Chapter 3 David
Chapter Three
David
I don’t know if I like being called Hot Stranger.
But I do like that this particular little stranger thinks I’m hot.
I wasn’t exactly expected here. Hell, I didn’t even give Nathan much warning. But we go back far enough that I’m betting he won’t mind a pop-up visit.
We’re friends.
Kinda.
Either way, that was the plan.
Until her.
Because one glimpse of this curvy little siren in her cotton panties has my brain going in directions it definitely shouldn’t—and now I’m wondering if this trip just got a hell of a lot more interesting than I planned.
She’s unreal.
Like a girl from a fantasy I never knew I had.
Soft in all the right places, full where it counts, and completely unaware of the effect she’s having on me.
Her hair is cut short, just to her chin, but the style doesn’t stand a chance against those wild curls.
They’ve got a mind of their own—loose, springy, with reddish highlights catching the sunlight like they were made for it.
I have a sudden, ridiculous urge to touch them.
Just to see if they’re as soft as they look.
Her eyes snap back to mine—hazel, bright, wide like she’s trying to figure me out—and for a second, everything else fades out.
Jesus.
She’s pretty.
Really pretty.
Not fake or camouflaged.
Not staged.
It’s like she has this quality that is simply her.
Real. Innocent. Sweet. And sassy, all in one super combination.
The kind of pretty that hits you out of nowhere and sticks.
Her lips part slightly, like she’s debating something—whether to trust me, maybe. Whether to tell me to get lost.
Honestly? She probably should.
Most women I know would’ve already told me to fuck off for getting this close.
But I don’t want that.
I don’t want her pushing me away.
I want her
I mean, I really want her.
I don’t have to grab my dick to know that I’m hard and ready. The realization lands hard and fast, sharper than anything I’ve felt in a long time.
And it’s—definitely new.
Clean.
Electric.
I can’t remember the last time I reacted to someone like this.
No pretense. No expectation. Just instinct.
Fuck.
Who is this woman?
“By the way, my name is David,” I tell her, because standing here staring at her like an idiot probably isn’t helping my case.
“David,” she repeats.
And I don’t know why, but I like the way it sounds coming from her.
Softer. Warmer. Like it might mean something.
And that is something I find irresistible.
“That’s right,” I say, dragging my attention—reluctantly—down to the oversized package still half inside her trunk. “You, uh, need help with that, linda?”
She bites her bottom lip, glancing back at it.
It’s big. Heavy. Wrapped in crinkled cellophane with a bright yellow bow that practically screams sunshine.
Like her.
So this is Hammonton, New Jersey?
Oh yeah. I definitely came to the right place.
I don’t wait for her answer as we stand beside her big SUV.
I just reach in, grab the present, and haul it out of the trunk before she can protest.
It’s heavier than it looks.
“Jesus,” I mutter under my breath, adjusting my grip as the cellophane crinkles loud enough to announce our presence to half the neighborhood.
She huffs out a laugh.
“Yeah. I may have gone a little overboard.”
“A little?” I shoot her a look. “You building the kid a library or a bookstore?”
Her grin flashes—quick, bright, a little proud.
“Don’t tempt me.”
I like that.
I like her.
And just like that, warning bells go off inside my head.
Too much, too fast.
We start up the walkway together, gravel crunching underfoot, the warm Jersey air settling around us like it’s in no rush to go anywhere.
The house comes into full view, and I slow just slightly as I take it in.
String lights.
Cars lining the street.
A yellow and white balloon arch covers the walkway.
Voices, laughter, and music drift out from somewhere inside.
It’s a party.
And I frown.
Then it hits me.
“Oh, shit.”
She glances at me. “What?”
I shake my head, but my eyes are fixed on the house.
Nathan.
“It’s a baby shower,” I murmur.
“Yeah. Aren’t you here for it?”
“Um, no. I just thought I’d pop in on a friend.”
“Oh, you must know Nathan then?”
“Yeah. From work,” I say, leaving it at that.
She clearly doesn’t recognize me. And while it might sting my ego a bit—ultimately, that’s okay.
A lot of people don’t recognize me without the shades and a big ass DJ booth set up around me.
“His wife, Adrianna, is one of my best friends,” she explains, and the smile that follows is genuine.
I can’t believe it.
My boy Nathan Thorn—the same guy who used to close down clubs with me at four in the morning, who lived on adrenaline and bad decisions—is inside that house, celebrating a new baby.
The realization lands like a sucker punch to the gut.
Guys like us don’t do this.
We don’t get this.
Not the house. Not the lights. Not the family.
We burn too hot.
Move too fast.
Leave too much wreckage behind.
And yet—here he is.
Living the dream.
And me?
I feel like a damn outsider.
Like a beggar staring through a window at something I didn’t even know I wanted until it was right in front of me.
My grip tightens on the box.
This wasn’t part of the plan.
But then—she brushes past me slightly as we reach the steps, her shoulder grazing my arm, and just like that, the noise in my head quiets.
Hilary.
Linda.
Sunshine.
Whatever the hell I’m supposed to call her.
Walking beside her—easy, natural, like it’s nothing—makes something shift.
Like maybe life isn’t as far out of reach as I’ve been telling myself.
Which is insane.
Because I don’t know her.
She sure as shit doesn’t know me.
And she definitely doesn’t belong anywhere near the world I came from.
Dragging her into that?
Yeah. Not happening.
So while she might be cute—and curvy—and completely fucking distracting.
She’s not for me.
“Yeah,” I mutter under my breath. “Keep telling yourself that.”
My inner voice sounds a lot less convinced than I do.
“What?” she asks.
“Nothing, Sunshine. Sorry,” I murmur.
We stop at the front door.
She turns, giving me a quick smile—soft, a little breathless from carrying the other bags—and then lifts her hand to knock.
I shift beside her, box still in my arms, pulse doing something I don’t quite recognize.
And for the first time in a long time, I wait.