Page 3

A commotion outside woke Adam up. As the new man on duty, he’d been given the night shift at the fountain, meaning he’d only gotten home a few hours ago.

He slit his eyes open to glance at the clock. He’d been asleep for three hours. Hard to tell if it was daylight outside, thanks to the room-darkening shades he’d installed, but it had to be. He growled softly. Now that he was awake, he figured he’d better find out what was going on.

He pulled on the clothes he’d worn to work around the house the day before, sweatpants and a T-shirt, and stepped out onto his front porch.

A moving van was parked in front of the house next door, and an ambulance was driving off down the street.

A sheriff’s deputy was getting in his car and following.

Adam took one step off his porch and noticed a woman standing in the driveway of the house.

She looked worried, hands clutched in front of her face like she was praying or pleading.

“Everything all right?” he called.

She turned in his direction, blinking at him. She dropped her hands.

She was staggeringly beautiful, with a mane of red hair and big green eyes that made him swallow in surprise.

She grimaced. “Oh, um, my, uh, one of the moving guys broke his ankle. I think. Looked broken or at least sprained, and anyway, the other guy is his dad, and he went with him to the hospital.” She took a deep breath. “Hi.”

Her grimace turned into a smile, and she followed that with a little wave.

Somewhat dumbstruck, he waved back. “Hi.”

In his defense, he had just woken up.

She walked toward him, causing him to tense up. He hadn’t come out here for any kind of interaction. He’d barely slept, and he hadn’t brushed his teeth. He ran his hand through his hair, which, in retrospect, probably only made it look worse.

She was already halfway up his walk, hand out. “I’m Sydney. I guess we’re neighbors.”

“Yeah, looks that way.” He came down another step and shook her hand. It was soft and warm, her nails short and natural, which surprised him.

After living with Veronika for so long, he’d started to notice things like that. Her nails were always done, and he was expected to say how nice they looked, even if he thought her long nails sometimes looked like claws.

As he let go of his new neighbor’s hand, he realized she was giving him a funny look. He didn’t know why.

She tipped her head, amusement sparkling in her eyes. “Do you have a name?”

“Oh, yeah. Right. I’m, uh…” What was his name? “Adam.”

“Nice to meet you, Adam.”

“You, too, Sydney.” He exhaled, pleased that he’d remembered it.

She hooked her thumb toward the truck. “I gotta get back to work. Guess I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah.” But he didn’t move. He just stood there, watching, as she climbed into the back of the moving truck and picked up a box.

She only lifted it a few inches before putting it down again. She picked up another one and did the same thing, putting it right back on the stack.

Her hands went to her hips, and she surveyed the truck’s contents. She reached for a lamp wrapped in bubble wrap and took it out of the truck.

In that moment, Adam realized he was an idiot.

The woman clearly needed help. She was putting those boxes down because she knew they were too heavy for her. And, like she’d told him, the moving men were off to the hospital.

He went back inside and brushed his teeth. He could use a shower and a shave, too. And probably a haircut and a change of clothes, but he really didn’t care. Helping her unload that truck was not the kind of work that warranted a clean outfit. Besides that, he wasn’t trying to impress anyone.

Especially not the smoke show next door, who undoubtedly had the attention of every man she wanted.

Which wasn’t him. He planned to be single for a long time. Women, particularly the beautiful ones, were trouble.

By the time he went back outside, she wasn’t in the truck anymore, but he waited, figuring she’d be back out before long.

He was right. She came through the front door and smiled as soon as she saw him. “Hey again.”

“You look like you could use some help.” He tipped his head toward the truck.

“Really? That would be awesome, because I very much do.” She practically hopped down the steps to stand in front of him. She came to his shoulders, which was impressive. She was tall. “I mean, I can pay you. I’d be happy to.”

He shook his head. “We’re neighbors. It’s what neighbors do.”

She grinned, showing off infomercial-white teeth. “That’s so nice. Thank you. One of the mover guys broke his ankle, but I told you that already, didn’t I?” She twisted her fingers together and laughed. “Sorry, it’s been a crazy couple of months. I’d love the help.”

“Okay. I’ll start bringing things in.”

“I’ll get the door.”

As he climbed into the truck and grabbed a couple of boxes, he wondered what she meant by a couple of crazy months. Did that have something to do with why she’d moved here? He took a breath. He didn’t need to know.

He wasn’t getting involved.

He carried the boxes down the ramp and into the house. She’d left the door open, so he set the boxes in the living room with some others and went back out for more.

He made two more trips before he saw her again.

“Wow, you got a lot done already.” She stared at the stack of boxes he’d made. “I was only gone a couple minutes. I was checking on my dog. He’s in the backyard. I wanted to make sure he was okay. First yard and all that.”

“First yard?” Adam really hadn’t meant to ask that, but it was an odd statement.

“You know, apartment living.”

“Oh. Right.” He gave her a polite smile and went back out to the truck. There was a small three-drawer chest, painted white and decorated with gold swirls and fancy knobs. Exactly the kind of thing Veronika would have hated, which almost made him laugh.

He took that in next.

Sydney was at the door, about to come outside. “You’re carrying that by yourself?”

“It’s not heavy.”

“Well, it’s not exactly light. Don’t hurt yourself on my account.”

It was cute she thought lifting furniture might actually cause him injury. Then the second realization of the day hit him.

She had no idea what he was because she was human.

“Hey, would you like something to drink? I don’t have much, actually. Water. Or I could make a pot of coffee. Or I could run to the store and get something.”

He nodded. “Coffee would be great.” He clearly wasn’t going back to bed anytime soon. Why not get some caffeine in his system?

He went back to the truck and this time brought in a chair upholstered in deep blue velvet with tapered gold feet, which he thought was sort of swanky, really. It probably wouldn’t hold him, but it was still cool. Veronika would have rolled her eyes. At him and the chair.

He was developing a fondness for his new neighbor but only for her potential ability to irritate the woman who’d crushed his heart beneath her twelve-hundred-dollar stiletto.

Weird reason to like someone, he supposed, but it was what it was.

The scent of coffee wafted through the house as he walked in, waking him up a bit more.

When he came in with the next load, three more boxes, Sydney was in the kitchen, pouring him a cup. “All I could find was a travel mug, but it’s clean. And if you want cream or sugar, you’re out of luck.”

“Black is fine.”

She handed him the mug across the island. “This is just so kind of you.”

He sipped the coffee, which was exceptionally good, and shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

“It is to me. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“If you want help, just tell me; otherwise, I’m going to get back to unpacking. Unless that’s rude. Is that rude? I should be helping you, shouldn’t I?”

He snorted out a single, short laugh. “No, you unpack. I’m fine.”

“Okay. But seriously, if you need help, just yell.”

“I will.” He wouldn’t. There was nothing in that truck he’d need help with, unless there was an elephant in one of those boxes, and he doubted that very much. She wouldn’t be much help in that case, anyway.

He drank more coffee, then set the cup down and returned to the truck. Another couple of trips and he uncovered a big, overstuffed couch in cream leather. He lifted one end. Too light to be a sleeper, not that the extra weight could have been an issue.

Would Sydney think it odd if he carried it in on his own? He could, easily, but would it set off alarm bells for her? She was obviously human, after all, and generally, the supernatural code was not to reveal anything too out of the ordinary around humans.

Of course, Nick had explained to him that the town’s water supply was enchanted so that humans would remain in the dark about the truth of Nocturne Falls.

With that in mind, he decided to risk it. After all, the couch really wasn’t that heavy.

He gripped it around the middle and hoisted it up onto his shoulder for balance, then took it down the ramp.

As he walked into the house with it, he questioned his decision-making. Sydney’s eyes were wide as she watched him.

She blinked in amazement. “By yourself?”

He eased the couch to the floor. “It really doesn’t weigh that much. It’s just big. Seriously, you could probably lift it on your own, too.”

She pursed her lips and quickly shook her head. “Yeah, no.”

“Well, uh … I work out a lot.”

She nodded. “I see that. I mean, you’re a big guy. Did you play football? Sorry, does everyone ask you that? Ignore that.”

He chuckled. “It’s okay. I do get asked that a lot, but no, I didn’t. Does everyone ask you if you’re a model because you’re tall?” And exceptionally beautiful, but he kept that part to himself. No doubt she knew what she looked like.

She bent her head, almost like the question had hit a nerve, but then she lifted her chin and a soft smile played on her lips. “Yeah, I get asked that. I used to.”

“Then we’re even.” It was no surprise she’d done some modeling. Not with her looks. He backed up a step. “I should have the rest of your stuff off the truck in an hour or so. Looks like the next load will be a wardrobe box. You want that in the bedroom?”

“That would be great. It’s right through that door.” She pointed.

“I’ll meet you in there.” He stared at her a moment, wondering why those words had sounded like something so much more than how he’d meant them.

Before he could say anything else stupid, he turned on his heel and made for the truck.