Lovely Neighbor by Alexa Riley Page 0,2
on the door so he can’t enter. He glares at me for a moment before he smiles like he’s trying to hide his own irritation.
“We’ll get coffee after your date.” He says it like I don’t have a choice and takes a step back.
“I’m not—”
“See you later.” He cuts me off before I can respond.
I want to tell him we won’t be having coffee but I didn't agree either. I don’t want to have more back and forth when he’s walking away from me. I decide to just leave it be for now and shut my door. I triple check the locks, though, just to be sure.
My phone rings in my purse and I pull it out to see my grandma is calling. I smile and forget all about Peter and the lies I’ve gotten myself into.
I’ll deal with that later because it’s not as though it can get any worse.
Chapter Two
Devin
“I’ve got the plane ready and waiting,” Renee says, and I can hear her clicking on the other end of the phone.
“I’m almost finished packing. I don’t plan on this taking long, but the last time we tried to negotiate with them, I was in Paris for a week.” I go into my walk-in closet and see my dry-cleaning hanging up in the corner. “Thanks for getting my shirts.”
“You’re welcome, and fingers crossed for a quick trip. Danielle and I will be in the Hamptons with her parents all weekend if you need me.”
“Are you going to finally propose?”
There’s a long sigh and I smile. My sister Renee and I have worked together for years and we’re both chained to our jobs. The problem is, she went and fell in love. She’s been dating Danielle for the past year and I know things are serious—more serious than she’s willing to admit.
“Danielle is great, Nee. Don’t stress about being able to have a life and work.”
“Says the man who works a hundred hours a week.” I can hear her eyeroll.
“Which one am I going to be today? The pot or the kettle?”
“It should be special. Maybe I’ll take her to Tokyo in the spring when we have the Bennington case.”
“You’re going to propose on a work trip? Now you do sound like me.”
She barks laughter into the phone so loud I have to pull it away from my ear. “Definitely, only minus the proposal.”
“You want some big brother advice?” I zip up my bag and carry it to the front door of my penthouse.
“No.”
“Tough shit, it’s just you and me, kiddo, so I’m gonna give it to you.”
There’s a pause and an image of our parents the last time we saw them flashes in my mind.
“Don’t let fear make your decisions.” I say the words tattooed on my ribcage and put my hand over the spot.
“The last time you told me that I knocked out my two front teeth.”
“Eh. They were baby teeth.” I hear her laugh, and I grab my keys, knowing she’ll make the right choice.
“Thanks, Devin. Be safe.”
“Later.”
On the way out I see my extra key hanging next to the door and I grab that too. I never know how long some of these negotiations will take so I usually ask my neighbor Betty to keep an eye on things for me.
When I moved into the building a few years ago, I was told the penthouse floor was split in two. One door on one side and one on the other, and the opposite side was occupied by an elderly woman.
In my mind I’d pictured my neighbor as this frail Miss Havisham type that remained behind her locked door until her death. I couldn’t have been more wrong about Mrs. Betty.
She might be older, but nothing about her is old. She’s constantly coming and going all day long with stuff to do and friends to see. The day I moved in she brought me a bottle of Scotch and told me if her music was too loud not to call the cops. She’s never met a stranger, and although I do worry about her being alone sometimes, for the most part she’s the one always looking out for me.
I knock on her door and a moment later she swings it open and smiles brightly at me.
“Hey, Betty, do you mind keeping an eye on the place for me? I’ve got to make a quick trip to Paris but will hopefully be back by Monday.”
“A quick trip to Paris, doesn't that sound fancy.” She pretends to look off