Three

THREE

Brock

I was pulling on my sweats when my doorbell rang.

I'd just gotten home from work and immediately hopped in the shower. After a long day of dealing with metal and machines, nothing felt better than a hot shower and a relaxing evening at home, especially during the cold winter months.

I yanked my sweatpants on the rest of the way and snatched up a T-shirt as I walked out of my bedroom and descended the stairs without thinking twice about who might be at the door. I wasn't expecting anyone, but I also wasn't even remotely concerned about who I'd find on the other side of the door.

Of course, that was the thought I had when I stood in front of the door and pulled the shirt over my head. The second I put my hand on the handle and opened the door to reveal who was behind it, my body instantly reacted.

Tension coursed through me, and I was caught off guard completely. Because I was staring at the woman I'd been avoiding for the last several days. It was now Thursday, and it was the first time I'd seen Mia since Monday, when I learned about her boyfriend. The mere thought of that guy made my skin crawl. I couldn't allow myself to think about him now, or I'd get pissed all over again.

"Mia?"

"Hi, Brock." Her voice was soft and small, unlike I'd ever heard it before.

"What's going on?" I asked. Though I hadn't intended for it to come out the way it had, I couldn't miss the irritability in my own tone. Not only could I hear it, but I could see the way Mia winced when I spoke.

"I'm sorry to bother you at home after work, but I wanted to stop by and officially apologize," she said softly.

My brows drew together. "For what?"

"What happened on Monday," she murmured.

"I already told you I didn't need an apology for what happened that evening," I reminded her.

"But you're upset about what happened," she reasoned.

Narrowing my eyes, I said, "No, I'm not."

"Are you sure? Because I feel like something changed on Monday," she started. "I mean, I understand it, too. Todd was rude. He never should have acted the way he did. And he's not always like that, but I guess he had a bad day. Anyway, I'm not trying to cover for him or justify his behavior. It was wrong. And I've wanted to properly apologize ever since, but I haven't been able to. Maybe I'm crazy, but I get the distinct feeling you're avoiding me."

I had been avoiding her, but I didn't want to admit that to her. Part of the reason for that is because she'd likely ask why I was avoiding her, and I didn't want to have to share that with her.

The truth was, from the moment I met her, I'd found it difficult not to think about her. Seeing her again on Monday evening, realizing that she was just as pleasant and sweet as she'd been when she came over to introduce herself on Saturday, was nice. And as we stood outside beside our running vehicles and mailboxes, I decided I enjoyed being around her and listening to her talk. So, I thought I'd take advantage of the fact she didn't want to cook and invite her to have dinner with me.

Then he showed up—her asshole boyfriend.

She was here, apologizing to me for the way he treated me, and I was stuck wondering if he ever apologized to her for the way he treated her. I'd just met Mia, and I already knew she was way too good for that guy. He was such a dick to her, and he was unbelievably selfish. I still couldn't believe he stood there demanding she make him a meal when she'd already told him she was exhausted.

In the end, it stung.

It stung that I thought I found a woman who was just what I wanted—talkative, sweet, and gorgeous. I really wanted the opportunity to get to know her better.

Unfortunately, she was already tied to someone else. And because I hated what that meant for me, I'd done everything I could to avoid her. I just hadn't thought she would cotton on to what I was doing.

"What would give you that impression?"

She shrugged. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but like I said, I understand why you'd be upset. Todd wasn't nice, and after how I reacted, I was worried that you believed I wasn't a nice person. I wanted to clear it up, because it bothered me, but I keep missing you. When I was driving down the road from work on Tuesday, I saw you in your driveway. You looked right at my car approaching, but you didn't wait around. I tried not to think too much about it, believing you had other things going on that might have had you rushing. But when I tried to flag you down yesterday morning before you pulled away, you merely waved at me and drove off. And finally, today, I thought I'd try again after work, but you weren't around when I got home. Again, maybe I'm reading too much into it?—"

"You're not."

Mia blinked her eyes in surprise and jerked back, her body going rigid. "What?"

I inhaled deeply and sighed, feeling bad about what I'd done. This whole time, all I could think about was my bruised ego and how much of a dick I thought Mia's boyfriend was to her.

Was I any better? Maybe I wasn't outright awful to her, but I'd purposely avoided her, and she hadn't deserved me reacting the way I had.

"You're not wrong about me avoiding you," I said. "I'm sorry. Things got a bit awkward on Monday, and I handled it poorly."

Her eyes roamed over my face, studying me, as she swallowed hard. "We were off to a great start, and I thought you were a friendly neighbor. I am so embarrassed by how Todd was that night, and I don't want that to have changed your impression of me. I'm not a bitchy person who bought my house as a means to prove I could do it on my own. I merely didn't think it was smart to buy a home with a man I'm not married to, that's all."

Regardless of how uncomfortable this situation might have been for her, Mia marched right over to address it. She didn't allow it to fester and turn into a situation that resulted in us never speaking to one another. I needed to do better.

"You have nothing to worry about, Mia," I said gently. "I don't think anything less of you, simply because he acted the way he did."

"You're sure?" she pressed.

I offered a small smile in return, hoping it reassured her, and promised, "I'm positive. And for what it's worth, I don't think you deciding to purchase your home on your own is about you being a bitchy person. I think it's smart that you did what you had to do to protect yourself financially. I probably shouldn't say anything else beyond that, as it's really a private issue between the two of you."

Mia nodded. "Okay. Fair enough. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me tonight."

"You're welcome. And I'm sorry for how I handled the situation."

She shrugged. "It's understandable."

"That doesn't make it right."

Realizing there wasn't a chance I was going to back down from my position, Mia hesitated a beat before she said, "Well, I'll get out of your hair. Have a good night, Brock."

"You too, Mia."

A moment later, she turned and walked away. Though there was a part of me that wanted to, I didn't step outside and watch her walk back home. Mia wasn't mine, and there was no chance of that ever being the case as long as she was with someone else.

That's why I closed my door and walked away from it.

But I barely took a few steps when I couldn't ignore how wrong it felt. So, I turned and moved to the window, where I looked out to make sure Mia made it safely back to her house.

Then I spent the rest of my evening trying to figure out how I was going to prevent the jealousy and bruised ego from consuming me, so I wouldn't treat Mia badly as a result. By the time I climbed into bed a couple hours later, I hadn't come up with anything.

"Uncle Brock!"

I could have experienced the worst week of my life, and if I heard those two words, everything would be right again.

No sooner did I hear her little voice, I heard her running footsteps through the house. I had been in the kitchen, but shifted into view and crouched down to catch my niece as she came barreling toward me.

"Izzy!" I called out when the five-year-old little girl was just a few feet away from me. Her legs carried her the remaining distance, her body ultimately colliding with mine.

The moment I lifted her in my arms and stood up, she declared, "Christmas is coming, Uncle Brock! Santa's on his way!"

The excitement was pouring out of her, and it was my fun uncle duty to join in and build it up bigger for her. "I know, buttercup. I heard he's already been checking his list."

"Daddy said I've been good this year."

"I think your daddy is right. In fact, I'd say you're probably at the top of Santa's list, since you've been so good."

Izzy's eyes widened. "Do you think so?" She snapped her head to look back at her dad. "Am I at the top of the list, Daddy?"

My brother's features softened as he looked at his daughter. This little girl was his whole world. She was genuinely such a good kid, but I was convinced that she could have been a monster, and my brother still wouldn't have had the heart to tell her she was on the naughty list.

"I think so, princess."

My niece's face lit up, and she smiled proudly at me. "Did you miss me?"

"I always miss you. How was school this week?"

"I had so much fun."

Laughing, I said, "Let's hope it stays that way. Are you ready for more fun today? I've got a Christmas tree that needs decorating."

She nodded furiously.

That's when her dad stepped forward, held up her lunch box, and said, "Before you and your uncle dive into the fun, you're having lunch."

At that precise moment, Izzy's stomach growled. "My belly's talking."

"I think you better feed it, then," I said as I lowered her to her feet. "Go wash your hands, so you can eat."

Izzy took off running to wash her hands in the half bathroom I had on the first floor of my house. I watched her briefly before turning my attention to my brother, Chris.

"Thanks for watching her for me today, Brock," he said, setting Izzy's lunch box down on the table while I grabbed my niece a plate. Sometimes, he packed her a lunch, and other times, he remained confident I'd never let her starve.

"No thanks needed. I love spending time with her. Plus, you've got to get this done today, because there's not much time left," I noted.

Chris laughed. "Yeah, tell me about it. Between work for me, school for her, the normal day-to-day activities, and all the fun Christmas events I want to take her to, shopping for the big day hasn't exactly been as productive as I would like."

My brother was a single dad, and he made it clear to me on several occasions that he was worried about how he was managing. Every time he expressed those doubts, it blew my mind. He was raising his daughter on his own, and Izzy was the most well-adjusted, polite, good-natured, and behaved kid I knew. She was also a ton of fun. Chris was doing a fantastic job with her, and I didn't hesitate to tell him that.

But I knew it bugged him that his little girl didn't have her mom in her life. He wanted to give her that, but his time was always focused on working or raising his daughter. There wasn't much time left for finding someone he wanted to date.

Of course, a little bit of time management would have gone a long way for him, and whenever I had the opportunity, I didn't hesitate to remind him.

"I'm not complaining, because I'm looking forward to spending the afternoon with her, but you know you could save yourself a lot of time and hassle if you ordered everything online, right?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "I know. I did order a few things, but I still have a couple of items I'd like to get for her. I don't want to risk them not arriving on time, so I'll go out and get them. Plus, since she'll be here with you, I'm going to deal with wrapping everything before I come back to pick her up."

"That works for me. We'll be fine here. And if you need more time, if you find a single lady while you're out shopping and want to take her to dinner, I've got Izzy covered," I teased him.

"Ugh, don't even get me started," he muttered. "That feels like a lost cause."

Before I had the chance to respond, Izzy came running back. "I'm ready."

"Did you wash your hands?" I asked.

"Yep."

"With soap?" her dad pressed.

She lifted her hands up toward him and asked, "Do you want to smell them?"

My lips twitched as Chris bent at the waist and reached his arms out to pick up Izzy. He held her firmly in one arm and brought his other hand up to tickle her. Izzy's giggles filled the room, and a moment later, Chris said, "I don't want to smell your hands, silly girl, but I do want hugs and kisses before I leave."

Izzy smiled brightly at her dad, wrapped her arms around his neck, and offered him a hug. She might have been tiny in comparison, but the abundance of love inside her hugs more than made up for it.

When Izzy loosened her hold around my brother's neck, she pulled back and gave him a kiss. He moved with her toward the table, where he'd gotten her lunch set out for her, and gave her one more kiss and squeeze before setting her down on the chair. "Love you, princess."

"Love you, Daddy."

"You be good for Uncle Brock."

"I'll be extra good, because Santa's watching," she promised him.

Chris laughed and walked toward the door. I pinned my eyes on my niece and said, "You get started on your lunch while I lock the door after your dad leaves. Then I'll come back and try to sneak snacks from that lunchbox. I saw some good stuff in there."

Izzy giggled again, the sound making my heart swell with love for her, as she lifted her peanut butter sandwich to her mouth. At the sight of that, my lips twitched again. Just like me, Izzy refused jelly on peanut butter sandwiches. We both agreed it made them too sweet.

I followed behind my brother toward the front door. He was nearly there but far enough away from Izzy that she wouldn't hear when he stopped, turned, and said, "Thanks again for watching her for me today."

Shaking my head as I waved my hand in the air, as though dismissing his words, I insisted, "She's the best, Chris. You know I'll watch her any time you need."

"I'm hoping to be back here before dinner."

Shrugging, I said, "If you are, great. If not, we'll be fine. Izzy and I have cooked together many times before. I'm sure she'll have no problem having dinner with me."

He nodded and was about to take a step forward when he glanced to the right and halted in his tracks. Chris shifted direction and moved toward the window. "Who is that?"

I didn't have to see who was outside to know precisely who he was talking about. "My new neighbor, Mia."

My brother leaned down to get a better look and focused on whatever he was seeing outside. I could only assume Mia had started doing what she indicated she would be doing this weekend—decorating for Christmas.

Chris looked back at me and said, "She's cute."

"I know."

He raised a curious brow. "You know? What else do you know, Brock?"

"I know that she's got a boyfriend who's a dick to her."

Chris tipped his chin up slightly, caution working its way into his expression. "I'm not sure what to make of that. Are you pissed off that she's got a boyfriend, or are you angry that he's a dick?"

My eyes slid to the side, an unsettled feeling moving through me.

The silence was enough for my brother to draw his own conclusions. "Maybe it's a bit of both."

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter either way."

"Doesn't it?"

"Look, Chris, I won't lie and say I wasn't interested almost exactly the minute I met her, but there's no point in making myself crazy. She can be gorgeous and sweet and unbelievably friendly. If she's already tied to someone else, I can't go there."

Chris sighed. "Look, I've got to go, so we'll have to talk about this later, but if the guy isn't a good guy, I'm guessing he won't be around for long. Maybe you just need to be the friendly neighbor until she figures out that you're the better guy."

It wasn't a bad idea.

Maybe instead of wallowing in self-pity and jealousy, I could be the good guy. I wouldn't push boundaries or cross lines, but I could prove I was the better guy.

"When did you get so smart?"

My brother chuckled and clapped a hand on my shoulder. "We can't all be brilliant like me. I'll try to give you some pointers when I get back."

Now, it was my turn to roll my eyes. "Yeah, okay. I'll be waiting on pins and needles until you return."

"Uncle Brock, are you coming back?" Izzy's voice carried through the house.

"The princess has spoken. I better get out of here." Chris moved to the front door, pulled it open, and stepped outside. "Have fun today."

"We will. Go get your shopping done, and maybe show me just how smart you are by finding yourself a lady while you're doing that."

Chris huffed. "I wouldn't hold my breath."

A moment later, he was gone, and I closed the door behind him. But I didn't do that before glancing over at Mia's house and seeing her outside with her decorations.

Then I spent the rest of my afternoon decorating my tree and having fun with my niece.