The meet-cute...
Adrienne's POV:
I checked on the sofa an hour later (still there), then grabbed more boxes from my trunk. Being short, I couldn’t see well over the stack and tripped getting into the elevator.
The top box fell.
“Careful!” A man’s voice.
He’d caught the box.
I looked up and he was tall.
At-least-a-foot-taller-than-me tall.
“You okay, ma’am? Which floor?”
“Two. Yeah. Thanks.” I turned to face the door as he pressed the button. “I can take my box back.”
“It’s my floor, too. I think I’ll hold onto it and save you from the face-plant risk.”
“Hey—”
“Kelly Parrish.” He held up one large hand. “I’d offer a handshake, but…” The elevator stopped and the doors opened. “Ladies first.”
“Put the box back on top.”
He chuckled. “As you wish.”
I marched to my unit with as much dignity as I could muster in front of this stranger. Until I realized I’d have to put the stack down to open my door.
I kicked it. “Jenna! Kiki!”
Jenna opened the door. “What—Oh.” Her eyes shifted past my right. “Hello there.”
I shoved the boxes into her arms and turned around.
Kelly Parrish had followed me. He pointed at the door next to us. “Mine.”
I took in his worn jeans, dusty t-shirt, and heavy five-o’clock-shadow at two in the afternoon. “You’re my neighbor?”
“The building isn’t much, but it’s safe. You would be…?” He offered the handshake I couldn’t accept before.
I clasped his hand firmly like my grandfather taught me. “Adrienne.”
“Good to meet you, Adrienne.” He shook professionally, then tucked his hands into his pockets. “Move-in day, huh?”
“Yeah…” I shoved wisps of hair off my forehead. “It’s already been an adventure.”
His eyes lit up with knowledge. “That’s your sofa out front.”
I nodded. “Asshole mover.”
He checked his watch, then said, “I can help you get it up here.”
“I—”
“Give me a few minutes and then we’ll take care of it.” He unlocked his door and went inside his unit.
“Dree,” Kiki called.
“What?” I turned to my living room.
“You couldn’t introduce us to your new hot neighbor?”
I shut the door. “Hot? He smells like sawdust.”
Jenna rolled her eyes. “There’s more to men than suits and ties.”
“I like what I like. Ask him out if scruffy works for you.”
She turned to Kiki. “She didn’t see it.”
“Nope.”
“See what?” My gaze ping-ponged between the two.
“That dude looked at you like you look at Triple Fudge Brownie ice cream,” Kiki said.
“Pfft. He didn’t flirt once. Guys that want me aren’t shy about it. Now get back to work.”
“So bossy. Where’s our pizza, slave driver?”
“I promised dinner and it sure ain’t dinnertime now.”
The knock on my door made me jump.
It was Kelly Parrish, this time in clean clothes. “I didn’t want to get dust on your upholstery. Come on.”
My brows rose. “Excuse me?”
“You want your sofa, right?”
“You and I can’t carry that thing.”
He gazed at me with infinite patience, a look I saw in my grandmother many times. “Of course not. That’s why I called a friend.”
Two men, one me. “Jenna!” The buddy system was a safe system.
Two lonely friends. One holiday movie. A little whiskey and wine.
It’s the recipe for truths and revelations that will change our lives forever.
Christmas is my favorite holiday and I love hosting my friends. This holiday is building to be as fun as always—until the last bit of family I have makes it clear I’m not wanted in the most callous way possible.
My first thought is to seek comfort from my next-door neighbor and best friend Kell, but I never expect to end the night in his bed with secret feelings laid bare. This could be an epic mistake, or the start of something amazing with a man I trust more than anyone else.
Have I unwrapped the best Christmas present a woman could ask for?
