. They had him when they were super young and gave him up for adoption, but they reconnected when he was like eighteen. I grew up calling him my cousin.”
“April is one of your mom’s sisters, right?” We went up the porch steps and knocked on the door.
“Right.” While we waited for someone to answer, I thought about my new neighbor again. “I forgot to mention that before the whole wet and naked debacle, I went over to his house to drop something off and heard him yelling at his ex-wife.”
“She was there?” Ellie’s eyes widened in surprise.
“No—on the phone. Something about being able to handle anything except her trying to butt into his time with the girls. Gave me flashbacks of hearing my dad on the phone with Carla when I was a kid.” Carla was my biological mom, but she’d moved to Georgia before I was even out of diapers, and growing up, I’d only seen her about once a year.
“Huh. I wonder how recent their divorce was.”
“I wonder when I’ll be able to face him again without wanting to die. How long do you think it’ll be before he forgets he saw me naked?”
She laughed. “Cherie, you’re twenty-two and you’ve got a kick-ass bod. He will never forget he saw you naked.”
Unfortunately, my cousin Frankie, who’s fourteen, pulled the door open right then and caught the end of Ellie’s sentence. Her brown eyes widened. “Who saw you naked?”
“No one,” I said, giving Frankie a hug and Ellie a look to keep her silent.
“Come on, who?” My cousin looked back and forth between Ellie and me eagerly. Ellie zipped her lips and threw away the key.
I sighed. “This hot guy who moved in next door to me,” I said as we went inside. “I accidentally set off the smoke detector in my house, and—”
But then I lost track of my thoughts, because right there in the living room was Dex, looking less sweaty but just as gorgeous as he had this afternoon. Hallie and Luna hung off him like monkeys, like they were begging for something he’d already said no to.
Dex and I locked eyes, and I couldn’t speak. My entire body was flushed with heat, and I knew my face had to be crimson.
“Winnie!” The girls spotted me and came racing over. “What are you doing here?”
“Um—I was invited.” Tearing my eyes from Dex, I looked down at them and tried to smile, but my heart continued to race. “This is my aunt and uncle’s house, and the party is for my cousin Chip. What are you two doing here?”
“Chip is Daddy’s friend from high school,” Hallie said. “They played baseball together.”
“Really?” Over their heads, I met Dex’s eyes again and smiled weakly. “Small world.”
He nodded, looking like he had no idea what to say.
Chip entered the room and handed Dex a beer. “Here you go. Should take the edge off moving day.”
Dex grabbed it and tipped it back immediately, taking a few long swallows, while Chip noticed me standing there.
“Winnie, hey!” Coming forward, he gave me a hug. “Long time, no see.”
Rising on tiptoe to hug my tall, handsome cousin, I struggled to get my wits back. “Great to see you, Chip. And congratulations on your engagement.”
“Thanks. I need to introduce you to Mariah—April kidnapped her for a minute, but I’m about to steal her back.”
Letting go of Chip, I tried to act like an adult. “Remember my friend Ellie?”
“I think so.” Chip smiled warmly and shook Ellie’s hand. “Glad you could make it.”
“My pleasure,” she said. “Congratulations.”
“This is my friend Dexter Matthews.” Chip put a hand on Dex’s broad shoulder before gesturing to the two girls. “And these are his daughters, Hallie and Luna. Guys, this is my cousin Winnie and her friend Ellie.”
“Oh, we already know Winnie,” Hallie informed him.
“You do?” Chip grinned down at her in surprise.
“Yes, she lives next door,” said Luna excitedly, bouncing up and down. “We saw her bum today!”
Record scratch.
Horrible silence.
Chip looked confused. “Her what?”
“Her bum.” Luna patted her own backside while I held my breath and tried to make myself disappear. “We saw it when we were in her bedroom today.”
“Luna!” Hallie elbowed her sister. “Daddy told us in the car not to tell that story tonight. You’re gonna get us in trouble and then we can’t go swimming tomorrow.”
“I forgot.” Luna rubbed her shoulder and looked up at Dex. “Sorry, Daddy.”
Dex struggled for words and came up with, “Fucking hell, Luna.”
“Boy, I could really use a glass of wine,” Ellie said brightly, putting her hand through my arm. “How about you, Win?”
“Yes, please,” I squeaked.
Chip looked relieved to exit the room and the conversation. “Come with me. There’s a bar set up in the kitchen, and that’s where April and Mariah are too. I’ll introduce you.”
Although part of me was tempted to make a run for the door, I let Ellie commandeer me, and we followed Chip out of the room. Before I could stop myself, I glanced over my shoulder to see if Dex was still standing there.
He was, and he was looking at my butt.
But as soon as he realized he’d been caught doing it, he turned around and walked in the other direction.
The large rectangular kitchen table was laden with dishes and platters and multi-tiered serving stands of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, but my eyes went straight to the bottles of wine lined up on the island.
It was self-serve, so while Chip went to drag Mariah away from April, Ellie chose a rosé for us and poured two glasses. She handed me one. “Here. This will help.”
Grateful, I took a few sips. “Thanks. But I think I have to leave after this drink. Will you go get my disguise from the back seat of your car?”
She laughed. “Will you stop? It’s fine. It’s hilarious, actually. I don’t know who was more embarrassed, you or Dex.”
“Me.” I took another swallow.
“You were right about him, by the way. The guy is gorgeous. And built.” She sipped her wine. “Doesn’t smile or talk much, but with that jaw and those shoulders, does it really matter?”
“Stop.”
“Maybe you should ask to see his bum, just to even the score.”
“No!”
“Why not? I bet it’s a nice bum.”
“You’re not helping, Ellie.”