Page 4 of The Ex Next Door
Lifting, he walked the box across the lawn and into the house within a few seconds.
“Wow, you’re strong,” her little boy said. David, was it? “My dad can do that, too.”
“Thank you,” Amy said. “I guess you’re my new neighbor.”
“I am.” He then positioned the box out of the way, rubbed his hand and went back outside.
Amy was right behind him. “That was really all we…um…”
He ignored her, carrying in several boxes and chairs.
“Look, moving isn’t any fun. But hey, I might need help with the table.”
“I wish I could help,” Lou said repeatedly each time Declan passed him on the front porch.
He noticed that Moonbeam was keeping to herself, unpacking boxes while Declan and Amy did most of the lifting. She ignored him most of the time, apparently resigned to his help. They worked together as a team even if he did most of the heavier work. It would have been much harder without her.
By the end, he’d helped unload the moving truck, beds included.
“Thanks,” Lou said, hopping back into the driver’s side of the truck. “I got to get this back into the shop.”
“Thank you, Lou,” Amy said. “I owe you dinner.”
Lou drove off waving to them both.
“What about me?” Declan teased. “Do I get dinner?”
“Yes, if you want.” She studied the ground.
“Just a cold beer would do me fine.”
“I don’t have any beer.” She met his eyes and narrowed her own. “And don’t you work at abar?”
“Yeah, but the bar’s not here right now.” He laughed. “I’m kidding. You don’t owe me a thing, Amy.”
She tipped her head and considered him as if she couldsee all the ways he’d failed her years ago and came to a conclusion.
“Yes. I guess you’re right.”
Declan snorted. “Okay, then. Well, happy moving day!”
He waved and crossed the shared lawn into his house. Bitterness, clearly, was still the order of the day. He’d beenseventeen years oldand a complete idiot when he’d screwed things up with Amy, but she didn’t seem to want to cut him any slack. Then again, she was projecting. Yeah, that was it. Either way, he could be a good neighbor to his ex and her kids. Usually, Declan didn’t like to over-involve himself in other people’s drama and lives. He got enough of that at the bar, and though he was good at listening, he saw no reason to look for drama on his day off.
This was different. A single mom living right next door with her two children. Before long, he suspected, she might not be alone, but until then he would keep an eye out. Unclog any sinks and kill spiders, that sort of thing. Toss around a ball with the boy. This was mostly a safe neighborhood, except for that time a bunch of teenagers broke into a vacant house down the street. All they’d wanted was a place to party but by the end of the deal they’d done some property damage. Stupid kids.
Pizza for dinner tonight, Declan decided. He loved pizza anytime he helped someone move. He’d just finished helping his older brother, Finn, move out earlier this month. Sure, he’d left Declan to pay the entire payment this month by himself, but he couldn’t be too upset. Finn was happier than he’d ever been with his new fiancée. At one time, Declan would have laid bets in Vegas that Finn would never again be in a serious relationship after his divorce. So, he guessed it was entirely plausible that Amy would find herself married againbefore too long. He remembered how important marriage had been to her at seventeen. Far more than it was to him.
And she was still attractive. Still curvy in all the right places. He’d seen her dimples only once today and that had been when talking to her children. It was also the only time her green eyes lit up.
Thanking God for modern food delivery apps, Declan tipped the driver and accepted his pizza. A reward for a job well done. He cracked open a cold beer he found in the cold cut drawer, settled everything on the table in front of the couch and switched on ESPN.
When his doorbell rang thirty minutes later, Declan thought it might be Amy, to apologize for agreeing she didn’t owe him anything. A simple thanks would have been nice but maybe ex-boyfriends who hadn’t wanted to get married right after high school didn’tqualify.
Declan swung open the door to find his father there instead. “Hey, Dec!”
“Come on in.” He waved him inside, peeking outside to see if Amy and the kids were still out there.
Only the boy, kicking around a soccer ball all alone.
