“Hey, Lucas,” I call over my shoulder. “If you don’t put sunscreen on, you will get a boo-boo. Did you know that?”
His eyebrows dip low as he looks at me, disbelief written across his adorable, chubby face. “Lucas gets boo-boo?”
I nod. “It’s true. The sun can burn, like fire. The sunscreen protects you.”
His eyes go wide, and his body stills. “Fire burn.”
“Good one, Callie,” Josie whispers. “See, this is why I keep you around.”
I wink. “Okay, my sweet Serenity. You ready to swim?”
She grins, fisting my sweater as I hoist her into my arms. When I set her down on the grass by the pool, she pulls my sweater down with her.
Josie gasps. “Callie, your arm!”
My heart leaps into my throat, and I yank my sweater back over my shoulders. “Oh, you know how easily I bruise.”
She jerks Lucas into her arms and closes the gap between us in two strides with her long legs. “That’s not just a little bruise. What happened? Is that why you didn’t want to go swimming today?”
I swat her hand away as she goes for my sweater. “Paul got a little rough the other night.” I lower my voice. “During sex. Let’s not make a big deal out of it.”
A wary look flashes across Josie’s face. “Like the good kind of rough?”
I nod, pushing my lips into a smile. “Paul didn’t realize how hard he was grabbing onto me.”
“Damn, Callie.” A relieved breath rushes out of her lips. “You’re freakier than me.”
I huff out a laugh. “Hardly.”
“Come on, Serenity.” Brandon slaps his palms onto the concrete. “Come swim with your big brother.”
Serenity cranes her neck to look up at her mother. “I swim?”
“Yes, my girl.” Josie kneels down and kisses her forehead. “You swim with Brandon.”
I gather my dress around my knees and sit by the edge of the pool, letting my feet dip into the cool water. Josie brings Lucas in by the shallow end, and all conversation about my bruises are forgotten.
I love swimming. Paul had our pool installed when we first moved into our house. We both had visions of splashing in it with our children and having their friends over for barbecues and pool parties.
Now, we just throw money down the drain every year for the upkeep.
At three o’clock, I help Josie clean up and get ready to head back to my house.
“Thanks for a fun day.” I wrap my arms around Josie’s shoulders and give her a squeeze.
She holds me out in front of her, her dark eyes bouncing between mine. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”
“Of course.”
“And you know I’d help you with anything, no matter what it was?”
I offer her a reassuring nod.
Her gaze lingers on me for another moment longer, and then her face breaks into a smile. “Good. Talk soon!”
Once I’m out the front door, I release the breath I’ve been holding.
That was close. Too close.
I’ll have to be more careful.
If Josie finds out, there’s no way she’ll keep my secret.
Eager to get home and away from my friend’s prying eyes, I scurry down the path with my head down—which is why I don’t see anything coming when I slam into someone. My sunglasses fly off my face and clatter onto the concrete.
“I’m so sorry. I—” My spine stiffens when my eyes land on the victim I collided with, like I’m a helpless bystander on the shoreline, watching the swell of an incoming tidal wave. Nowhere to run, nowhere to take cover.
Cole crouches down and plucks my frames off the ground. Then he stands to his full height and examines my lenses. He’s wearing the same filthy outfit and fitted hat that he had on yesterday. That intense energy rolls off of him as he looks into my eyes, and it seizes my lungs. Being near him is like being zapped with an electrical current.
He holds out my sunglasses. “Don’t look like they’re scratched, princess.”
Princess?
“It’s fine. They’re ridiculous anyway, remember?” I snatch my glasses back and try to maneuver around him.
“Wait.”
His hand shoots out for my wrist, but I jerk my arm back, gasping as I recoil at the sudden contact.
“Whoa.” He holds his palms up on either side of his head. “Not gonna hurt you.”
I avert my eyes to my feet, cheeks flaming, embarrassed that he caught me off guard. “What do you want?”
He heaves a sigh, his big shoulders rising and falling. “I owe you an apology. My sister told me you’re a friend of hers. I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way.”
I should accept the apology and move on. But his attitude provokes something within me, something that should be ignored, remain in its place. Something that knows better than to enter into confrontation.
Something that only gets me into trouble.
“You’re sorry because I’m friends with your sister? Or because what you said was rude and hurtful?”
His jaw clenches, the muscles working under his skin. “Both.”
“Because it was, you know.” My eyes flick up to his. “Rude and hurtful.”
“Which is why I’m apologizing,” he grits out.
“But you meant what you said yesterday, didn’t you? I mean, you wouldn’t have said it if you didn’t mean it.”
His head jerks back. “You judged me by my appearance the same way I judged you. I don’t hear an apology coming out of your mouth.”
“That was a misunderstanding. Some random man traipses into my friend’s backyard, covered in dirt. Who else would I have assumed it was?”
“You know what they say about assuming, princess. It’s very unbecoming on you.”
I scoff, setting a hand on my hip. “You’re the one assuming things about people’s lives you know nothing about.”
“So, you’re telling me those sunglasses weren’t a couple hundred dollars?” He gestures to my sandals. “Those shoes weren’t the same price as a car payment? I know people like you better than you think.”
My finger jabs the air between us. “Why don’t you worry about your own damn problems instead of worrying about what I spend my money on?”
He raises his arm, and I duck behind my forearm on instinct.
“Shit,” he mutters, merely reaching up to adjust the brim of his hat. “Why are you so jumpy?”
“I’m not jumpy. You’re jumpy!”
The corner of his mouth twitches, and his eyes sparkle with amusement. “Good one.”
A frustrated growl creeps into my throat. This man is infuriating. “Just ... leave me alone. Apology accepted.” I wave my hand as I step around him. “Whatever.”
I stomp across the street, every nerve in my body tingling, heat scorching my insides.
Josie was wrong about her brother.
That guy’s an asshole.
Three
Cole
I am in hell.
I’m in hell, and the devil is a tiny blond woman who lives across the street.
The woman who walked into my sister’s yard yesterday like she owned the place, looking down her perfectly shaped nose at me as if I were the hired help.