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A girl could hope, even if it was unlikely to be true Whatever had been between the slow, quiet steps, she eased toward the sliding glass door She moved one of the vertical slats aside and peeked out in ti back enter his house

When he turned and looked in her direction, she quickly let the plastic fall back into place and pressed her body against the wall She laughed at the absurdity of it all, hiding out fro She’d talk to him, let him explain whatever he felt he needed to But not today Today her e remained too fresh

He could let her down easy, explain it was all just fun—just sex—at a later date But today, she’d hide out, ht She pushed off the wall and headed upstairs for that Band-Aid, feeling better about her plans Jabbering on the phone with her friend, eating greasy food, and binge-watching Netflix and not thinking about the sexy, gray-eyed neighbor across the way A perfect Saturday night

Chapter Ten

Ryan

Ryan’s gaze went directly to his patio door and he let out a heavy sigh when he saw the closed blinds across the greenway The sareeted him for the last four days Those closed blinds sent a

very clear e—that and the fact she didn’t even respond to hione over to talk to her

He’d kicked hi her number At least he could have texted her with the explanation So would be better than the in for each other nearly every day after work, living so close, it never crossed hisfor it

He ran his hands through his hair This caring thing was new Not that he was a total dick, but getting attached, that wasn’t him Have fun, have some sex, move on It’s what he did And he was always honest and upfront about that It’s not like this was the first tiirl had cut off coht they could change hiht

Like Ashley

Motherfucking Ashley Who went froht she’d finally gotten theAshley wanted babies and ht they were soulht once she realized BB Construction stood for Bradley Branson, his father Ryan suddenly becaolden ticket, or so she’d hoped He, on the other hand, saw her as a ood lay

Not like his Peaches His Peaches Ryan was acutely aware that he’d thought of her as his again The adorable, easy going Southern belle whose entire being had deflated before his eyes four nights ago

“Fuck!” He turned and bounded up the stairs Shit needed fixing Going another day with her possibly thinking he was so asshole was out of the question

After a quick shower, Ryan dressed, and armed with newfound determination started out his bedrooht his eye With a decisive nod, he picked up the panties and shoved them into his back pocket

When he rounded the corner to her street, relief washed over him Her white compact car was there She was ho to the front would hopefully increase her chances of doing that She’d knoas hiht stand a chance of getting out a feords before she shut the door in his face He took a breath before pressing the button Tiot ready to push the bell again, the door swung open