Page 27 of Moonstruck at Midnight
A thin thread pulled at the nape of my neck just slightly, sending a heavily charged electric current down my spine as I imagined what kind of perfection might lie beneath that simple yet alluring piece of white fabric.Stop.
He stood next to Eric and pushed his sunglasses down just a bit. “Aren’t you supposed to be at school or something?” William said to Eric with a deep voice, smelling like fresh oranges and other mouthwatering spices. He messed up Eric’s ultra-blond hair with his hand and pushed his Ray-Bans back in place.
Eric protested and took a step back, trying to fix his hair. William tapped Eric’s back twice and moved on to greet Tobias.
“Hey, man.” They shook hands with a clap, then went in for a hug with a few pats on the back. William’s body language indicated he was happy to see his brothers, but his face registered a bit testy to me.
“Billy, this is Billie,” Eric said, laughing at the coincidence.
William took his sunglasses off and tucked them on his shirt’s collar. He looked at me with his annoyingly dreamy blue eyes for the first time since he arrived. His eyes were the same color as Tobias’s, but William’s had a mysterious spark to them.
His gaze swept me up and down in a quick move, and his frown got deeper.
What is his problem?
“Nice to meet you,” I said, taking a step forward to offer my hand out to him. Senad rushed in with the service cart, and William placed his hand on my shoulder and pushed me out of the way. Senad apologized for nearly running me over.
“Watch it,” William said tomewith a bite.
I noticed my hand was still half-way sticking out in his direction. But I lowered it down immediately, as I realized he wasn’t going to shake it.
“Um. I’m sorry. I didn’t see the cart coming my way,” I apologized with a frown for absolutely no reason. That hadn’t been my fault, and I didn’t understand why that irritated him. But William’s face was creased up since he stepped out of the car anyway. He was probably having a bad day or something.
“You have to excuse him,” Eric continued. “He’ll probably be in a shitty mood for a while since—”
“Eric,” William cut him off with a glare. He softened his features a bit and turned to look at me, offering his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
I shook it with hesitation and persuaded my lips to offer a small smile.
“You’re new, right?” William asked, brushing a few strands of hair off his forehead.
“Ah, yes. Apartment 9A.”
“9A,” he replied, lifting the corners of his mouth just slightly for a few seconds. His frown reappeared in between his eyes quickly after that.
That was my cue to leave. William was making me uneasy with all the gesture roller-coaster thing he had going on. I couldn’t read him, and even though I was curious, I had things to do.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you around,” I said to them with a close-lipped smile. “Have fun.”
“Bye, Billie,” Eric and Tobias replied in unison. William nodded.
“I’ll walk you, Miss Murphy,” Caleb said with a glower, scanning the brothers up and down as he walked in my direction. Ugh. I turned around and walked away from the Sjöbergs.
“Lighten up, Caleb,” I whispered as we stepped into the elevator. He stood next to me, looking at how the doors closed, holding his bodyguard stance in place like his life depended on it. “They’re just my neighbors.”
“Yeah, I don’t know. We arrived just a few days ago, and I’m not comfortable yet seeing you talking to strangers. It makes me uneasy,” he said, placing his hands inside his pockets.
“They don’t look dangerous to me.” I shrugged.They looked gorgeous. I stepped out of the elevator, and Caleb walked me to my doorstep. Even with his grouchy attitude, William stood out to me the most.
My mind drifted away into thought—wondering about him.
Anyway, who was I kidding, a guy like that? He was undoubtedly like a new restaurant with a long waitlist—simply unavailable.
“Red?”
“Ah, yes. Sorry,” I apologized. Caleb said something before, but I was distracted and didn’t listen to what he was telling me.
“What time are you leaving for dinner tonight?” he asked—probably for the second time—gnawing on his lower lip, looking anxious and annoyed.
