Opening the door to my apartment, I walked in and tossed my keys into the bowl on the table near the entryway. I unlaced my boots, kicking them off into the pile with my other boots—just one more thing in my life that needed organized. I thought back on the incident that had just happened in the hallway. All I’d tried to do was help the woman out, and she’d been a raging bitch about it.

But, she’d been a beautiful raging bitch about it.

I’d probably have spat out something just as vicious to match her anger, but I’d been a bit too stunned by her pretty little blue eyes that stared back at me. And that fiery red hair—well, that explained the temper.

I couldn’t lie, the feistiness in her turned me on, and because of it, I was bound and determined to get to know her.

Shuffling into the kitchen, I pulled out the bag of coffee and scooped some of the magical grounds into a coffee filter while I peered out the kitchen window. Snow was falling, and it reminded me of the fact I’d be out of work for the next couple months.

Seasonal work was like that, and I’d like to think I’d gotten used to it, but the fact the dreaded winter temperatures had come almost a full month earlier than expected wasn’t a big help to my pocketbook.  I would need to find something part-time to get me through the winter, not just for money, but for sanity as well.

But what the hell would I do? I was my own boss, so working for someone else wasn’t something I wanted to do. Nor was I very good at it, to be honest. The only person I wanted to answer to was myself.

The aroma of coffee filled the air. I grabbed my favorite football mug from the cabinet and paused at the sight of the floral mug tucked in the back, with Destiny’s name printed on it in script.

How the hell had I not gotten rid of this? Why was I just seeing this now? How was it that something so simple and meaningless could cause so much pain to fill my chest? The hurt I’d been hiding and shoving away for months now resurfaced, all thanks to a stupid goddamn mug with her name on it.

Three years of a serious relationship were flushed down the drain as soon as Destiny denied my proposal and broke things off with me immediately afterward. As if the rejection wasn’t bad enough—and that’s not an easy thing for a man to get over—and though it still hurt like a bitch, I had to admit that part of me was thankful she did it. She wasn’t the one for me, even though I’d thought she was at the time. It took being away from her and out of her clutches to realize that, I guess.

I took a sip of the hot black liquid and savored the bitter flavor, attempting to shake the thoughts of my failed relationship away. I couldn’t. I was alone in this place with no one to distract me, and no work to keep my mind busy.

My life should have been vastly different at twenty-nine years old. I should have been married and had a family started, living in our own home.

Jesus, pull yourself together. Staying inside was the last thing I needed to be doing. I needed to get out, get some fresh air. I needed to clear my head.

I finished my coffee, then laced up my boots and headed out the door. Just beyond it, though, a melodic voice singing a lullaby escaped beneath the neighbor girl’s door.

She’s got a kid, I realized. Which meant she was undoubtedly with someone already. I didn’t remember seeing a ring on her finger, but she’d moved so hastily during our short conversation that I couldn’t be sure.

I stood outside her door, and it took a moment to realize I’d been mesmerized by her soft singing. My eyes scanned the silver nameplate where her name should be, but it was still bare.

I didn’t even know this woman’s name, and yet here I was, halted in my tracks because of her. Running my fingers through my coal black hair, a sigh passed my lips and I shook my head in disbelief at the power this woman already had over me.

***

I’D ALWAYS BEEN A MORNING person. Always enjoyed getting up at the same time the sun was just starting to peek out over the treetops and bask the world in golden hues and lengthy shadows. That’s where the quietness hid, in those early hours when the rest of the world slept, only to be jolted awake by blaring alarm clocks an hour or two later.

I’d never needed an alarm to wake me, and I didn’t wake up grumbling because of the things I had to get done during daylight hours.

What I woke up grumbling about was the fact I had little planned for the day, and today was a day that seemed to fit the bill. I was a doer, a man who preferred to work with his hands, get things done, and I didn’t mind getting a little dirty to accomplish it.

No matter the context.

Mornings like this, though? With no plans, no work, and nothing to bide my time? I didn’t do very well without some kind of goal, and laziness wasn’t exactly a cloth I was made of.

But a man could only clean and do small jobs around his own apartment for so long. It’d only been a week or so since I’d wrapped up my landscaping jobs for the winter, but I wasn’t kidding...there wasn’t a leaking faucet or squeaking hinge to be found in my place. The apartment was small, neat, and maintained. Nothing fancy, but it was mine.

It was the one thing no one could take from me. Because, evidently, winter could take my job, even it was just temporarily, and Destiny could take my pride.

Two coffees, a big breakfast of bacon and eggs, and one long, hot shower later, I knew I had to do something. Anything. Before I went absolutely mad with the boredom. It occurred to me to make my way into the hallway and knock on my new neighbor’s door, offering to help her unpack or carry boxes or something. If she didn’t want me to talk while I did it, fine. I could be the brawn she needed. Purely because I needed a task, and she obviously needed a friend.

Friend.

Right.

If yesterday’s interaction was any indication, friendship was the last thing that pretty little redhead was interested in.

Good thing I had enough interest for the both of us.

If I turned the radio off and strained my hearing a bit, I was convinced I could hear the odd high-pitched laugh or innocent babbling of the neighbor’s child through the living room wall that divided our apartments. Suddenly, very clearly, I heard a familiar voice speak, just as exasperated as she’d been the day before.

“Luxe, please get over here and put your coat on so we can go for a car ride to the store!”

They were leaving. Which means...

I dove for the entryway of my apartment, shoving my feet into my boots clumsily. In my haste, I couldn’t even get my own arm into my jacket on the first attempt. “Shit,” I hissed under my breath.

Plucking the keys from the bowl on the entryway table, I stopped to listen. Nothing. So, they weren’t in the hallway yet.

Act calm, act normal, I chanted silently. I didn’t know why it was so damn important to me to meet her again under the ruse that it was by chance, but I didn’t want her to know I’d been listening in, either. The last thing I needed was to spook her.

I heard the apartment door open from the hallway, and I took a deep breath.

Show time. One, two...three.

I swung my apartment door open and sauntered out as though I had all the time in the world to get wherever I was going. The first thing I noticed, just like yesterday, was her eyes, made up with mascara that only accentuated the blue depths of them. The second thing was that they were trained on me, unblinking, like I’d caught her in some unthinkable act.

“Oh, hey,” I offered. But I couldn’t seem to move either, trapped under the intensity of her gaze, and the door of my apartment remained open, my hand still on the doorknob.

“Uh...” A deep crimson blush crept into her cheeks, and she pushed her son gently behind her legs, shielding him from me. “Hey.”

God, she was gorgeous. Without even fucking trying. But she may as well have reached through my chest and ripped my heart from it, the way she hid that curly-haired boy from me. “Get all moved in?” I finally asked, realizing I was staring.

“Oh.” She waved a hand after pulling her apartment door shut and locking it. “Not really. I—”

Her gaze flitted over at my own door, and I closed it. “Well, hey, anyway,” I said awkwardly, not wanting to come right out and offer to help her immediately. “I thought you must’ve been the new tenant in 3B. I’m Jason.”

Her eyes pierced through me, an icy blue that resonated somewhere deep within me.

I didn’t know if it was smart, but I kept my eyes locked on her, too, and held out a hand.

She stared down at it like it was some sort of alien lifeform. “You’re J. Nightingale?”

I cocked a brow. “The one and the only,” I quipped. “You seem...surprised.”

“I’m not going to lie. I envisioned J. Nightingale as a woman in her seventies. You know, curlers in her hair and a loud, blaring television I can hear through the walls each night as she watches the six o’clock news and then turns her soap operas on afterwards.”

I laughed—I couldn’t help it, but she maintained her composure, managing to keep her expression stoic despite the slightest twitch of her lips. “Sorry to disappoint you,” I chuckled, shrugging. “There’s no one elderly in my apartment. Just me.”

With hesitation, she finally reached out and shook my hand gingerly, nodding. “Good to know.”

We stood there, silent. It could’ve been minutes that passed, or hours. And if it was uncomfortable for her, it wasn’t for me. I was too busy taking her in, basking in the prettiness and mystery that emanated from her every pore. I wanted to know this woman. I needed to.

She was the first to pull her hand away, but there was a hesitation in that movement, too. “Well, w-we should go.” She slid a hand down and clutched her son’s little fingers in hers. “I’m, uh, sorry for yesterday. It was a rough day, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

I tucked my hand back into my pocket. “No need to apologize. How ‘bout you just tell me your name and we’ll call it even?” I suggested, a sly smile spreading across my face.

Her throat moved visibly, and she checked her son’s jacket, tugging at the zipper to make sure it was all the way up.

“Hi.” The little boy spoke louder than needed, and he waved at me vehemently, his hand flapping up and down like a cartoon character’s.

I crouched down in front of him and his mom. “Hey there, little dude.”

“We should go.” She squeezed the little boy’s hand tightly, her movements jerky enough to make me stand tall again.

“Of course,” I said, like it was no big deal. “I’ll see you around.” It was a lame attempt to get her to stay, and I knew it as soon as it fell from my mouth. “If you need anything, you know where to find me.”

But the woman was already dragging her son toward the stairs, the sounds of their jackets swishing together as they moved.

I let out a long breath. Shit. Somehow, I’d overstepped, and now I’d ruined any chance of—

“Jason?”

I turned at the sound of my name on her lips, a shock of electricity traveling down my spine. “Yeah?”

She gave me the smallest of grins. “I’m Leah.” She waved a hand toward her son. “And this is Luxe. I’m sure we’ll see you around. We’re neighbors, after all.” She left without another word, leaving me standing there in the hallway with a dumbfounded grin on my face and a sliver of hope to hold on to. And that was more than I’d had in a long time.