He looked at his watch. “Come over in an hour?”

“That would be perfect.”

“I’m also making my mother’s famous lemonade. You’re not allergic to citrus or anything, are you?”

“Nope. What makes the lemonade famous?”

“Um…” He thought for a second. “I don’t know actually. It’s just lemonade with some mint in it. She usually adds vodka, too, but tomorrow’s a work day, so I’m not doing that.”

“Well, I’m game. I’ve never had lemonade with mint.”

“Great.” He started to leave then stopped, his hand on the column of her front porch. “Oh, bring your suit if you want. It’s a perfect night for the hot tub.”

“Sounds good. Will do.” She closed the door. Then, realizing what she’d just agreed to, she leaned against it and let out a big sigh. Wear her bathing suit in front of Alex? That shouldn’t bother her. But it did. Her figure was far from perfect. Of course, Diego would be there too, but for whatever reason, she didn’t care what he thought.

Then why should she care about Alex seeing her in her bathing suit? He was just her neighbor. Not a guy she was interested in. Was she going to turn down a chance to soak in the hot tub, something she’d just been wishing she could do, because her neighbor might think she wasn’t in perfect shape?

He’d already said he thought she looked fine. Which could have just been him being polite.

Either way, she was letting Thomas get in her head. It was so hard to shut out the years of living with him. She could hear his relentless criticism about how sitting all day was going to make her fatter, how she needed to get off her butt and work out, how he didn’t understand why she wasn’t interested in keeping herself attractive for him.

Meanwhile, he went out drinking beer and bowling with his buddies all the time. Like that was the equivalent of time at the gym.

Her chin lifted, and anger filled her belly. Thomas could shove it. She did yoga every day and went for walks when the weather was nice. Could she do more? Sure. Who couldn’t? But she wasn’t exactly a shapeless blob who lay around the house all day eating bonbons.

Although, technically, she’d had a bonbon today. A strawberry champagne bonbon. Her mouth watered at the memory of that particular goody sampled at Delaney’s.

Then her back teeth ground together. Thomas was not in charge of what she did. She was going over to Alex’s, and she was having two slices of pizza, and she was definitely getting into that hot tub.

Because Roxy St. James wasn’t about to let her soon-to-be ex-husband ruin any more of her life than he already had.

Alex texted Delaney. She’s coming over.

A few minutes later, Delaney texted back. Good. Let’s hope this works.

Then you’d better hope Diego doesn’t do anything to get fired on his first night.

I already told Bridget to make sure he stays busy the entire shift.

He put the phone down and sighed. He was lying to Roxy, and he hated the way that felt. Yes, Diego had gotten the job, but Diego wasn’t going to be here this evening, which was pretty much what he’d led her to believe. Instead, it would just be the two of them, and his real objective was to get her to drink as much lemonade, made with good old Nocturne Falls water, as possible.

If that didn’t stop her from seeing supernatural things, then it was Delaney’s problem. In fact, if he had to tell Roxy the truth himself, he would.

He couldn’t stand lying in general, but to lie to someone he genuinely liked was an ugly feeling. Sure, it was for her own good. He guessed. But it didn’t feel right to him.

On one hand, he understood why Delaney didn’t want to tell Roxy about the full reality of Nocturne Falls and the supernatural citizens who lived here just yet. But on the other hand, she seemed like a woman who could roll with it. She hadn’t freaked out over the ticket, and to him that was one barometer by which he judged people. Roxy was a pretty cool customer. Would finding out that her college friend had been turned into a vampire really be that odd?

The woman wrote paranormal romance, for crying out loud. She might enjoy knowing that her next-door neighbor was a panther shifter.

That gave him a thought. He picked up his phone and scrolled to his favorite ebookstore, then did a search on her name.

Impressive. She had a decent number of books out. Most of them looked like vampire stuff. Maybe that’s why Delaney didn’t want Roxy to know what she’d become. Maybe Roxy painted vampires as the villains? But then, his mom read and loved the books, and so did Birdie. And from what Roxy had told him, her hero was a vampire. Or at least part vampire.

Maybe he should read one for himself. He had the one she’d given him for his mom, but he didn’t want to break the spine. Instead, he one-clicked the first book in her Blood Moon Brotherhood series and opened it as soon as it downloaded.

He was two chapters in when he realized he hadn’t ordered the pizza yet. He swiped back to the home screen, pulled up his contact list and dialed Salvatore’s.

When the pies were on their way, he went back to reading. Roxy’s work was good. Better than good, actually.

Roxy’s writing was dark, emotional, sometimes funny, a little over the top, but really readable. And smart. This was no throwaway story. The heroes and heroines were exactly what they should be. Strong, capable and sexy.

He could see why his mom and her friends were so hooked. He also liked how the hero and heroine of this book knew right away they were meant to be together. He understood that feeling and wanted that for himself. A soul mate.