2. Samuel ‘Sam’ Miranda
SAMUEL ‘SAM’ MIRANDA
My lips twitched at the sound that echoed through the cottage walls as the curtains danced, swaying back and forth.
She might not be stealthy with the way she’d been watching me these last few weeks, but my sexy neighbor was fucking adorable.
To be fair, she hadn’t been expecting me.
I knocked on the door, and a cute little squeak sounded again along with some muffled words I couldn’t really make out.
My sweet little bunny wanted to run away, and honestly, at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if she decided to pretend she wasn’t home despite us making eye contact.
And goddamn, that split second of having those bright blue eyes on me was like staring at the sun.
Bright and beautiful. Almost otherworldly. Like a damn angel roaming around with us mere mortals. Get that shit out of your head, Sam, the reasonable, boring son of a bitch that lived inside of me muttered in my head. You’re just going to introduce yourself to your neighbor.
That was it.
Nothing more.
You don’t date, and you sure as hell don’t shit where you eat. Hitting on your new neighbor would be a disaster.
It wasn’t like I was the kind of man to settle down.
Maybe once upon a time, that had been a dream, but two years ago, after turning thirty-eight, I had given up on that.
And I was okay with it. I’d helped my mom raise my sisters after my dad had passed away, and in a couple of years, I was almost positive my little sisters would couple off and give me more than enough nieces and nephews to spoil one day.
I knocked again before slipping my hands into the front pockets of my gym shorts.
Her eyes flashed in my mind’s eye, and I licked my lips.
Bright blue, round eyes with a story I wanted to know.
The reminder of the glimpses of her curvy body or the smile I’d seen as she spoke to Lila from down the street flashed in my head and made something inside of me warm up with a feeling I wasn’t used to.
Maybe Kane was right about me getting back out in the dating world?
After my last relationship, I hadn’t really tried again.
The idea of dating was tiring. The whole learning about someone, seeing if you’re compatible, and hoping they’re not just saying things you want to hear was fucking exhausting.
Especially when I was a man who liked certain things.
Certain control.
I cleared my throat and shook away the thoughts of the dark shit I was into.
This was not the time to get fucking hard, especially while wearing gym clothes.
My compression shorts would only hold back so much.
Plus, in a small town like the one I lived in, there weren’t many who were into the same things I was into.
The last time I’d brought that up with a partner, they hadn’t looked at me the same after.
Maybe not dating. Dating was too much and had too many strings. But a hookup? A one-night stand or a fling? A scratch to take care of the itch. Something to make me a little less touch-deprived.
The problem was that Forge Creek was a small town and it wasn’t like we had a bunch of tourists coming and going.
Hooking up with someone local would be horrible.
Rumors and everyone in your business? No thanks.
I’d been born and raised in Forge Creek.
I’d been there and done that when I was younger. That wasn’t for me.
Maybe my sisters had the right idea when it came to dating?
Running off to big cities like Denver or Aspen once every month or so, where you could hide and blend in the throngs of people and no one would be the wiser?
Though I didn’t really want to think about my little sisters hooking up with some faceless person.
I sighed and was just about to head back to my truck, when the doorknob turned.
The brightly painted yellow door opened, and the world suddenly stopped flat on its ass.
I’d known my new neighbor was pretty. I’d stolen enough glimpses of her since she hit my curb with her U-Haul truck when she moved in to get the gist that she was attractive.
But that paled in comparison to standing face to face with her.
Silky smooth, thick blonde hair that’d been tossed up into a high ponytail.
Wide bright blue eyes, a blue I hadn’t known even existed outside of tropical island waters.
Peaches-and-cream skin that looked so smooth, so soft, it made my hands ache to touch.
A round face with a light smattering of tiny, itty-bitty freckles that were perfectly sprinkled over the bridge of her nose and the apples of her pink-tinged cheeks.
Pouty, full lips with the most perfect bow on top that made me yearn to pull it between my lips and pull it until she moaned against my mouth.
My eyes skated down her body, taking in her womanly curves before meeting her eyes again.
“Hi,” she whispered softly. I swallowed. Hard.
Because suddenly, it felt like I’d fucking gone cliff diving so deep into the ocean I wasn’t sure what way was up. She cleared her throat, and a pretty, blonde brow rose higher. Jesus, you’re making an ass out of yourself! I reminded myself. Say something!
“Ha-hi. Hello,” I choked out, quickly clearing my too-scratchy throat. “Umm…” I rubbed the back of my neck and didn’t miss the way her eyes darted to my forearms and biceps. “I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Sam, Sam Miranda. I live right across the street.”
“Right.” She pressed her lips together. I couldn’t tell if it was because she wanted to smile or because she thought I was a moron.
Probably the latter, idiot. I wasn’t going to overthink why I wanted to be able to read all her tells. Liar, the lovesick fool inside of me muttered.
“I probably should have come by sooner. I think we kept missing one another.” Shit, did that sound creepy? Would she know I’d been keeping an eye out when she went on her runs or was gardening in the front yard?
“Yeah, sorry about that.” She bit her lip, and if I wasn’t mistaken, she started to blush.
Interesting. “I should have come over, too. I’m Avery.
” She extended her hand, and when I took it without thinking, much like I wasn’t prepared to see her face to face for the first time, that first touch was electric.
Like lightning striking inside of a bottle, all I felt was heat and sparks rushing through every inch of my body, almost burning me alive in the best way possible.
“Avery.” I knew her name, of course, but fuck me, hearing it from her mouth made everything in my body tighten.
“Reynolds,” she added, and my lips tipped slightly upward.
“Avery Reynolds, nice to meet you.” I hardly recognized the scratchy depth in my voice as I stroked the top of the hand I still hadn’t let go of, with the pad of my thumb.
Her warm, smooth skin made me want to fall to my knees and beg to let me explore her like a good little girl.
Don’t go there, a little voice, that sane, reliable side of me, muttered.
“Nice to meet you, too, Sam, umm…” Her eyes dropped to our hands, silently noticing we were still touching, but I’d be damned if I was ready to let go.
“How do you like Forge Creek so far?” I blurted out.
I was not by any means a sociable person, not the guy who ever made friends easily.
Not when growing up, I was always too busy being the one who had to step in and help my mom with my three annoying younger sisters..
But goddamn, my brain was working a million miles a minute to figure out what other things I could bring up just to get a couple more minutes of her time.
“What?” She blinked slowly, almost like I was snapping her out of her own thoughts.
“You’re new to town, right?”
“Right.” Electricity still zipped and zapped between us as I stepped a little closer.
That’s when it struck me.
I was staring at the girl I would one day marry.
And just like that, I took my hand back as if she had suddenly burned me. Her eyes widened before two cute little lines formed between her brows with confusion.
“Well, umm…” I licked my suddenly dry lips. “I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself.”
“Okay… thank you.” Her voice sounded melodic in my ears, and as much as part of me wanted to fucking run, the other part wanted to stay and ask her how, out of every city in the world, she found herself in Forge Creek.
“Right, well…” I started to take a step back, and then another when she started to move towards me, and it was too late for me to ask what she was doing, when I lost my balance and tripped down the step of the front porch.
“Shit!” I cursed, and she made a sound that was a cross between a stifled laugh and a squeak of horror. “Well, umm…”
“If you ever need anything, I’m here,” she added kindly, pretending I hadn’t just almost eaten shit right off her front porch.
“Right. Same, umm…” I reached into my pocket and pulled out my wallet.
Without overthinking, I took out one of my business cards and handed it to her.
“Here.” She carefully walked down the steps of the porch and stopped right in front of me.
Avery reached for the card and looked at it as a breeze wafted past us.
The scent of sugared strawberries and honey wafted into my nose, and I stifled a groan.
I was in serious fucking trouble. One little sniff, and I was about to drool like a rabid animal.
“In case I have any heating and cooling needs?” she asked. Her eyes rose to meet mine. Standing so close only reminded me of our size difference. I hovered over her short, curvy stature. The tips of my ears warmed with embarrassment.
“That or anything at all… my cell’s on the back.”
“Oh, thanks. Actually…” she started to say, and I stilled, tempted to close the small space between us and hold her hand again. “Umm…” I blinked and waited, but she shook her head. “Nothing. Never mind.”
“No, what is it?”
“It’s okay. I can Google it. Have a good time, umm… going to the gym?” she guessed, and I nodded.
“Yeah. There is a great place in town.” Geez, did that make me sound like some kind of gym bro?
“Right, well—“
“I was born and raised here.” The words just tumbled out, and she blinked. “I just mean, if you’re looking for something in particular, I know all the ins and outs about Forge Creek and the surrounding areas, so I could help.”
“Oh, it’s nothing super important. I was just going to ask if you knew about an animal shelter or“— she shrugged and blushed adorably—“but I think I should probably start with something easier to make sure I can take care of a living thing… like a plant,” she joked, but I couldn’t get myself to smile along with her.
Not when I was so damn entranced by her.
“Well, if you change your mind about an animal shelter, let me know.”
“Okay.”
“You thinking a cat or dog?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure.” She crossed her arms over her chest, making it close to impossible not to stare at her bountiful breasts. “I’ve never had either.”
“Are you serious? You’ve never had a pet?”
“Nope.” Something flashed in her blue eyes, a hint of sadness I wanted to desperately wipe away.
“Dogs are the best.”
“How did I know you were going to say that?” she teased playfully. Thankfully, the mood had lightened a little.
“Cats are okay. It just depends on the cat. My sister had one who was an asshole. The only time he wanted anything to do with you was to scratch the hell out of you. My other sister had one who was the sweetest.”
“You have sisters?” she asked, her curiosity crystal clear.
“Three younger sisters,” I shared. Something inside of me pulsed heavily. I wanted to tell her everything about my life just so she would share the same.
“Really?” Her head tilted, and I watched her long strands of hair sway.
“Yup. I’m the oldest and the only boy.”
“Oh no,” she giggled. “They must have annoyed you like crazy.” The most adorable dimple popped out just below her lip on her right side.
“Sometimes. Well, a lot of the time,” I admitted, and she laughed. The sound felt like a damn gift. The first of many. The bright smile left on her face felt like a gift, too.
“What about you? Any siblings?” I asked and immediately wanted to take it back. That tinge of sadness I’d seen just moments ago flashed and disappeared just as quickly.
“No,” she responded quietly, and I instantly knew she was going to retreat. “I should get inside,” she said, but her smile didn’t meet her eyes. “I have to start dinner.” It probably wasn’t a full-on lie, but we both knew she was running away.
“Right.” I swallowed. “Right, well, nice to meet you.” Princess, I thought to myself, the nickname on the tip of my tongue.
“Nice to meet you too, Sam.” She waved and turned around, giving me her back.
And like a dumbass, I stood there, feet nailed to the ground as the last bit of sun from the long summer day beat down on me in her front yard, my eyes trained on her body, noting the gentle feminine sway of her hips until she reached her door.
Don’t look back. Don’t look back. The boring, set-in-his-ways side clawed for the control he was losing.
On the other side, the darker, demanding part of me I’d shoved deep down after I had been certain there wouldn’t be anyone with the same kind of interests in the bedroom as I did, climbed his way to the top.
Look back, look back at daddy, baby girl, he whispered in my head, just as she did just that. Her blue eyes widened and that perfect pink tinge returned to her face all the way to the tips of her ears. Good girl, the daddy in me praised silently.
Her hand rose and she waved again, giving me a shy little smile before opening the door and stepping inside.
Leaving me aching for so much more.