Page 38 of Sexy Bad Neighbor

“She’s not going anywhere,” I bark at Bernadette over the top of her head.

“Chloe and I are together and I’m fucking happy.” Or I will be when Queen B gets out of my yard and leaves us alone. Chloe takes a deep breath, and I wait for her to dispute my words, but instead she finally relaxes into me.

Bernadette cants her head and stares at us through slitted eyes. “You’re not really. You can’t mean that. You loved me, enough to want to marry me, Paynt. And we were good together; we have so much history. I know there are things we need to sort out, but we could be great together. Better than last time. Better than this.”

I shake my head and press my mouth to the top of Chloe’s locks. Does the woman not see how ridiculous she is? “Maybe one day you’ll realize that your crazy expectations of what is better aren’t going to make you happy, Bernie.”

All the anger that has built up under my skin dissipates. In a way, I feel sorry for her, because she’ll never be happy. I, at least, have a chance. Chloe, at least, has a chance, because try as hard as she does to stick to her plans of bigger and better things, when we’re together she seems to forget them. But Bernadette won’t unless she works out that all her goals and aspirations of perfection won’t bring her joy.

“Chloe’s not a distraction. She means much more to me than that, and she’s who I want. I won’t have you treat her the way you just did.”

“But the chandelier.” For the first time in as far back as I can remember Bernadette seems to lose her footing on that pedestal she’s built for herself. I get a glimpse of the woman I first became friends with and then found myself attracted to, but now she looks lost.

“I didn’t bother taking it down because I didn’t know if I was going to stay here long term. Let me call someone in to pack it up. I’ll have it delivered to you as soon as it can be arranged.” I tighten my hold on Chloe’s waist. I want to make it clear in no uncertain manner that I’m moving forward and Chloe’s the only girl I’m interested in. She wraps her hands around my forearm, holding onto me, and I welcome the support it lends and the possessiveness. “I’ll try to find Spot a home too. Whatever it takes to get you to stay out of my life.”

“You don’t mean that?” Bernadette tries to frown, but her brow stays immovably smooth. “I’ll admit I made a mistake, maybe two. But—”

“You did me a favor,” I tell her. “Good-bye, Bernadette. Pop your address in my mailbox on your way out so I can make sure the chandelier gets delivered to the right house. Hopefully, you’ll get more enjoyment from it than I ever did.”

Taking Chloe’s hand, I leave Bernadette to find her own way out of my yard while we chase after Spot, who’s wandered down near the lake. Chloe’s quiet while I round up the goat and carry it back to the house. Bernadette’s gone and the irritation over our clash has dispersed, but I don’t like the silence. Hopefully, she isn’t thinking about what Bernadette said about the chandelier, because the only thing that should symbolize is pretty damn obvious.

“So Spot’s your goat, huh?”

“What?”

“You told me to hold your goat.” I wrap an arm around her shoulders as we head up to the house.

“Oh, uh. Did I?” She studies a length of her hair, probably trying not to look affected by the encounter. “So that was your ex Garrett was ranting about. Even with what he’d said about how stuck-up and mean she is, I never expected her to be like that.”

“She’s unique,” I say. “I almost feel sorry for her, because I don’t think she’ll ever be able to just enjoy the life she has. She’ll always be too busy trying to make everything perfect.”

Skirting the house, we head for the car where I still have supplies to unload. As we enter my front yard, Chloe asks, “Are you really going to get rid of Spot?”

Her concern over our pet when only hours earlier she’d berated me about the little beast is touching. “I’m still going to try to find out where she came from. If I can’t find her home, I’ll take her to my parents. They’ve got a big enough yard, and my mom could probably do with the company. At least for a while.”

Setting Spot on the ground, I gather from the trunk a length of chain and a collar that I’d bought to secure her while I build a pen. “I’m sorry she attacked you like that. But damn, you were something with the way you threw down. I was seriously impressed.”

“You were pretty impressive too,” Chloe says. “Thank you for what you said, and making her back off.”

“I meant it,” I say quietly. Then I clear my throat, because I want her to know that I don’t want to be friends only with her. “I told her the truth, and I won’t let anyone treat you like that. When you asked me earlier if we could keep this thing detached I shouldn’t have said yes. Telling you I can do that would be lying to you, because I don’t want this to be about sex only.”

“Good sex.”

“Great sex.” I grin. “But it’s more than that, for me. You’re important to me, and that means I’m going to defend you against people like Bernadette.”

“She only reacted like that because she still has a thing for you. That must have been as clear to you as it was to me.”

Is that what’s bothering her? Not the fact I made it evident we’re together but that she thinks there’s something between Bernadette and me? Standing up, I gather her into my arms. “She thinks I’m a toy, something she has ownership of, and some other woman is playing with it so she wants it back. There’s nothing there, sweetheart, not even good memories.”

“But the chandelier. You held onto that awful, awful thing.” She shakes her head. “Why would you do that unless it was because she means something to you?”

“For the same reason I told her. This house was about her, and when I moved in I didn’t know if I’d stay or sell. It wasn’t home, it was just some monstrous ode to how ridiculous people can be when they’re putting on airs. So I really didn’t give a fuck about some stupid, gaudy chandelier. Plus, it was a reminder not to get involved with women like her.”

“Women like me?” Chloe murmurs to herself.

“No, not you.” I grip her chin until she looks at me. “Do you really see yourself as someone like that? I know you have goals to accomplish and they’re important to you, but I don’t think they’re everything you want now, are they? Look at you, in my front yard, not caring if anyone sees you in your less-than-perfect attire, with a man you didn’t think was worth your time, and a goat you expect to ruin your standing in the neighborhood. Women like Bernadette would never be real like you are.” I press my forehead to hers and brush my lips across hers. “They certainly wouldn’t let me kiss them like this.”

“I’m not sure why I’m letting you kiss me like this.”

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