5. April

FIVE

APRIL

The clock on my phone read 4:00 a.m., and I'd tossed and turned for hours at that point. It was like there was no way I could relax enough to actually drift off to sleep. My stuff was all packed and ready for me to move to my new place the next day. All I could think about since coming home wasn't the party or the new house. No. The only thing that kept springing up in my mind was Steff and the argument we'd had.

The second I got comfortable enough to drift off, my words would replay in my head. I'd basically told him he'd been a shit boyfriend, and deep down I knew that wasn't true. Despite how things had ended, our relationship had been great. There'd been nothing bad about our time together, except how it ended.

Steff had been more than a boyfriend—he'd been my best friend. Since the day he left, I couldn't remember anyone understanding me or knowing me the way he had. That was part of the reason it hurt so much when he left. I lost more than the love of my life, I'd lost the person who understood me better than anybody.

All these years later, I still had no clue as to why he'd ended things. Every thought I could imagine had flooded my mind in the months afterward—he'd gotten bored of me; he'd met another girl; he'd realized he was gay and had met a guy; he wanted to sow his wild oats—but none of that made any sense. To be honest, I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer. Whatever the reason, even fifteen years later, it would hurt just as much.

My alarm went off at eight, and I dragged myself out of bed, having only managed a few hours of sleep. I stumbled into the bathroom and looked at my reflection. For an alleged supermodel, I looked like shit. Black bags under my eyes, pillow creases on my face, my hair was chaos, and what looked like a dried patch on my face where I'd drooled on myself. America's sweetheart, my ass , I thought, and proceeded to get myself ready for the day.

Thirty minutes later, I went downstairs, yawning and still exhausted, but looking less like a troll. Kellan and Aiden were sitting at the table, eating waffles—probably from the box and frozen—and bacon. I breathed in, relishing the scent of bacon and syrup. One of the best things about being home was the food. I no longer kept to the same diet I followed when modeling, which basically consisted of a kale salad, baked fish, and maybe an apple if I wanted to treat myself. My body had already lost some of the bony angularity I'd had when I got here. My curves were coming back, and I was pleasantly surprised to find my boobs had gotten bigger. No place like home.

"Please tell me you made enough for me?" I asked.

Kellan nudged a fork at a third plate, and I sighed in contentment. "You guys are the best."

After breakfast, Kellan and I loaded my three suitcases into his SUV and got in along with Aiden. It was a little weird leaving his house. In a short time, it had really started to feel like home. On the other hand, I had butterflies of excitement just thinking of settling into my new place.

"Okay, where is this place?" Kellan asked.

"I'll tell you where to go. Drive on, Jeeves."

"Smartass," he mumbled, putting the car into gear.

I gave him directions, telling him when to turn and what road to take. After two or three minutes, I noticed a frown on his face. Right before we got to my new neighborhood, he stopped at a stop sign and glanced at me.

"Are you gonna tell me to turn right?"

"Uh… yeah, actually."

He shook his head. "Oh, man."

I had no idea what that meant, but he turned as directed and immediately I saw the house. It was just as cute as I remembered it being when I'd first seen it. The little blue house stood right between two other homes. Quaint was the word that came to mind, and not in a bad way.

I pointed. "That's it right there."

Kellan sighed and pulled up to the curb. I could see by his expression that he was upset. I had no idea what his problem was.

Aiden unbuckled his seatbelt and bounced excitedly in his seat. "It's Coach. Guys, look, it's Coach Steff."

My heart lurched, and my head snapped around. Steff had walked around from the back of the neighboring house. He was shirtless, a pair of work gloves on his hands. His body glistened with sweat, and the muscles in his arms and torso flexed as he walked. Beside him, an Australian shepherd padded along.

I gestured at the windshield toward Steff. "What the hell is he doing here?" I hissed, keeping my voice low so Aiden wouldn't hear.

Kellan grimaced. "He's here because he's your damn neighbor. That's why I was freaking out when we were getting close. I know where he lives, and your directions were taking us right to his house."

Holy… fucking… shit. How could I be this unlucky?

Kellan shook his head. "I'm sorry. I should have asked more questions about the location. I could have told you."

I leaned back in my seat and chuckled. The irony was almost too much to believe. "Well, it's too late now. I've signed the lease. Besides, the other places we looked at were picked up a day or two after I found this place. This is my only option."

"You could stay with us. Don't move out."

"Larry bought me a ton of furniture and everything else. Honestly, it'll be fine. I'm not going to stress about it."

"What are we waiting for? I'm gonna go say hi to Coach," Aiden said, opening the door.

Before we could say anything, he was out of the car and running toward Steff, waving like a madman. I groaned inwardly as Steff saw him coming and frowned. The confusion on his face faded as his gaze slid toward the car. He locked eyes with me, and his mouth set into a hard line. He didn't look surprised to see me, more resigned. Had he known I was moving in next door? Had that been the reason he'd tried to find me at the bar last night?

"Come on, let's get your stuff inside," Kellan grumbled as he popping the trunk.

Doing as he said, I got out and tried to keep my eyes averted from Steff. After last night, I couldn't think of anything else to say to him. We grabbed my bags and headed toward the house. Aiden was chattering away to Steff as we went. At least that was one good thing. With him preoccupied, he couldn't come over and try to make things even more awkward by trying to talk to me or Kellan. My brother would have made sure that interaction ended poorly.

Once inside the door, I punched the code into the security system to disarm it and glanced around at my new house. It wasn't as luxurious as what I'd lived in before, but it was all I needed. Comfortable and secure, with plenty of room for one person. Plus, I could walk out of my bathroom naked without worrying if my nine-year-old nephew would walk around the corner and see me. Larry even had hi-def cameras set up around the house, including a doorbell camera. It wasn't as safe as having a doorman and a bodyguard, but it was as good as you could get out in the middle of nowhere like Lilly Valley.

Larry had left a note for me on the table, with a business card attached with a paperclip:

Hope you enjoy the place. If you have any trouble with the security system, I left the card. They're local, so you can just give them a call. Let me know if you need anything. And I do mean anything.

-Larry

I flipped over the card. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The owners of the firm were listed on the back of the card. The third name, of course, was Steffen James. I handed the card to Kellan. At first, he looked confused, then he read the letter and the card.

"Jesus, can't you get away from this guy? It's like he's every-damn-where."

Kellan was getting more and more pissed. Thankfully, I hadn't bothered to tell him or Kris that Steff had been at the bar last night. I had no idea how they would have reacted. If I had to guess, Kellan might have walked next door and slugged Steff right in the face.

"April, are you sure you want to live next door to Steff?" Kellan looked like a little boy—desperate and hoping.

"Like I said, we won't see each other that much. It'll be fine. I'll be over at your or Kris's house most of the time. Besides, I'm sure Steff works a lot. Even if we're home at the same time, I'll stay in and read or watch movies. It really will be fine."

Kellan glanced out the door again. Aiden was still talking to Steff. It looked like he was trying to imitate a baseball pitcher. Steff was smiling and trying to continue the conversation, but he kept glancing toward my house.

"Okay, well, get your stuff settled. I'm going to go get the last bag and bring Aiden over."

Kellan stepped out, and I rolled my suitcase to the biggest bedroom and flopped it onto my bed. Before I turn to go back out, I glanced out the window and saw Kellan talking to Steff. Kellan didn't look happy, and when Steff looked back at my house, his face wasn't very cheerful, either.

"Ugh, dammit." What the hell was Kellan saying?

Dread seeped into my chest. I rushed outside as fast as I could. What could he have said? Bursting out the front door, I composed myself and walked across the shared lawn toward the two of them. Aiden had already drifted over toward my porch, and Kellan was walking away from Steff.

I pulled him close and hissed, "What the hell did you say to him?"

"I just… I said he needed to keep an eye on you."

"Oh, bullshit, Kellan. You hate him; why would you ask him to watch out for me? Tell me right now."

Even as I said it, I realized I sounded like a snobby, entitled bitch. How could I demand anything from Kellan? Still, I was terrified that Steff would find out about the scandal. Sure, it was public knowledge, but so far no one in town had said anything about it. There was a slight chance that Steff hadn't heard about the story, and I was desperate to keep it that way. The last thing I needed was for Steff to look down on me or think I'd become some trashy Hollywood socialite.

"April, you need to stay safe, and as much as I dislike him, he and his friends have that security firm. It's good you have someone who knows what he's doing next door. Chill out."

My irritation was starting to turn to anger. "I have security for that. I spent thousands of dollars on a system for this house. I don't need a babysitter."

I hadn't noticed Steff stepping up beside us. He put a hand between us and said, "Hey, stop being a brat. He's only looking out for you. It's for your own safety. You should be happy you ended up next door to me. Whatever trouble you might have that comes your way, I can handle it."

I clenched my jaw as I turned to him. "Really? You'll be the big bad dude? I've done fine without you the last fifteen years, and I think I can take care of myself for the next three months. Why don't you act like I don't exist? That shouldn't be hard for you, since you've done exactly that since that night in the parking lot."

He didn't even flinch. He simply stood there and crossed his arms, looking tired. That actually pissed me off more than anything. He didn't even seem to care. It was childish, but I'd wanted my words to sting, to hurt, to bring him just an ounce of pain. Even when I was trying to hurt him, I couldn't.

Without another word, I turned away from my brother and Steff and stomped back toward my new house. Kellan called for me to stop, but I ignored him. Suddenly, home sweet home didn't seem so sweet. In fact, it was the very last place I wanted to be.