Whirlwind (SAI Book 2) (2 page)

“Great. My life has become entertainment for the neighborhood.”

“I should get back to work. I’m going to finish the analysis that I owe the shipping company. Sara is hosting her weekly
Bachelorette
party, and I want to try to make it.”

“What in the hell are you talking about?” Grady groaned.

“On Monday nights, Sara has the ladies over, and they drink wine and watch
The Bachelorette
. Seeing Sara in yoga pants makes the whole thing palatable.” He cracked his neck and then grinned. “The sad fact is that I’ve been sucked in. Now I have to see which dumbass the chick picks. It’s like watching a train wreck; I can’t look away.”

“You may have to turn in your man card.”

Standing, Dane shrugged. “At least it’s not
Dancing with the Stars
. Ben is stuck watching that because Ruby loves it. I count my blessings where I can.”

“And why are you hanging around my eighty-year-old neighbors and the hot girl who lives next door? Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Apparently not.”

Grady watched Dane stroll out of his office and wondered what he was in for. Glancing at the police reports made his head pound. Angelina had let her freak flag fly and showed everyone how stupid he was for dating her. He was never going to be sucked into a woman’s drama again. Next time he went out on a date, he was going to choose someone who was drama-free.

***

Summer in Miami was no joke. Grady stepped out of his front door and noticed that none of the heat had dissipated. Checking his watch, he realized it was close to eight and probably over eighty degrees. The thunderstorm that had just passed through only left more humidity in its wake. His sandals slapped against the wet cement as he walked over to Sara’s house. Approaching her door, he tried to recall what she looked like. He had a vague recollection of a short curvy girl with light brown hair. They had met when she moved in, and he hadn’t really spoken to her since. They waved to one another occasionally, but that was it. For whatever reason, they had never gotten to know one another.

Between his crazy work schedule and his crazy relationship, he never made an effort to hang out with the people on his street. His relationship with Ang had always been volatile, and it took a lot of time and effort to keep it under control. Why was he so easily fooled?

Laughing to himself, he knew why. Angelina was crazy-hot in the sack. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that he’d ignored every sign about what was really going on. Wild, dirty sex did that to a man’s brain. Shut it down and kept it that way. What had been fun in the beginning turned into something that made him feel a little sick by the end. Angelina’s dark side wasn’t something that he could deal with, and it had taken him a while to understand that. When he finally realized, it had been too late. They were entwined and Angelina wasn’t going to let him go. Until he gave her no choice. What a fucking disaster.

After pressing Sara’s doorbell, he waited. The sound of laughter could be heard from inside the house, so the party must’ve already started.

The door swung open, and lust kicked him hard in the gut as he stared into Sara’s bright jade eyes. He didn’t remember his neighbor being so beautiful. Dane was right. She was fucking stunning.

“Grady?” Sara asked.

“Yes.”

“I almost didn’t recognize you. What happened to your big beard?”

Running his hand over his jaw, he laughed. “I was in South America for a month and I decided to trim it. Running around the jungle with a long beard gets a little uncomfortable.”

“Who’s at the door, dear? Is it that handsome Dane?” Agnes called.

Grady watched Sara turn, and his mind would do nothing but repeat over and over,
want, want, want
. Sara was curvy in all the right places and had long hair streaming down her back. Something about the way she moved got to him.
Shit.

“It’s Grady.”

“Let the poor man in. Don’t leave him on the porch,” Gladys said.

Stepping back, she let him enter. “I thought you might be Dane. We’ve corrupted him, and he sometime joins us for our little get-together.”

A woman dressed in a purple animal print caftan slowly moved in their direction. Her hair was the color of carrots and her lipstick matched. “Hi, Agnes. It’s nice to see you,” Grady called out.

“Grady, you have given us more entertainment over the last month than we know what to do with. You couldn’t have timed it better. There wasn’t a lot going on, and your ax-wielding ex gave us terrific excitement. We were sad when they carted her off because we knew it was the end. Good thing
The Bachelorette
starte
d.” 

Gladys got up from the table and tottered over. “I hope you brought that bottle of wine for us. We already drank the first one, and the show hasn’t started yet.”

Grady handed the bottle to Sara. “I figured I owed you at least this much. Dane told me what’s been going on, and I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

Agnes patted his arm. “Nonsense. We enjoyed every single crazy moment of it. I particularly liked when she tried to chop your front door down. I had to turn off my hearing aids, though. The alarm on your house is positively thunderous.”

“I liked when she painted your man-part on the front door. It gave me a lot to think about,” Gladys said, as she took the bottle of wine out of Sara’s hand. “It’s made me think of you in a whole new light.”

Grady noticed Sara glance down at his crotch and then turn away quickly. “I’m sorry it got so crazy. I never would’ve guessed that it would get so bad.” As he stared at the top of Sara’s head, he wondered if she thought about him.

“Let me open this, and then we can watch our show,” Gladys called, as she moved into the kitchen.

“Do you like my new hair?” Agnes asked. “Sara colored it for me the other day. It’s exactly what I was looking for.”

“I’m not a hairdresser, but she talked me into coloring her hair. We had to do it twice. She really wanted
that
color.” Sara winced. “I thought that would be the end of it, but Gladys wants me to color her hair. I don’t know what I’ve gotten myself into. By the end of the week, the ladies in the neighborhood are going to resemble a basket of Easter eggs.”

“At least they’ll be easy to spot,” Grady responded.

“Come over and get your wine,” Gladys called out.

When everyone had a glass, Agnes offered a toast. “Here’s to Grady’s sex life.”

Sara snorted and tried to stifle a laugh but couldn’t. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

Tipping his glass against Sara’s, he winked. “To having understanding neighbors.” A faint smile flitted across her face as she took a sip of wine. Watching her smile made something in his chest feel tight,
and he realized that he didn’t mind the feeling. Not at all. 

“I’m ready to watch the show,” Gladys announced. “Grady, are you joining us?”

Sara took her glass and studied him. “I don’t think Grady’s into reality TV, despite what we’ve seen happening on his front porch.” Sara patted his arm and winked. “This is your chance of escaping. Run while you can.”

He wasn’t going to run anywhere. He was going to plant himself next to Sara on the couch and get to know her. “I’m staying.” His eyes roamed over Sara and he grinned. “You don’t know anything about me. Maybe I like watching TV with my neighbors.”

Snorting, she stared at him. “I’ve lived here for almost a year and I can hear just about everything that happens in your house. There’s some kind of weird echo thing that allows me to hear your life in high-def. Trust me, I know more about you than I ever cared to.”

“Everything?”

Her eyes traveled from his shoes to the top of his head, and she grinned. “Yeah. The whole Angelina thing wasn’t a big shock. In fact, I’m surprised the implosion took as long as it did. I had money on it happening three months ago. Unfortunately, Mr. Konwicki won that pool. I redeemed myself. I totally called the fire. I knew she was going to try to burn something down.”

Sara strolled over and plopped down on the couch. “I didn’t see the ax, though. Completely missed that one.”

“That didn’t surprise me,” Gladys commented. “Not one bit.”

Grady followed Sara and lowered himself next to her. “So, how many people were involved in this betting pool?”

“Not that many. Maybe a dozen,” Agnes replied. “Now, everybody be quiet. Let’s watch the show. I have a feeling our bachelorette is going to kiss every single one of the eligible men tonight. I know I would if I were in her shoes.”

Grady leaned over and spoke quietly to Sara. “Really…you can hear everything?”

“Yep. I completely understand why Angelina didn’t want to let you go. Her voice really carried, and I heard…a lot. You may want to close your windows the next time you bring someone home.”

“Why didn’t you say something? You could’ve given me a heads-up,” he replied.

“I’ve spoken less than a dozen words to you over the last year. I wasn’t about to come over and have that be our first conversation. I figured you knew and didn’t care.”

Agnes shushed them from the other side of the couch. “You two be quiet. I can’t hear anything.”

“Turn up your hearing aid,” Sara called out.

Grady sat back and wondered when his life had started to go down the toilet. Being notorious was never something he thought would happen. And, yet, here it was. The show finally caught his attention when all three ladies sighed and clapped their hands. “What just happened?”

“The one she’s interested in confessed he’s falling for her. They just kissed for the first time,” Sara responded.

“Don’t get too excited,” Gladys said. “She doesn’t end up with him. I checked out the website with all the spoilers, and she doesn’t choose him.”

“Don’t tell us any more. I want to be surprised,” Sara responded.

“You know this is a scripted show. None of this is real,” Grady whispered.

“That kiss he just gave her was about as real as things get. Trust me…I know.”

That was a fairly cryptic comment. He studied her for a moment and remembered what Dane had said about her having a lot on her plate. It was time to get to know his neighbor and see what she was all about. It seemed fair, since she’d been in the front row of the freak show that had been his life for the last several months. Plus, she smelled good. Grinning, he settled back and watched the show. If he’d been a betting man, he would have placed money on Sara not having an ounce of drama in her life. He moved his arm along the back of the couch and looked forward to spending time with the girl next door.

CHAPTER TWO

Tuesday

Sara sat at her table and worked on the latest drawing for her graphic novel. The heroine, Clara, was just about to foil the villain with a laser gun, and Sara was trying to get the facial expression correct. Glancing over at her initial drawings, she tried to determine where she had gone wrong. Clara appeared to be constipated, not confident.

The doorbell echoed through the house, and she wondered if she could ignore it. A series of knocks followed, and she knew whoever it was wasn’t going to give up. Standing, she took one last glance at her drawing and shrugged.
What am I missing?

A deep voice called her name, and a familiar flash of panic ran through her system. Grabbing her phone, she checked the cameras. Everything was okay. It was only Grady. “Coming.”
Breathe in, breathe out. Nothing has happened.
Pressing her hand to her heart, she felt it beating wildly against her ribcage. “It’s all fine,” she muttered to herself.

She disengaged the alarm system, pasted a smile on her face, and opened the door. “What brings you to my doorstep this morning?”

“Donuts.” He held up a big pink box and smiled. “I figured if I started to grovel now, I might actually get somewhere by Christmas.”

“I’ll take the donuts, but there’s no need to grovel. Why would you think that?”

“Because my life has spilled onto your doorstep and your backyard for the last several months. I’m the very definition of a bad neighbor.”

“Most of it has been entertaining. Except toward the end of your relationship. Hearing you and your girlfriend fight just made me sad.” She watched him rub his hand over his face, and her stomach did a slow flip-flop. She stared into a pair of ocean-blue eyes that made her think of lazy afternoons at the beach. Clearing her throat, she tried to come up with something snappy. “Well, thanks for the donuts.” Definitely not snappy. She was about to step back and close the door when he put his hand up and stopped her.

“I thought we could share the donuts. There’s a dozen in there.”

“Oh…all right.” She clutched the box and wondered what he wanted. “I suppose you’d like a cup of coffee to go with them?” She watched his head tip back. Laughter rumbled out of his enormous chest. It was a surprise to see a man who appeared to eat nails for lunch laugh so loud. He was well over six feet tall and enormously built. His chest and arms stretched the shirt he was wearing, and his hands looked like they could crush a man’s skull. Nothing about him suggested he had a sense of humor. Hmm…maybe he was full of surprises. “Come in and I’ll make a fresh pot.”