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Right now I was in the midst of a steamy sapphic vampire novel and alternating that with a very sweet gay hockey romance. I knew literally nothing about hockey but fortunately that wasn’t a problem.

I opened the hockey romance on my ereader before I realized that I needed a snack and maybe some tea. I’d treated myself to a new kettle when I moved in, so I filled it up and waited for the water to heat while I put together a little plate with cookies and crackers and cheese and olives.

“Wild night,” I said to myself as I settled into bed with my snacks and my book. To really create some ambience, I got up and put on a record. Kaylee had gotten me a turntable for Christmas a few years ago and now I collected records. My new neighborhood had an amazing vintage record store down the street and I’d already visited and spent too much money.

Between the music and the snacks and the book, I had everything I could need.

Didn’t stop me from listening for any sounds from next door. I’d been noticing what time she left, trying to figure out her schedule so I could avoid her. She seemed to go out late in the afternoons sometimes and then get back very late. Sometimes I’d wake up when I heard her come back. My bed was shoved up against our shared wall with what I assumed was her bedroom on the other side, and she wasn’t the quietest when she arrived home. From her job, I was guessing? Graveyard shift or something. That made me curious to know where she worked and what she was doing.

I’d looked for her on social media, but her pages were so sparse and she barely posted anything so there were no answers there.

I hoped she didn’t hate me. I just… I didn’t want her to hate me.

Chapter Five

Reid

I couldn’t fucking believe that she brought me fucking cupcakes. Like she was Susie Sunshine, the perfect neighbor or something. I knew that if I didn’t send a clear message that under no circumstances did I ever want to talk to her, then she wouldn’t leave me alone. She had that look.

Too sweet. Way too nice. She looked like the kind of person who woke up in the morning and smiled. She looked like the kind of person who sang while they unloaded the dishwasher and picked up pennies on the sidewalk claiming they were lucky.

The easiest thing had been to shut the door in her face. Even if I’d wanted the cupcakes.

Once I heard her go back to her apartment, the guilt hit me. It wasn’t fair that I had to be a bitch to someone like her. But I couldn’t deal with the alternative.

She looked too much like Kaylee. Way too much. Made me sick to think about. Like their parents’ DNA was so strong that they’d produced two almost identical daughters several years apart.

I’d liked her parents. They’d been lovely to me. The kind of people who made me a part of the family the second I’d started dating their daughter. I’d gotten a Christmas sweater and been in the family phots and had gone on vacation with them.

Losing Kaylee had meant losing them too. That part had almost been harder. I’d developed a strong relationship with her mom and then it was just…gone. Ended. Because of Kaylee’s selfish choices.

I hadn’t seen her in a few days. That was fine. That was how I liked it. In time, I’d forget that she was even here.

Right now, though, I was still sticking my head out of my door cautiously before going into the hallway so I didn’t bump into her. It was probably silly, but I didn’t want to risk seeing her. I kind of wanted to apologize, but then that might give her encouragement.

Jo, Cade, and Hunter thought I was an idiot. I’d told them about the fiasco, and I’d been admonished for being an asshole.

This wasn’t news, but they didn’t get it. None of them had been through a relationship like that. How a betrayal fundamentally changed who you were as a person. How it had broken my trust in just about everyone and everything.

Eventually they left me alone about it, but still asked if I’d seen Sophie lately. I told them no.

Until that Sunday when I was coming back from a long walk in the park. I couldn’t wait until it was just a little bit warmer so I could go on long hikes in the mountains again.

I bounded up the stairs, still energized from my walk when I heard someone cursing.

Sophie. Standing outside her door with a laundry basket on her hip as she jiggled the handle of her door and cursed again.

There was no way for me to back away and leave her like this. I might be a bitch, but I wasn’t a monster.

“Locked out?” I asked and she spun around.

“Oh,” she said, her face immediately going red. “Yeah. I thought I had my keys in my hand, but I guess I…didn’t.”

“You don’t have a spare in your car or anything? Or with a friend?”

She pressed her lips together and shook her head.

Christ, she looked like Kaylee. Looking at her was hard, so I lowered my gaze.