Chapter 3 Zoey
ZOEY
“Can’t you buy a fake tree like everyone else in this world?” my cousin Mason huffs out as he fights to get the most beautiful evergreen I’ve ever seen into the elevator.
“But it wouldn’t have the smell,” I tell him.
Lulu chuckles. “You can stick one of those car air fresheners on the trunk, and voilà, the smell and the look without all the hassle.”
I glare at my sister, both of us ignoring Mason as he continues to struggle because the damn thing is so big. “It wouldn’t be the same, Lu.”
She picks at her nail, chipping the black polish off her thumb. “Close enough, though.”
“Fake pine doesn’t smell like real pine,” I argue with her.
“Little help over here,” Mason begs between grunts.
“I got you,” a man says before the tree lifts and is easily maneuvered into the small space.
My gaze moves toward the voice, finding my handsome new neighbor. Lulu’s eyes must find him at the exact same moment because her bony elbow jams into my side.
“Hey,” he says to me with the hint of a smile.
“Hey,” I say back.
“All settled in?” Lulu asks him.
“Pretty much.”
“Nice,” she says. “New to Chicago?”
I glance down, knowing she’s fishing for information when I haven’t even bothered to put a lure on the hook.
“Yeah. It’s going to take me a while to figure things out.”
“Zoey can help. She’s lived here her entire life.”
I don’t use my elbow like my sister. I jab her hand with my nail. Quick and sharp. She’s a nosy little jerk.
His eyes move to me. “Your entire life?”
“Yeah,” I reply.
“We all have. Our family has lived in this area for generations,” Lulu adds, because obviously, my answer didn’t go into enough detail for her.
I can’t imagine living anywhere else, especially not moving to another big city. It would take me a decade to learn where all the best restaurants are, and I don’t have the patience for that. “If you have any questions, I’m right next door.”
My statement earns me an approving smirk from Lulu, but luckily, this time, she doesn’t add anything more to my sentence.
“That’s good to know. Hey,” he says as the elevator dings as it passes between floors, “did you get your vacuum back? I left it by your door.”
“I did. Thanks.”
Mason hisses. “Risky just leaving things outside. Someone could’ve swiped it.”
“Who’s going to take it? Old Ms. Carver in 12S? She can barely see or walk,” I ask him, shaking my head. “Don’t listen to him. The building is safe.”
“I’m Mason,” my cousin says. “I’m the favorite cousin.”
“Completely our favorite,” Lulu says, sucking up because Mason loves it. “And sometimes our muscle.”
“Always your muscle,” Mason says as he holds out his hand to my neighbor.
“Hunter,” the handsome man says, shaking my cousin’s hand. “You want help getting this out of here?”
“Aw,” Lulu says in a teasing tone, “they’re making friends.”
“Shut it,” Mason says to her before he responds to Hunter. “That would be great.”
“We’re decorating it tonight if you’d like to join us for a few drinks and maybe some laughs too,” Lulu adds.
I glare at my sister as the doors to the elevator open on our floor. I can’t believe she just invited him over. They’re not helping me decorate. They never do. Lulu’s too much of a perfectionist, and Mason has other plans—he always does.
“What are you doing?” I mouth at her with my eyes narrowed.
She waves me off. “We’re starting around seven.”
Hunter hoists the bottom of the tree trunk off the floor. “I can’t tonight. I have to work, but thanks for the invite.”
“Pity,” she whispers as she follows the guys off the elevator, and I’m left there gaping at her audacity.
It shouldn’t shock me, though. She’s always been more outgoing than me, but she’s never tried this hard to find me a man or push one on me.
“Another time, maybe,” Hunter says, barely out of breath as he helps to carry the ungodly large tree I picked out.
“Next year, you’re getting a smaller tree,” Mason says as he stalks down the hallway behind Hunter, with Lulu hot on his heels.
“The space is too big for something smaller,” she tells him. “We tried it once, and it looked ridiculous.”
“Who cares? No one sees it,” he grumbles.
“I do, and I love having a Christmas tree. If I could keep it up all year, I would,” I say, reaching into my pocket to get my keys.
“You could, though. Some people decorate it for every season,” Lulu tells me. “But you’d need a fake tree.”
“I like the sound of that,” Mason says.
Hunter peers over his shoulder at me, and I nearly trip over my feet again. Damn it. Why is he so handsome? It’s annoying. And if he’s anything like Mason, he knows he is too.
I squeeze around Lulu, Hunter, Mason, and the tree to unlock the door. “You can go once we get inside. I already have the stand set up, but we can get it from here,” I say.
“Sweet,” Mason says behind me.
There’s a thwack followed by, “Not you, dumbass,” from Lulu.
“I’ll help get it upright before I go,” Hunter says as I open the door and step aside, giving them as much room as possible to get the branches through my narrow doorframe without damaging anything.
Lulu’s at my side as Mason and Hunter wrangle the tree, getting it into the stand much easier than Lulu and I have been able to in the past.
“He’s perfect for you,” she whispers.
“Why? Because he’s cute and his ass looks good in jeans?”
“I mean, there’s nothing wrong with those two things. They’re bonus points, for sure.”
“That doesn’t mean he’d make great boyfriend material,” I argue.
“It’s a starting point.”
“Your bar is far too low,” I tell her.
“You need to have a bar, a jumping-off point, or you’re going to be alone forever.”
“I’m okay with that.”
Her shoulders instantly sag forward. “I don’t want you to be alone forever. I want our kids to be around the same age, and I’ve already had one. You’re falling too far behind.”
“Do you talk to Mason like this?”
Lulu rolls her eyes. “No.”
“How’s this?” Mason asks, standing near the tree, giving it a look like he grew the damn thing himself.
“It’s perfect,” I tell him and step away from my sister and her guilt trip. “Thank you both so much for doing this for me.”
“Did I even have a choice?” Mason asks.
“A you’re welcome isn’t too hard,” Lulu says to him.
“Thanks,” I say to Hunter and ignore Mason, feeling the awkwardness of the energy between us but knowing we have an audience.
“Anytime. I’m right next door if you need anything else,” Hunter says to me.
It seems like he wants to say more, but he doesn’t. He moves toward the door, and I follow him, feeling my sister’s and cousin’s eyes on my back.
“Thanks again,” I say as he reaches for the doorknob.
“Sure,” he says and smiles at me.
My insides liquefy immediately. It’s been a long time since a man and a simple smile have had that effect on me. I lift my hand and wave, momentarily dumbstruck and terrified at the same time.
Once the door clicks closed and I turn back around to face my cousin and sister, they’re staring at me with eyebrows raised.
“Him?” Mason asks.
“Him,” Lulu answers. “He’s perfect.”
“Perfect?” Mason winces. “Hardly.”
“Look at how pink her cheeks are. She’s smitten.”
“He looks like an angry lumberjack,” Mason says.
“Exactly,” Lulu replies.
I clear my throat, finding my sanity again. “He’s my neighbor.”
“Easier access,” Lulu says to me with a smirk.
“I slept with my neighbor once. Worst mistake of my life.” Mason shakes his head before scrubbing his hand back and forth through his hair. “Don’t do it. Learn from me.”
I love my cousin, but there are no life lessons he can teach me. The man fumbles through everything and usually lets the wrong part of his body make his decisions.
“I don’t plan on doing it,” I tell him. “I’m not interested in dating anyone right now.”
“Who said anything about dating?” he asks.
Lulu grabs her phone out of her jacket pocket and stares at the screen. “I have to run. Oliver sent a SOS. Harlow blew out her diaper again. That girl is literally full of shit.”
Mason grimaces like he’s never heard anything so gross in his life. “I never want kids, man.”
“It’s not so gross when it’s your own kid,” Lulu tells him.
“I’ll never believe that,” I say.
Mason chuckles. “She can serve that lie all day, and I’ll never believe it either.”
Lulu hugs me and then Mason before she pulls on her gloves and heads out the door.
I turn to my cousin, hoping he’ll stick around for a bit. “I’ll make you dinner if you want to help me decorate.”
He stares at me for a minute. I know he’d rather have his fingernails torn out than decorate a Christmas tree, but I also know he loves to eat and he has an affinity for my cooking.
He draws in a deep breath like he’s working through pain along with the answer. “I’ll put the topper on.”
I stare back at him, knowing I don’t want to haul the ladder out to get to the top. His height is useful for that, and in all honesty, he’s awful at decorating everything, and that includes the tree.
“You have a deal, but you have to prep the food.”
“Do I have to do the dishes?” he asks.
I shake my head. “No.”
“You’re the best cousin ever.”
“Don’t let Lulu hear you say that.”
He chuckles. “I say the same thing to her.”
“We know. Trust me. We know.”
He does a good job of making us both feel like we’re the most important cousin to him. It’s never been a competition, but Mason’s male gene needs to make everything a game with a clear winner.
In an hour, we’re sitting at my kitchen island with a plate of steak, homemade mashed potatoes, and sauteed zucchini. The tree topper is on and working, and all that’s left to do is everything else. I’ll be here all night, but it’ll be worth it when it’s done.
“Dating anyone?” I ask him between bites of steak.
“No. I was digging this one chick, but I found out I was one of many dudes in her arsenal.”
“How did that feel?” I ask him, knowing damn well he’s treated women the same way for years and never gave it much thought.
“I hated it. I’m over casual. I want something real and deep.”
“Maybe try not to sleep with them right away,” I tell him. “Get to know each other first. Build a base on something other than sex.”
The man looks pained at my words. “I don’t know if I can do that,” he admits.
“You can. Maybe if you meet the right one, it’ll be easier than you think. Maybe your priorities will shift.”
He leans back in the chair and sets his fork down on the side of his plate. “My priorities have already shifted. I didn’t need to be abstinent for that to happen.”
I jab my fork into a piece of steak and wave it in his direction. “When you stop letting your dick guide you, you’ll find what you’re looking for.”
Mason gazes down at his lap. “He needs to be happy first. If he ain’t into her, I’m not into her.”
“Most of the time, he’s going to guide you the wrong way. You want instant gratification or something lasting?”
“Both is preferable. So, the neighbor?”
“Don’t you start too,” I tell him, narrowing my eyes. “What does my dad always say? Don’t shit where you eat.”
“Who’s talking about shitting? And that saying is disgusting.” He blanches. “It’s been a while since you’ve dated someone. I’ve noticed, which means it’s been too long.”
I stare at him. “I’m on a break. I was focusing on finishing school, and now, with my new job…I don’t have a lot of time to devote to someone else.”
“Bullshit,” he coughs. “I get it, though. Men are trash.”
“Not all men,” I tell him, but besides the ones in my family, I’m not sure I believe my statement. “But trusting isn’t easy for me since…”
“I know, cous,” he says with a sad smile. “Someday someone will earn your trust again.”
I want to believe him, but I’m not sure about that. It feels like an impossible hurdle that, no matter how many times I try, I’m not sure I’ll ever get over again.