“I remember. Carly took forever to do her hair.”
Mom laughs and pulls her keys from her pocket. I roll down the windows as soon as I’m in the car, choking from the hot summer air. It doesn’t take long before the air conditioner starts blowing out cool air, at least.
“Oh wow,” I say about ten minutes later when we pull into the new development. “This is huge.”
“It’s really taken off over the last few years. It’s nice, rather upscale houses too. You-know-who’s father developed this.”
“Mom, you can say Owen’s name. He’s not Voldemort.”
Mom looks at me sideways. “All right.”
Carly’s lot was one of the last left in the neighborhood and butts up to a pond with a fountain in the center. The houses are cookie-cutter without being too similar, and almost every lawn is neatly landscaped. This place looks perfect for my sister and her family.
“Hi, Aunt Charlie!” Libby comes running over to me as soon as I’m out of the car. She’s four and is the spitting image of Carly. I pick her up and kiss the top of her head.
“Hey, kiddo! Are you excited to have your house go in here? I’m excited for it!” I flash a big smile, remembering Carly tell me that Libby is scared of moving. “I bet your new room is going to be perfectly pink, right?”
“Yes, with princesses!”
“Mine is going to be green,” Matt says. He’s two years older than his sister and is all about the jungle and dinosaurs right now.
“Oh my gosh, it’s going to be so cool!” I set Libby down. That kid is surprisingly heavy for her size. “And what about baby Jack?”
“Mickey Mouse!” Libby says, raising her hands up over her head. “He’s just a baby, though.”
“Mickey Mouse is always a good choice.” I take her hand and follow Carly through the empty lot. She takes photos of the orange flags and sends them to her husband. Libby wants to walk down the street and look at the geese by the water’s edge. I go with her, but stop before we even make it two houses down.
Because of all the people in this town for me to run into—again—it’s Owen fucking Dawson. And this time, he’s shirtless and sweaty and pushing a lawnmower. I remember my dream from yesterday and hate the rush of heat that goes through me.
His kisses probably aren’t that good anymore. And I bet he’s slept with so many people he’s gotten lazy in bed. Which makes sense, don’t tell me otherwise.
Hoping we can hightail it down the sidewalk before he sees us, I wait a beat before starting forward again, watching him turn the lawnmower around and head away from the street.
But, dammit, he sees me and stops mowing.
“Charlie,” he says and my name floats off his tongue like velvet. “Are you stalking me?”
“You wish,” I spit back, keeping a hold on Libby’s hand.
“Then what are you doing here?”
“My sister bought the lot a few houses down. She wanted to show me.”
Owen nods. “I didn’t know we were going to be neighbors.”
“You live here?” I don’t mean to sound as surprised as I do. My eyes go to the house in front of us, thinking this place is better suited for a family of five like my sister’s, not Owen.
“What, did you think I was just here mowing lawns or something?”
“No, it’s just not…not what I expected.”
He gets that irritatingly sexy cocky smirk on his face again. Fuck, I want to slap it right off. “So you expected things from me. Does that mean you’ve been thinking about me?”
“No,” I say pointedly. “Not at all.”
“Who is that?” Libby whispers.
“That’s Owen,” I tell her. “An old friend.”
“We were much more than—” Owen cuts off when I glare daggers at him. “I’m Owen,” he says to Libby and offers his hand to shake.
“You’re all sweaty.” She recoils and I laugh.
“I am. It’s hot out. Are you excited to move in here?”
Libby wrinkles her nose. “Yeah, but I’m sad to leave my old house. Heidi lived across the street and we played.”
Owen crouches down to Libby’s level and points to a house down the road. “Two little girls live there, and I know there are a handful of other kids about your age here. I see them up and down the street on their bikes all the time. Actually, the girl who lives right next to me just got one of those princess Power Wheel cars. It looks like it can seat two and she never has anyone to ride with her.”
Libby’s face lights up and I’m hating Owen more and more. Not only is he amazing with his own niece and nephew, he just made my own niece’s day.
“Well,” I say, tugging Libby forward. A bead of sweat rolls down Owen’s chest and slowly makes its way over the ridges of his abs. He was in good shape when we were together, but he’s in even better shape now. “We were going to see the geese.”