Tempting Andrea (Rebel Renegades #5)

Chapter 1

“Oh yeah, get that box.”

Andrea rolled her eyes as she stood on her front porch with her neighbor, Mrs. Krantz, who lived to the right of her. The woman was currently eye ogling the new neighbor moving in. She was acting more like a horny teenage boy than a woman who was well into her eighties.

She had come over to Andrea’s house twenty minutes ago when a moving van showed up, and a man in his mid-thirties, by the look of it, got busy unloading the van.

He was working in a plain white tank top and grey shorts.

His muscles bulged as he bent down to lift a box from the ground, and his shorts hugged his well-formed ass.

Sweat glistened down his arms. The Florida heat was stifling already in the morning. The rain would come in the afternoon for a few minutes, but for now it was hot and muggy.

“Andrea, you should go over and introduce yourself. Or better yet, offer a hand.” She elbowed Andrea in the ribs and gave a wink.

“No thank you,” Andrea replied coolly while rubbing the now tender spot on her side.

The man was handsome-looking, Andrea wasn’t blind, but the guy looked like a playboy.

A heartbreaker. Not a care in the world.

He had trouble written all over him. That wasn’t the kind of man she wanted in her life—not that she wanted one anyway.

“You never get out, dear. You’re so young and beautiful. I hate seeing you waste your life away.” Mrs. Krantz tsked her.

“I’m not wasting my life. I don’t need a man in my life to complete me,” Andrea responded, feeling defensive.

Why did people think you needed a partner to be complete?

She was just happy being alone. Well, content.

She didn’t have anyone to answer to or argue with.

Her life was quiet and simple. A partner complicated things.

“You don’t even have a pet. You have no one.”

Andrea knew she was alone in the world. She didn’t need her neighbor to point it out to her, but it didn’t bother her as it would most people. She had always been alone in life. “I work a crazy schedule. It wouldn’t be fair to a pet.”

“You’re a waitress at a bar; it’s not like you’re a stockbroker.” Mrs. Krantz waved her off.

That didn’t make her job any less important. “Maybe not, but all the money is made at night. Not ideal hours for a pet.”

“Good morning, ladies.” They both turned to see the new neighbor had stopped working and come over to them. He stood on the top step in front of her porch. Even a step down from her, he was taller than her.

Andrea was five foot seven. This man had to be well over six feet. He had sandy blond hair and an ugly-looking scar running up the side of his face, but it in no way diminished from his good looks.

His mouth was pulled into a wide grin as he removed his sunglasses. Aqua blue eyes that looked like the sea stared at her. Andrea felt a shiver steal down her spine. No man had ever looked at her like that before.

It wasn’t predatory but single-focus-minded, as if she was the only thing in the world. It was unnerving.

“Oh, hello.” Mrs. Krantz appeared flushed.

“I’ve just moved into the neighborhood and saw you two beautiful ladies standing here, and I thought I would introduce myself. I’m Michael Cawley.” He held his hand out for Mrs. Krantz to shake first. “I just moved in across the street.”

“Yes, we noticed. That was Mr. Stone’s house.

Dear man, he lived there forty years before he passed.

I’m Maya Krantz. I live here just next door.

” She pointed to the right before she took his hand and stepped closer while dropping her voice an octave to say, “And may I say, welcome to the neighborhood.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Krantz.” He smiled warmly before his gaze slid to Andrea. “And you are?”

“Andrea Burns,” she replied flatly. Andrea would not be a simpering woman like Mrs. Krantz.

Michael stepped up on the porch and toward her, forcing her to tilt her head back to look at him. He reached out his hand and took hers into his, forcing her to shake it. His palm was rough and scratchy. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” His voice rumbled like a purr.

Andrea extracted her hand and rubbed it on her shorts to wipe away the sweat. “What brings you to our city, Michael?” Andrea asked, not impressed by him in the least. His smile looked practiced. He knew the effect he had on most women—case in point, Mrs. Krantz—but Andrea wasn’t so easily fooled.

“Work, I got a job offer I couldn’t refuse.”

“Oh, and what do you do?” Mrs. Krantz asked.

“I’m an IT supervisor.”

“Funny, you don’t look like an IT rep.” Andrea gave him a once-over.

He looked more like a bodyguard or something equal to requiring brute strength.

His hand had been rough from callouses. Something she wouldn’t expect from a computer guy.

The scar on his face didn’t look like a computer accident either, but she wasn’t rude enough to ask about it.

“Thank you. I like to keep in shape.” He flexed his biceps, nearly causing Mrs. Krantz to swoon. He was going to have to dial that kind of stuff down before he gave her a heart attack.

“You look more like a contractor than a businessman.” Mrs. Krantz’s eyes scanned over him as if he were a banquet feast to a starved person.

“I’m pretty good with my hands. If there’s anything you need done around the house, I’d be more than happy to assist.” He leaned his head toward her and whispered softly, “I can even mow your lawn.” Micheal winked at Andrea.

“I can mow my own lawn, thank you.” Andrea didn’t need any of his help. She was used to doing things for herself.

“Well, I’d love the assistance,” Mrs. Krantz cooed, making Andrea want to puke. As if the woman had a chance in hell with this man. But who knew, maybe Michael didn’t have standards…as long as it had a pulse.

“Well, just let me know when you need help. I work from home quite a bit.”

It must be rough not to have to leave your home for work.

“Thank you, Michael. That’s so kind of you to offer.” Mrs. Krantz was piling on the sweet so thick it was making Andrea’s teeth ache.

“Well, I should get back to it. Have a nice day, ladies.” Michael nodded at both of them, his gaze lingering on Andrea before turning around and heading back toward his house.

“Oh, Michael,” Mrs. Krantz called out. Michael stopped in his tracks and half turned back. “Since this is your first night, and I’m sure you won’t get to finish unpacking, why don’t you come over tonight for dinner?”

Andrea whipped her head to the side and stared at Mrs. Krantz in shock. Never in the years she had known Mrs. Krantz had she seen the woman so openly flirtatious with a man.

“Thank you, Mrs. Krantz. I accept your kind offer. Is there anything I can bring?”

“Just yourself, dear. Say six o’clock, if that gives you enough time?”

“Plenty, thank you again for the offer,” he replied before jogging across the street and resuming unloading the van.

“Really?” Andrea asked Mrs. Krantz.

“What?” Mrs. Krantz blinked, feigning innocence.

“Inviting him to dinner?”

“And why not?” Mrs. Krantz looked miffed. “He’s new, and it’s polite to offer.”

Andrea had no doubt there was something else the woman was willing to offer if it was on the table, or any surface for that matter. Andrea didn’t recall being offered dinner when she moved in.

“I’m doing this for you.”

Andrea shook her head, sure she was hearing things. “How is having dinner with him for me?”

“Because that way I can get to know him and sing your praises.”

“Mrs. Krantz, that’s kind of you—”

“Think nothing of it.” Mrs. Krantz waved her hand in the air. “Now I have to run. I have to go to the store to get dinner makings. I’ll give you a full report tomorrow.” She waved over her shoulder as she hastened as quickly as her body would allow her back to her house.

Andrea stood on her porch a moment longer, her gaze falling on Michael.

For a man moving in, he had a lot of boxes but no furniture.

Michael seemed to sense her gaze on him and glanced over at her.

She could see his white, glistening teeth from across the street.

He lifted a hand from the box he was carrying and waved at her.

Andrea rolled her eyes and headed back inside. The less interaction she had with Michael Cawley, the better.