Six

SIX

Paxton

I'd always prided myself on being the guy others could depend on to get the job done. I liked feeling useful, like I was doing something to contribute. I didn't need to make some drastic change in the world, but I wanted to believe I was positively impacting the lives of those around me.

So, it was no surprise I was a bit disappointed with myself as I walked from my house over to Aria's place. I'd gotten home from work a little while ago, and after taking care of my animals, I decided to admit defeat. Despite hoping for the best, I hadn't been successful in the one thing I'd set out to do today.

What a way to welcome my new neighbor to town.

Wishing I had better news to deliver, I walked up to Aria's front door and rang the doorbell. A few seconds passed before the door swung open .

Instantly, she beamed at me, her gorgeous smile lighting up her entire face. "Hi, Paxton."

Now I felt even worse than I already had.

Because Aria was a breath of fresh air, and seeing her there with a smile on her face was nice. Much nicer than the last person who had lived in the house next to me—a crotchety old man named Hank who was set in his ways and miserable all the time. I didn't know what caused his misery, but it wasn't exactly what I would have considered fun having him right next door to me. If there was anything for him to complain about, he did it. Even when there was nothing to complain about, Hank found a way.

Not Aria.

She was sweet, undeniably pleasant, and simply beautiful. Aria was just a few inches shorter than me, with what could be best described as a tall, athletic build. There wasn't a single feature on her body that was overstated or disproportionate. But just because she had a slender build didn't mean she was lacking entirely in the areas that mattered. Her breasts and ass could fill the palms of my hands, and from where I stood, that was always enough.

Aria had slightly wavy blonde hair that fell to the base of her shoulder blades. Her smile was the first thing I noticed about her, a single dimple popping out on her right cheek whenever she sent that smile my way. Next to that smile and dimple, her green eyes were my favorite.

The simple greeting mixed with the sight of her was enough to have me forgetting I was so disappointed with myself. I smiled back at her. "Hi, Aria. I hope I'm not interrupting your dinner."

She shook her head. "Not at all. Is everything okay? "

"Everything's fine. I just wanted to see how the job hunt went for you today," I answered.

Understanding dawned, and if it was possible, her grin grew. "It was fantastic. Would you like to come inside for a bit? I hate trying to air condition the outdoors."

Laughing, I stepped forward into her house as she took a step back to allow me to come inside. "I know what you mean. I struggle with that every time I try to get my dogs to come back inside. It's the worst."

Aria closed the door behind me before she led me into her living room. We'd barely stepped into the room when her cat came in our direction.

"Is this Sasha?" I asked, bending at the waist as I held out my hand for her to sniff me.

"You remembered her name."

My eyes shot to Aria's. Did she think I would have forgotten a detail as important as the name of her cat? After our interaction with one another this morning, I kept seeing Aria's face flash in my mind, and I couldn't stop recalling the conversation we'd had. I liked that she seemed to be amused by the names of my dogs.

But since I didn't want to appear creepy, I decided not to share any of that with her. Instead, I shrugged off her observation and noted, "Well, you only have one cat whose name I need to remember. If anything, I'd be more impressed if you could remember the names of my dogs."

She shot me a look that indicated I made a good point. "Brutus, Patty, and Tiny, two of whom I'm still looking forward to meeting. Plus, the cats. I definitely want to meet the cats. And if I'm meeting all of them, I guess I should add in the bird, too."

Okay .

So, I didn't just like the way she laughed at the things I said or did.

I liked the fact that she made me laugh and that the conversation I'd had with her had stuck in her mind to the point she hadn't lost track of all the animals I had.

"We'll have to make that happen soon," I returned.

Her eyes sparked with interest. "Great. I'll look forward to that. So, yes, this is Sasha. I think it'll be interesting to see how she responds to smelling your pets on you," Aria declared.

Sasha took her time, evidently not interested in rushing the process, but eventually—and much to my relief—she made up her mind that I was worthy enough to pet her.

So, I did. And it wasn't long before she started purring against my leg.

"Wow," Aria marveled. "She's never done that with me."

"What?"

"She cuddles with me and will often sit in my lap if I'm curled up on the couch. And any time she knows I might be leaving her for any length of time and isn't happy about it, she winds herself through my legs and around my ankles while meowing incessantly. I've always told myself it's because she's giving me a piece of her mind. But she's never purred like that from me simply giving her a couple of pets and scratches. She must love you."

I laughed again, continuing to love on Sasha as I did. With a wink, I teased, "I think it's because I've had a lot more practice than you. That's all."

Soft laughter spilled out of her. "Whatever it is, I'm glad. With the exception of my best friend, Britney, Sasha doesn't have many people that she likes. I've always considered her to be a bit pretentious. Of course, that doesn't mean I love her any less."

My lips twitched. "Of course not. Maybe she just has a good sense of people. I've always believed that animals can sense those kinds of things. Perhaps the people she's been around a time or two left her feeling uneasy."

"We're talking about my family," Aria noted. "From the moment I got her, she merely tolerated my mom. She seemed to like my dad at first, but that eventually changed. And she's always despised my sister."

"Yikes. Okay. So maybe I'm assuming too much about animals and their abilities," I reasoned, not wanting Aria to feel like I was implying anything negative about her family. "So, did you have any luck today?"

"I did," she bubbled. "But first, can I get you something to drink?"

"No, thanks. I'm good for now."

With a nod, Aria moved to sit on the couch, and I did the same on the opposite end. "Alright, well, I don't know if today was my lucky day or what, but I managed to land not one but two jobs!"

"Two? That's fantastic. Or, I think it's fantastic. Are you going to be able to work two different jobs from a time standpoint?"

Aria smiled at me, that dimple catching my eye again. "I am. And it's all thanks to you."

"Me? How so?"

"I took your advice and checked out some of the places you mentioned. I started at Grant's Deli and introduced myself to Mallory. I hope you don't mind that I mentioned your name. I was eager to land something quickly and thought it might help to make that connection."

Suddenly, all the disappointment I felt from the moment I left work today until I knocked on Aria's door just a few minutes ago had vanished. Maybe I hadn't failed. Perhaps I'd succeeded before I even really tried.

The corners of my mouth tipped up, and I offered a slight shake of my head. "I don't mind at all."

Relief swept through her. "Oh, good. I promise I was nice about it and only said that you mentioned she might be looking for help. I didn't suggest there were any promises made."

Laughing, I insisted, "It's okay. So, Mallory was looking for help, then?"

"Not exactly. Obviously, it was clear she's pregnant, and she mentioned it's been on her mind lately. I guess her best friend works with her at the deli, too, so they thought they'd be able to manage it. But when I showed up, she decided it was probably a sign she needed to think more seriously about what was coming down the pipeline. So, she did a quick interview on the spot, and she hired me for a part-time position just to help lighten the load for now and show me the ropes. Once she has the baby, depending on how things go with me, she might want to increase my hours."

"That's great news. It sounds promising for the both of you. What's the second job?"

"After I spend my mornings or early afternoons at the deli, I can head over to The Steel Pub to work through the evening shift," she shared, very obviously excited about the job. "As it turns out, they were hiring there. "

"Are you going to be bartending at the pub?" I asked, curious if she already had experience as a bartender.

She shook her head. "No. I'll be a server, running the drinks and food orders to everyone not seated directly at the bar. It's another part-time gig, but I figure I'll do okay for a while in both places."

And here I thought I'd failed.

"I have to tell you just how relieved I am, Aria. I was so bummed on my way over here, because I didn't have much luck while I was at work today. None of the guys thought that any of their significant others who owned their own businesses were hiring. So, I'm glad this all worked out so well for you."

Aria tipped her head to the side and assessed me. There was a curiosity lingering in her gaze, but she didn't make the effort to ask whatever was going through her mind. If she thought I would be upset by it, she was wrong.

So, I asked, "What is it?"

"What?"

"You look like you want to ask me a question," I explained. It was at that moment when Sasha hopped up into my lap, nuzzling close and looking for more love. I happily obliged.

Aria's eyes fell upon her cat briefly, something that looked like a mix of surprise and something else moving through her.

She shook off whatever was going through her mind and said, "I'm sorry. It's just that… I think it's nice that you cared enough to not only give me some suggestions this morning but also that you went out of your way at work to tr y to come up with some additional leads when you didn't have to."

"Well, isn't that what we should all strive to be? I like that you think I'm a nice guy; I think our character means everything."

Aria shrank back in her seat, something uneasy washing over her. She must have realized she was reacting to what I'd said, because as quickly as I saw it, the uneasiness was gone.

As Sasha purred in my lap, Aria confirmed, "It is. And it's clear you were right when you mentioned animals knowing who the good people are, because I'm still floored that my cat is purring like that in your lap."

I grinned, continuing to give Sasha what she evidently wanted. "I mean, it's just a hunch, but I'm sure animals can be wrong sometimes, too. I mean, take Brutus, for example. He thinks everyone is the enemy, and I'm relatively certain he's wrong about that being the case when it comes to you."

One half of Aria's mouth quirked up. "That's nice of you to say. Thank you. So, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly is it that you do for work?"

"Believe it or not, I also work at a local business. It's called Harper Security Ops."

Her brows knit together. "I've never heard of it. What is it you do there?"

"If you're referring to the business itself, Harper Security Ops offers a variety of highly skilled services to individuals here in Steel Ridge and some of the surrounding areas. We do things like private investigation, self-defense training, and personal security or bodyguard services. "

"Wow. That's amazing. So, are you a private investigator, then?"

I shook my head. "No. Although I do work closely with a lot of the guys who are. I actually work in our kidnap and ransom unit."

For several long moments, Aria simply stared at me. I could only assume she was attempting to decipher if I was being serious or what exact duties my job included. Sure enough, I got my answer a few seconds later. "You work in the kidnap and ransom unit?" she asked. "Does that mean you rescue people who've been kidnapped for ransom?"

"Sometimes, that's what they've been kidnapped for, but you'd be surprised how many times people are kidnapped where money doesn't play a factor at all," I shared.

Aria sat up a little taller, squaring her shoulders. "So, you're sent out of town often?"

Now it was my turn to be confused. "No. Not usually. I mean, yeah, sometimes it happens. But a lot of the work I do is right here in Steel Ridge."

Her eyes widened. "Are you telling me I should have picked one of the other two spots?"

"What?"

"When I decided to leave my hometown, I visited three different towns, and Steel Ridge was one of them. I settled on this place. Did I make a bad choice? Is there a lot of crime here?"

There was nothing quite like the sting of regret.

I hadn't intended to scare Aria or make her think she'd moved to an unsafe area.

"I don't think Steel Ridge has any more crime than most other towns. You shouldn't be worried that you picked a bad place. I love it here. And on the bright side, there's one thing Steel Ridge has that other towns don't."

"What's that?"

"Harper Security Ops."

"I get the feeling that's supposed to make me feel more at ease," she murmured.

"It is, but I can understand why it doesn't yet. For now, just take my word that you'll be safe here. Plus, I'm your neighbor. I promise I'll look out for you."

Her shoulders sagged with relief. "Well, I really don't want to be a burden, but that does make me feel better."

Laughter spilled out of me. There wasn't a chance that looking out for Aria would be a burden. "I'm glad."

Aria's eyes dropped to my lap again. "I don't think she's ever going to let you leave."

If I didn't have my own animals to be worried about, I might have allowed Sasha to be the catalyst for me staying. After having these few minutes with Aria, it was safe to say I was enjoying her company a little too much and would have been happy with more.

"As much as I'd like to do what I can to stay in her good graces, I'll never hear the end of it from my gang if I don't go back home and spend some time with them tonight," I shared.

Aria nodded. "I understand completely. I'm just nervous about how I'm going to handle this one after you leave."

"Ah, she'll be alright. I'll come back to visit her soon."

"We'd love that," Aria said, her eyes brightening. "Now that we're new in town, we're looking to make some friends."

"Well, you've already got one," I assured her, puffing up my chest proudly. "And I think that with your new jobs, it's only a matter of time before you add more to the list."

She smiled shyly as she tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "I'm glad you were the first friend we made here."

Aria had shown the first sign of nervousness around me, and while I didn't think she had a thing to be anxious about, I found her reaction endearing. She was nothing like my former neighbor. Smiling back at her, I didn't hesitate to share precisely how I felt. "Yeah. Me, too."

With that, I stood and set Sasha back down on the ground. Aria led me to her front door, and once we were there, her eyes flickered with gratitude. "Thank you for stopping over tonight, Paxton. I really appreciate it."

Yep.

Nothing at all like my former neighbor.

My lips twitched. "You're welcome. It was nice talking with you."

She reached past me to open the door, and as she leaned in, her feminine scent hit my nose. It was a faint floral fragrance that was just enough to make me want to lean in closer for more. By some miracle, I held myself back.

Aria yanked the door open, looked up at me, and smiled. My eyes slid to her dimple just as she said, "Have a good night."

I jerked my chin down slowly as I returned my eyes to hers. "Goodnight, Aria."

The next thing I knew, I was heading back over to my house. And I found that despite being occupied with the needs of my animals and making my own dinner, I wasn't so distracted that my thoughts didn't drift once or twice to my new neighbor.