Prologue

Prologue

Cherry

“My new neighbor just pulled in.” I’m on the phone with my best friend, Montana, as I peer through the slats of my blinds, waiting for the driver to hop out of the moving truck below. “I’m hoping for an older lady or someone single. And quiet.”

“ You’re an old lady,” Montana replies with a chuckle. “And you’re not even thirty yet. You need to learn to live a little.”

“I work super early in the morning,” I remind her. “And the last people watched old western movies late into the night. It was either that, or there were shoot-outs next door. Either way, it wasn’t fun.”

“I’m hoping it’s someone hot ,” Montana replies. “A hot man who’s going to come in there and sweep you off your feet and remind you what it’s like to be young and spontaneous.”

“Was I ever young and spontaneous?”

“It’s not too late to start now. Hey, I’ve got some customers. I’d better go. Keep me posted.”

“Will do. Save some of that huckleberry ice cream for me.”

As I set my phone aside, the moving truck’s door opens, and I hold my breath, waiting.

“What is taking so long?” I mutter. “Step out, damn it. Show yourself.”

It’s hot today, which is unusual for Huckleberry Bay. Being a seaside town, we get a lot of ocean breeze, but the air is still today, and the sun is blazing.

I’m almost sticky.

I could turn on the air-conditioning, but I’m cheap as hell.

Finally, I see a sneaker-clad foot sticking out of the truck, then blue jeans appear.

And then…I sigh as I see that Montana got her wish.

He’s sexy as hell and just upped the temperature in here by ten degrees, making me rethink the air-conditioning situation. I can’t help but notice he has no ring on his finger.

And he fills out a white T-shirt nicely with muscled arms and a chest that begs for a woman’s hands.

He has sunglasses on, aviators at that, so I can’t see his eyes. But his hair is brown, and it’s messy, like he’s been running his hands through it in agitation.

“Shit. He’s hot. Am I going to have to listen to him have sex all the time? I mean, looking like that, he must have women falling at his feet. Or, he’s attached.”

Scowling, I blow out a breath and step back from the blinds, deciding to go down and introduce myself.

I might as well see what I’m getting into with the new neighbor.

Slipping my feet into my old, pink flip-flops, I walk down the stairs to the parking lot and catch Mr. Sexypants as he opens the back of the truck.

“Hey.”

He glances at me in surprise and then slowly pulls his glasses down his nose and looks me up and down, a smile spreading over his face.

He’s not hot.

He’s devastating .

“Hi,” he says in reply.

“Are you moving into 2F?”

“That’s me.” He leans back on the truck and folds his arms over his chest. “Am I lucky enough to have you as a neighbor?”

“Yeah. I’m 2D, across from you. I tried to buy your unit so I’d have the ocean view, but your offer came in higher than mine.”

The smile doesn’t waver.

“I can’t say I’m sorry.”

“At least you’re honest. What’s your name?”

“Zeke. What’s yours?”

“Cherry.”

That makes his eyebrows climb. “Your name is Cherry ?”

“And yours is Zeke .”

“Touché.”

“I’d ask if I can help with anything, but I don’t want to.”

That makes him laugh. “Can’t say I blame you. I don’t want to, either. I have some friends coming to help in a little while. I thought I’d get the lay of the land before they got here. Feel like giving me a tour?”

“Have you never been here before?”

He shakes his head and walks toward me, which makes me take a step back. “I’ve been to Huck Bay, but no, I bought the place sight unseen. But I saw pictures online.”

“First of all, it’s Huckleberry Bay. No one calls it Huck. And second, you bought a whole house without ever stepping inside of it?”

“To be fair, it’s a condo.” He winks at me, and it immediately puts my back up, mostly because I’m still irritated that he bought this place out from under me. I don’t want him to be flirty. “And I’ve been across the country for work and couldn’t get out here to look. My realtor, Indigo, told me I should move on it because there was another offer on the place.”

“Yeah.” I glare at him. I can’t help it. “ Mine .”

“Oops. Come on, how about that tour?”

Begrudgingly, after kicking at some rocks, I follow behind him, climbing the stairs. Zeke has a great ass, nicely displayed in those jeans. It’s a pity I already don’t like him.

“Your unit is there,” I say, pointing to my right before turning to my unit just across from his. “I’m there. Goodbye.”

“Whoa. That’s not very neighborly.”

“You don’t need me to show you anything.”

“But I want you to,” he says and gestures with that chiseled chin for me to follow him inside. “Come on. Let’s have a look.”

“How do I know you’re not some kind of serial rapist, and this is how you lure women into your den to have your way with them?”

That makes him stop, and he seems to consider. “I guess you don’t know that for sure. But for the record, I’m not.”

With another sexy wink, he walks inside his condo, leaving the door open so I can enter.

“Damn it.” I can’t help but follow him in. I love this unit. When I bought my place several years ago, it was the only unit available, and I made myself a promise that when an ocean-view condo opened up, I’d snatch it up for myself.

But that didn’t happen.

“This kitchen is real nice,” Zeke says when he sees that I’ve followed him inside, a satisfied grin on his ridiculously handsome face. “Better than the pictures. And look at this. There’s a view of the water from every room. How killer is that?”

“Yeah.” I lean against the counter as Zeke walks through the rest of the two-bedroom condo, letting my resentment simmer in the back of my throat. “I know. Killer.”

I shouldn’t have come over here. It only makes me sad and wish with all my might that I’d taken that third job so I could afford to bid higher on this place. Maybe even a fourth job.

But I just couldn’t make it work. There are only so many hours in a day, and as much as I hate to admit it, a girl has to sleep.

Plus, the price of these units is only going up. Condos are scarce in this town—especially oceanside ones. And, much to my dismay, Huckleberry Bay has become the tourist mecca of the west coast, so these units get snatched up by those who want to offer them as short-term rentals.

Thankfully, our homeowners’ association put a stop to that last year.

“I definitely didn’t go wrong with this purchase,” Zeke says as he walks out of the main bedroom. “What do I need to know?”

“About what?”

“The complex. The neighborhood. Hell, Huckleberry Bay in general if you feel like sharing.”

“It’s awful. The whole town is the armpit of America. Crime is super high. There are a lot of fights and yelling. And animal sacrifices.”

“Right.” He’s still smiling, and now I want to both hug and smack him. “You’re trying to scare me off, but it won’t work.”

“Too bad for me, isn’t it? Where did you move here from?”

“All over the place. Came because I’m opening a new business with my buddy, Wolfe.”

“The garage?” I feel my eyebrows climb in surprise. I don’t know Wolfe well, but I know he’s going to turn the old garage in town into a really great new business. One that we all need desperately, so we don’t have to drive more than an hour away for vehicle repairs.

If he’s going into business with Wolfe, Zeke must be a smart man.

“You’ve already heard about it?”

“Of course. It’s a small town. Well, good luck with the new business and everything. I’m sure it’ll be great. You don’t happen to like loud music, do you?”

“The louder, the better.”

“Great. Just great.”