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“What is your name?”

“My friends call me Bud. What time can we come over to move it?”

She glanced at her phone. “I have to work for a few hours. How about four this afternoon?”

“Sure. I’ll be over at four. What is your name?”

“Clove. My parents were wannabe hippies.”

He nodded, not wanting to engage more with his neighbor because he thought she was beautiful, and he didn’t need the hassle of her living next door when things fell apart. And they would fall. He could do his job and was damn good at it, but relationships were a mystery to him.

“Okay, Clove, I’ll be here at four to move your piano.” He turned to leave when he felt someone tapping his arm. Heglanced down and was surprised to see Noa standing beside him, holding up a red lollypop.

“You are grumpy and need this. Red lollies always make me feel better. Feel better before you come over at four because Mom doesn’t like sourpusses and will make you do the dishes if you have an attitude.”

Bud stared down at the little girl, unsure what to say. He took the red lollypop and thanked her, wondering if he really was that grumpy. As he crossed the grass to his side of the duplex, he glanced back, seeing the curtain moving. Who had been watching him? The idea of Clove watching him in his booty shorts made his cock tingle.

“Down, boy,” he said under his breath. He didn’t need any encumbrances, and sexy Clove could be just the type of something that could really snare him.