I have no life.

Spending the evening alone didn’t appeal. Especially once Lily saw Calvin taking off in his fancy car, looking slick in his jeans and silky-looking shirt. Where was he going tonight?

Probably a booty call.

She didn’t understand the jealousy, so she tried to work it off. All the boxes were unpacked except for Zoe’s toys. That they could do together with her new bookcase.

A bookcase Calvin had built.

Ditching housework, Lily told Jenny about the bookcase over a few glasses of wine. Jenny might live hundreds of miles away, but Skype was their friend. She angled her smartphone for Jenny to fully admire the bookcase the hot neighbor had built. It took pride of position in the living room because Lily had brought it out for admiration. She might have stroked it a little, wondering if Calvin had touched the same spot with his hands.

Those lovely, big hands.

She might have said it out loud. But Jenny didn’t mock her. Jenny was usually the first one to notice a man’s big hands.

“That’s a sweet fucking bookcase,” Jenny remarked, leaning back in her seat and sipping her wine. She’d chosen to use her desktop for their chat because, as a workaholic, she was never far from it.

“It is. And he did it so quick. I mean, I didn’t know a man could build something that fast, and it’s so nice.”

“Most can’t do shit, so you should nail him down and keep him.”

“What?” Lily almost choked on her wine.

“Nail. Him. Many. Many times,” Jenny advised. She didn’t believe in any man getting away.

“You’re bad!” Lily huffed, but she laughed. And it wasn’t just the wine making her cheeks hot. Calvin was the epitome of sexy. Too sexy.

A good-looking guy like that would bring only trouble. Look at Brock. Pretty on the outside but nasty on the inside.

“It’s not bad to want my best friend to get laid. And laid well. I want you to get some toe-curling sex, sex so good you can’t help but claw him to shreds and be forced to wear a turtleneck to hide hickeys.”

“Sounds unpleasant for both parties.”

“Only because you’ve never had the really good kind.”

Apparently. “I don’t need sex.” Lily leaned forward and poured some more wine, the cheap stuff in a carton, but after the third glass, it tasted just fine.

“Everyone needs sex. Or at least cuddling.”

“I’ll visit you and cuddle.”

“But I can’t give you a beard rub like Mr. McHottie next door.”

No, Jenny couldn’t. Odd how Lily had never imagined liking a man with a beard. Beards were for mountain men and Santa. But on Calvin…would it tickle between the thighs?

She chugged her glass of wine and poured another. “I’d be crazy to get involved. What if it doesn’t work? Then we’d have to live beside each other and avoid eye contact forever.”

“If it gets too awkward, then he can move.”

“I think he owns his house.”

“Then you move.”

“I have a lease. I can’t just break it.”

“You’re making excuses,” Jenny pointed out. “As a single girl now, you have to take the opportunities presented.”

“I’m not ready.”

“You never will be, which is why you need to jump back into the game.”

“It’s too soon.”

“Bullcrap. It’s been months. You’re allowed to go on with your life.” Jenny changed tactics. “What if he’s the one?”

By that, Jenny meant the prince charming every girl dreamed of meeting. “He can’t be the one. At best, he’d be the rebound guy. It never works out for them.”

“Not never, just rarely. What if he’s that rare catch?”

“You just won’t give up, will you?”

Jenny snickered as she raised her glass in a toast. “Nope. Here’s to you getting laid. And soon. You deserve a happily-ever-after given what that dipshit has been putting you through.” Jenny refused to use Brock’s name. Said she wouldn’t give that demon the power. Jenny blamed herself for not recognizing Brock was evil. Lily tried to reassure her that no one could have seen it coming.

Much like that first fist had come out of nowhere. “What do you mean you forgot?” She didn’t even remember what she’d forgotten. And it happened so many times after.

“I just don’t think I’m ready,” Lily admitted. “I’m starting a new job. And Zoe’s still adjusting to school. Plus, it’s nice to kind of just be by myself.” She only had herself and Zoe to care for. No extra pressure to perform. No one to please.

“Yeah, well, let’s see what you’re saying once you’ve finished watching all Netflix has to offer. You’ll be bored and dying for companionship. That’s when the real mistakes are made. I call Gerry my desperation phase.” Gerry being serious boyfriend number three. It hadn’t been a bad thing when they’d tossed him back in the clink for violating his parole.

“When I’m ready, I’ll date, and not a minute before.” Lily also planned to wait until Brock veered his sights away from her. Married, his jealousy often proved an issue. She wasn’t sure just how far she could test it yet.

Her phone screamed, startling her with the Psycho theme. Speak of the devil. She flicked the notification box.

What’s this I hear about a guy with a hot car?

She knew better than to ignore him. Just the neighbor. Nobody special. He couldn’t mean anything, not with the way Brock still stalked her.

“Who are you texting?” Jenny asked, leaning forward as if she could climb through the screen.

“No one.”

“Oh, hell no. You’re texting dipshit. Why are you doing that? I thought I told you to stop talking to him.”

“I have, but I can’t completely block him when he’s got Zoe.” What if it was important?

“If it’s not about Zoe, don’t reply. You know he’s screwing with you.”

“I know.” Lily knew all too well.

“You can’t trust him.” Jenny scowled.

“You also don’t trust the guy at the bagel shop.”

“Nobody should. I’m telling you, there’s something wrong with him. No guy that hot works in a bakery. He’s a plant.”

“A plant for what?” Lily snorted. At times, Jenny and her conspiracy-geared mind saw things that weren’t there.

“Probably something big and government related. You’ll see.”

“What I’ll see one day is you coming over in a head-to-toe aluminum suit meant to stop the radio waves from controlling your brain.”

“You know they’re trying.”

“For all you know, they’ve succeeded, and this is you playing puppet to their tune.”

“Bitch.”

“You only hate me because you think it might be true.”

“Yes, damn you.” Jenny laughed and raised her glass. “A toast to finding you a man.”

How about a wish instead? About getting rid of a particular guy?

That night, Lily went to bed plenty drunk on wine, and her mind not full of worry for her new job or concern about how to deal with Brock’s next push for her return.

Instead, she fell asleep wondering what Calvin did.

And with whom.