7. April

SEVEN

APRIL

Jesus Christ, the barking. Every… fucking… morning. My eyes had snapped open at the ass crack of dawn every day for the last week. When I'd found out I would be Steff's next-door neighbor, the last thing I'd been worried about was the incessant barking of a dog. Bently was cute, and for the most part he seemed well-behaved—other than the fact that he apparently identified as a damn rooster.

It had been mildly annoying at first, but today it was enough to piss me off. I'd barely slept the entire night. There'd been too much to deal with. Luca had posted on his social media that he had more news about Fiona Steele that everyone would want to hear. When that news had broken at 9:00 p.m., I'd stayed glued to my phone the entire night.

Larry had assured me that he wouldn't be able to speak another word to the press, and that he had it handled. The problem was, I'd dated Luca. We'd talked about things. He knew my real name, knew where I grew up. If he even suspected that I'd gone running back home, he might mention that. Then what would happen? Dozens of paparazzi would descend on Lilly Valley, along with all the tabloids, magazines, and bloggers.

For hours, I kept scrolling, waiting. I spent over an hour looking through Luca's profiles on his various pages. I'd found no useful information there. It had basically been pics and videos of him trying to look hot. I'd finally quit in disgust after seeing a video he posted of him shaving his chest. If he really was going to release more information, he would draw it out. All to get more exposure.

That was what really pissed me off. It seemed like he was getting more exposure. He'd finally gotten signed to an actual marketing deal, and he'd already capitalized on that. I turned my TV off last night when his smug face appeared in a commercial for a new cologne. After everything that had happened in society the last few years, I would have thought a guy selling dirt on a woman would have made him a pariah. It looked like, even after fifteen years, I was still naive about the industry.

With all that to think about and stew over, the last thing I needed was a dog barking at six in the morning. It was just one thing too many. I'd held my tongue for days, hoping it would fix itself. But I was done.

I grabbed my robe, put on my slippers, and headed for the front door. I'd hoped my anger would cool as I made my way outside, but if anything, it got stronger. I yanked the front door open and stomped out into my yard, then promptly forgot why I'd come out.

Steff was in his driveway, running. Some kind of early morning fitness routine—suicide sprints or something. He ran down his driveway, then twenty-five yards back to a tree. Over and over again. He was… really fast. I couldn't take my eyes off his body. His muscles, flexed and taut, rippled as he pumped his arms. Sweat glistened off his—damn it—perfect body. I didn't think I'd known any male models who had a body as perfect as Steff's. He was also bigger than he had been fifteen years ago, and he had a hell of a lot more muscle. It was like he walked right out of a wet dream.

I grimaced and clamped my eyes shut, mentally berating myself for even going there. For the love of God, I was out there to chew his ass a new one, not to ogle him and slide my hand down my pants. After a few seconds, I got myself under control and opened my eyes. He still hadn't noticed me.

I walked over to his yard, and the dog, blessedly, finally stopped barking. At the sudden silence, Steff stopped his cardio routine and glanced up, panting for breath. When he saw me, he didn't exactly frown, but the expression on his face was hard to read. It wasn't welcoming or happy, but also not angry or nervous.

Ignoring his look, I pointed at Bently. "Can you please do something about him barking this early? He's woken me up, like, every single morning."

Steff walked toward me and shrugged. "I'm not sure what you want me to do. He's a dog. That's his routine. He wakes up; he goes out."

The tone of his voice made it sound like he thought I was being unreasonable. I wondered how he'd feel if a fucking bullhorn woke him up an hour early every day. I'd bet his ass would be as angry as I was.

"I don't know, Steff. Maybe his routine can change. Ever heard of training? Train him to go out later. Hell, at least wait until the sun is fully up."

"That's not possible. You see, unlike you, I have a job, and I have to be there early."

Had that been a jab? It felt like a jab. Who the fuck did he think he was?

"Maybe earplugs would be a good investment," Steff said as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Oh my god," I shouted, throwing my hands into the air. "You know, I don't remember you being such an asshole. What the hell happened to you?"

My words had no effect on him. I shook my head. "I really wonder what I saw in you all those years ago."

Without waiting for him to say anything, I clutched my robe and turned to leave. I felt his eyes on me as I left, and I had to suppress the urge to flip him off. It took everything I had not to slam the door as I went inside. That would have given him the satisfaction of knowing he'd really gotten to me. Instead, I closed it slowly, latched it, and leaned my back on the door. Why couldn't he be reasonable?

An hour later, Steff pulled out of his driveway and disappeared down the road. Now that there was no chance of me running into him, I got ready and headed out for the day. I'd been cooped up in the house all week because I'd wanted to get settled into my new place, but by now I was going stir crazy. The first strands of depression were starting to worm their way into my mind. Plus, all I had for company was Barkey McBarker and Asshole McDouchebag. I needed to get out. Plus, as much as I hated to admit it, the earplugs Steff had casually suggested actually sounded like a good idea.

Once I was ready, I made my way into my new rental car. Larry had had it delivered a day or two before so I could have a way to get around without calling one of my brothers for a ride. After pulling out of my driveway, the first thing I noticed was a black sedan that appeared behind me. It seemed to come from nowhere. Frowning, I turned onto the main street, and the sedan matched me. The first hints of fear had started to bloom in my chest when my phone rang. It was Larry.

"How are you doing, April?"

"Uh… fine, what's up?"

"The bodyguards told me you'd finally left the house. I wanted to check on you."

"Bodyguards? What bodyguards?"

"The black car following you. I flew out some guys who'd been on your security detail before. They've been watching over your house. I told them to keep tabs on you if you left. Make sure no weirdos were bothering you."

After the morning I'd had, this was more irritating than it normally would have been. "Larry, don't you think that's something you should have told me about? I freaked out when I noticed a car tailing me."

The silence on the other end of the phone told me Larry hadn't even considered the possibility that I would have gotten scared of an unknown car following me around town.

"Oh, geez, April, I didn't think. It's okay. I'll contact them, make sure they pull back a little. Give you some room. We've always done this in the past, and I never passed it by you. So, I just scheduled it."

I couldn't argue with that. For years, there'd been a security team around me day and night, and he'd never run it by me. It had become standard operating procedure. Larry didn't see anything between long nights of fashion shows and partying in Vegas and lazy days reading books on my porch in Lilly Valley.

I sighed. "It's fine, Larry. But yeah, if you could have them give me a bit of breathing room that would be nice."

"You got it, sweetheart. On it."

Less than a minute after hanging up, the car in my rearview dropped way back. They were still there, and I'm sure the guys still had eyes on me, but I felt much less suffocated. I took a breath and continued on my way.

I passed the elementary school and the high school on my way out of town. There was a department store right outside town. Lilly Valley was too small to support it on its own, so the store had been built between the three nearest towns, and still only a twenty-minute drive from my new house.

Once inside, I made my way to the back of the store. Earplugs would work, or maybe noise-canceling headphones. Either would do, but I thought music might drown out the sound better. I was right in the middle of comparing two different brands of headphones when I bumped into someone who was browsing behind me.

"Oh, crap, I'm sorry I wasn't?—"

"April?"

I blinked and smiled. It was the guy from the bar. Ryland. This was the thing about living in small towns—in LA, I never would have bumped into him by chance.

I shook my head in an effort to suppress my surprise. "Ryland? Hey, uh, how are you?"

"I'm good. Weird running into you here."

"Same. Isn't it a school day?"

He laughed. "It's my free period. I get one a day for lesson plans and lunch and stuff, around an hour. I'm having the kids do a project, and I came out to pick up some things."

He had a handbasket with several items in it.

I frowned. "Are you buying all that with your own money? Or does the school pay for it?"

His eyes bulged and he laughed again. "You… don't know a lot about the public school system, do you?"

"I guess that means your own money," I said, feeling a slight blush rise into my cheeks. "Let me buy it. Grab what you need and I'll take care of it."

"Wait, what? No, you don't need to do that. I've budgeted classroom supplies for my students."

"Ugh, that's such horseshit. You're doing the world a service. You shouldn't have to pay out of your pocket. I'm an alumnus of the high school. Let me buy this stuff. We'll call it a donation. I'll probably be able to write it off and get it back anyway. No harm, no foul."

Ryland looked totally surprised and at a loss for words. Finally, he shrugged. "Well, if you insist."

We chatted for a few minutes while I picked out my headphones, then we slowly walked to the front of the store. Ryland swept a hand around the store. "How does it feel to be back here? You said the other night you'd been gone a while."

I grimaced. "It's been fine. Hanging with my brothers and nephew has been amazing. It had been too long since I visited. Other than that, it's still strange."

We started to put all the items we'd picked up on the self-checkout counter. Ryland cleared his throat nervously. "So, April, would you be opposed to having dinner with a geeky high-school math teacher? On Friday? Not a date or anything. It would be two people having dinner and seeing if they can be friends. Like a friend tryout?"

I chewed at my lip. "I don't know."

Ryland held up a hand. "You don't have to answer now. You've got my number. Think about it and get back to me."

Smiling in relief, I said, "Thanks, Ryland. I'll do that. I'll let you know."

We scanned all the stuff he'd purchased. It wasn't a ton of stuff, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out what project he had the kids working on, but his total was only a little over a hundred bucks. It wasn't a lot, but I knew I could afford more than a teacher could, so I happily swiped my Black Amex. While I paid, Ryland bagged up his stuff.

He glanced at his watch and whistled. "Damn, time flies when you're having fun. I've got to get back soon. Next class starts in twenty minutes." He began walking toward the exit, but held his thumb and pinky finger up in an imitation of a phone, "Call me about dinner. Either way, you won't hurt my feelings."

Grinning, I waved at him, then swiped my card. In my head, I was contemplating his invitation. Why the hell couldn't I have dinner with a guy? Ryland seemed like a really nice guy. Even if there didn't end up being any romance or whatever, it would be nice to have a friend.

Since Luca's story plastered my face all over the tabloids, none of my industry friends had returned my calls or texts. Some of them had been my friends since I'd made it in the industry, but once the story broke, they'd ghosted me. I didn't have anyone. Well, that wasn't totally true. I had Larry, but, ugh, he was not someone I could be open and honest with. Then there were my brothers, but they already had too much going on. Kellan was a single father, and Kris had to focus on his wife. I would have been uncomfortable trying to unload all my issues on them. If I had a friend, it would really help my mental health. I wouldn't spill all my secrets, but having a sounding board or a confidant would be nice.

I stewed on the idea of having dinner with Ryland the whole way home, weighing the pros and cons until Steff's house was in view. I glared at it. New, angrier thoughts filled my mind. Nothing about the way he was acting reminded me of the old Steff. What had caused him to become so cold and callous?

For a time after he got drafted and before his injury, he'd been on his way to being a celebrity. I'd followed his career and watched some of his games in the pros. He'd been in the public eye. Why did it seem like he had so much disdain for my career, then? Out of everyone in town, he was one of the few who could even begin to imagine what I was going through. But after all this time, he still didn't seem to want anything to do with me. The loneliness weighed heavily on me as I pulled into my driveway.

Another day hanging around the house sounded like a sure way to go stir crazy. It wouldn't be good for my burgeoning depression, either. My brothers were working, but hanging out at the bar didn't sound appealing. Aiden was in school, obviously. I racked my mind for something to do, when I remembered Kris's wife, Chelsea. I'd only met her twice since being home, but she seemed really nice, and she worked at one of the two nail salons in town. Maybe a manicure and some conversation would pull me out of my funk.

The salon looked like it had once been a small cottage house. I'd breathed a sigh of relief when I found out after an online search that her salon wasn't the salon next to Steff's security firm. That would have been a hard pass.

It was the middle of the day, and when I walked in the place, it was pretty much deserted. Chelsea spotted me as soon as I came through the door. "April? Oh my gosh. Come on in."

I flashed a smile as I closed the door. "Hey, I was bored and I thought I'd stop by."

"I'm glad you did. I should have invited you down sooner. What can I do for you? Facial? Mani-pedi? I'll get you the family discount."

"The discount isn't necessary. I thought a manicure would be nice. I haven't had one in a few weeks."

"Say no more. Come over here." Chelsea led me over to the table and chair closest to the door.

I sat and relaxed almost as soon as Chelsea started working. We caught up on family stuff, but soon the conversation got a little deeper.

"Have you met anyone since you've been back? A hot guy? Cute girl? Anyone nice to pass the time with?"

I laughed. "I haven't had a lot of chances to get out much. I did meet a guy the other night at the bar. He's a teacher at the high school. He invited me out to dinner on Friday. For some reason I'm hesitant, but I'm not sure why. Do you think I should go? Maybe you know him? His name's Ryland."

Deep in thought, Chelsea exfoliated my hands. "Are you for sure over Steffen?"

I blinked in surprise, shaking my head. "It's been more than a decade. Fifteen years. Of course I'm over him."

"Okay, that's good. I thought maybe that was why you were hesitating about letting a good-looking guy take you to dinner. To tell you the truth, I'm glad you're totally over him. Steff is kind of the playboy in town. From what I've heard, he's left a string of ladies behind him all across the county. It doesn't hurt that he looks like walking sex. Don't tell Kris I said that."

I tried to hide how bothered I was at the idea that Steff simply hopped from bed to bed, leaving a trail of broken hearts wherever he went. The boy I knew would never have done something like that.

"Anyway," Chelsea continued, "I think dinner with this Ryland guy sounds like a great idea. Wouldn't hurt to have a new friend in town. Am I right?"

"You know, I think you are." I'd text Ryland as soon as I got back to my car.