Chapter 6

Chapter

Six

Victor

If anyone had told me when I moved into my new house that my favorite thing about it would be my next-door neighbor, I would’ve laughed in their face. After all, I’d gone from living in a beautiful four-bedroom with my family to living in a large room above the garage and being the equivalent of handyman/visitor to the first home I’d ever purchased.

Being in this new space that I owned, with a beautiful backyard, and the option to do whatever I wanted, should’ve been the selling point. It wasn’t. In the last month, my run-ins with Adrian fueled my days. I couldn’t wait to get home each night to find out how he was going to play our latest interaction. He might’ve been a hermit before we moved in, but those days were over. He was still grumpier than grumpy, though, and that was part of what I enjoyed about him.

After our first walk together, I knocked on his door the next evening and simply asked if he was ready to go. He’d been so flustered that he’d put on his jacket and followed me right to the street. We were already on our way back before it struck him that he could’ve simply told me no and shut the door in my face. I’d seen the moment the realization hit him as he sneered at me, then power walked the rest of the way home.

The next day after that, he’d answered the door with a resigned look on his handsome face, but he’d already had his jacket on. I smiled. He frowned. And Goldie had dropped on the ground in front of him, rolling over for belly rubs. He’d scowled the whole time he accommodated her, while I did my best not to laugh out loud.

The night after that, I’d picked up the kids and brought them home with me for the next four nights. Adrian’s eyes had widened when he opened the door and found an excited five-year-old hopping around on his doorstep. Jeremy had been thrilled that Adrian was part of our nightly stroll with Goldie. Marissa was still on the fence about him, but I thought that might be because she was a little grouchy herself. So much like her mother. I snorted. There were a lot of similarities between Adrian and Mary when I first met her. Apparently, I had a type.

In the weeks since, we didn’t even have to knock. I’d get home, go in, click Goldie’s leash on, and by the time I came back outside, Adrian would be standing between our yards with his arms crossed over his chest, scowling like I’d put a gun to his head to join me. Adorable .

“Dad, does Adrian know we’re bringing him food?” Marissa asked as we pulled up to our house.

“No, but he’ll find out when we take it over there.”

“I got him a piece of chocolate pie. Do you think he likes chocolate pie, Daddy?” Jeremy asked.

Marissa huffed. “If he doesn’t, there really is something wrong with him.”

I snickered to myself. She was such a precocious child, but she wasn’t wrong. I was a pretty big fan of chocolate pie myself. “I don’t know what he likes, champ, which is why we packed up a little of everything for him.”

“That was a good idea,” he said sincerely.

We piled out of the truck, and Marissa held the large bag containing the containers of leftovers while I went in and got Goldie. While Jeremy greeted her, Marissa asked quietly, “Why didn’t Adrian have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving?”

“His best friend doesn’t live here, and his mom is away, so…”

She frowned. Marissa hated the thought of anyone hurting. As much as she came across like a sour puss on occasion, her heart was as big as the moon. Another one of those like mother, like daughter things. When I’d asked Mary if she’d mind me bringing home a plate for my next-door neighbor who was home alone, she’d gone into a frenzy packing up small containers of everything on the table for him.

I’d been amused by the fact she’d known exactly who I was talking about. It seemed Jeremy had told her all about his new friend. Adrian would hate it if he knew, which cracked me up even more.

Jeremy took off running for Adrian’s front door, so I hustled to catch up. It took him a couple of minutes to answer which was unusual at this point, but when he did, he had on pajama pants, an oversized white t-shirt hanging off his slim shoulders, and his hair stuck up all over the place. I hadn’t seen him in such a state since the first time we met.

Pasting on a bright smile, I asked, “You ready?”

He rubbed his fist into his eyes, yawning. It was adorable, and a mental image of him lying in my bed, waking up first thing in the morning, flashed through my head. “Ready for what?”

Jeremy bobbed on his toes in front of him. “We’ve gotta walk Goldie, and we brought you food, Mr. Adrian.”

Adrian’s gaze darted from my son up to me in confusion. “What? I thought you were gone for the night.”

“Dinner was at three, and we hung out for a while after, but we needed to get home to walk the dog,” I said. There was no reason for him to know that I’d rushed home to bring him his meal. When he’d mentioned that he’d be home alone, he’d tried to be very nonchalant about it, but I’d gotten to know him a little bit on our walks, and I’d seen the pain in his eyes.

Marissa held up the bag. “We brought you home all kinds of leftovers from my mom’s house.”

He stared at her offering like it was a snake. “You didn’t have to do that. I’m fine.”

I made sure he saw as I slowly ran my gaze from his cute little toes all the way up to his messy hair. “I’m sure you are,” I said diplomatically for the kids’ sake.

He scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. “I am.”

I merely hummed, then lifted the leash. “Goldie’s waiting.”

“So am I,” Jeremy said, tugging on the bottom of Adrian’s shirt. “Let’s go.”

Adrian sighed. “I guess if it’ll get you three out of my hair, all go for a walk.”

As he turned to retreat inside for shoes and a jacket, Marissa slammed the food bag into his chest. “Put this in the house so I don’t have to carry it.”

Not looking any of us in the face, his face pinkend, and he took it with the mumbled, “Thank you. I’ll, uh, be right back.” Then he shut the door with a quiet click.

Marissa smiled up at me. “We did a good thing, didn’t we, Dad?”

“Yeah, hon, I believe we did.”

Once he came out with his PJs replaced with pants, a new t-shirt, shoes, a jacket, and his hair sort of patted down, we took off on our normal path. He didn’t look at me. Instead, he focused on Goldie and listening attentively while Jeremy and Marissa chatted about our day. It didn’t escape my attention how he side- eyed me from time to time, but I didn’t call him on it. I wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t expected us to think of him, but I was glad we had.

I’d brought him home enough food to fill his belly for a couple of days, and I felt good about that. Somehow, someway, it was time for me to move this new friendship along. And while I wanted that, to be his friend, I already knew I wanted more. I had plenty of hookups and even a couple of dates since Mary and I split, but no one had captivated me like Adrian.

No one had made me want to feed them or cuddle them. No one had stirred the same type of feelings I once had for my ex-wife. Hell, there hadn’t even been anyone that I would’ve let meet my kids. Adrian was different. Even with all his grumpiness, as much as he tried to feign indifference, he was a good guy. A lonely man. He listened to my children. Petted and loved my dog. Listened to me talk about work and occasionally shared about his own day and his best friend.

The things he said to my kids let me know he was mindful of them and paid attention. He’d asked Jeremy why he’d lost the privilege of the ladder up to the top bunk for a week, and then told him a story about a friend of his who’d broken his arm when he was little from jumping. Jeremy had been pretty upset with me, but Adrian’s story helped him understand that I only wanted him to be safe.

He and Marissa were warming up to each other slowly since they had a lot in common. Adrian might not go out in public often, but he loved sitting outside first thing in the morning and at night, no matter how chilly it was, and listening to the sounds of nature waking up and then going back to sleep. I’d watched the two of them from the kitchen window, chatting at the fence line between our two backyards about the trees in the woods behind us. He was very knowledgeable, and my girl soaked up every word.

Yeah, it was safe to say that if Adrian was shocked we’d brought him Thanksgiving dinner, I was only going to blow his mind even further going forward. I had a few weeks until Christmas Eve with the kids, and if I had my way, he’d be joining us.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he caught me smiling to myself. “What?” I asked innocently.

“What was that about?” He used his finger and drew a circle around the front of his own mouth.

I winked. “You’ll see.”

The frown he wore deepened, and I chuckled to myself. He really was so much fun.