4. Lita

four

lita

I heard his truck but tried not to glance over. I was outside watering my roses with Jenna. Ford and I had been texting throughout the day, and I loved it. But now I was seriously self-conscious. I knew how my best friend was. And almost on cue, she whistled.

"Jenna," I warned quietly, but my beautiful best friend wasn't listening.

"Aye dios mio," she whispered with awe dripping from her voice. I didn't have to turn around from the roses I was watering to know why. "Oh my god, Lita, you brat!" she giggled. "You didn't tell me your neighbor wa?—"

"Shh." I hip-checked her and widened my eyes. "?Callate! Shut it! He's going to hear you," I hissed. I loved Jenna, she was my best friend, but sometimes she didn't realize how loud she could be.

"Esta mas bueno que…" I glanced at her because knowing her, whatever she said Ford was better than was going to be good. Jen was a nut. Yo u never knew what she was going to say. "He's better than the first bite of a warm chocolate cookie you just took out of the oven… after a diet!"

"Oh my god!" I groaned. "Jen! You're terrible. He's a person, not food!"

"I am honest is what I am. Babe! You cannot tell me you don't see what I see. That you wouldn't gobble him up like a tasty snack!" I glanced over, and my heart skipped a beat. He was pulling things out of his truck, and she wasn't wrong. He looked good.

Really, really good.

Jenna's surprise visit had been appreciated, but I couldn't lie that I'd been slightly disappointed when it was Jenna and not Ford at my front door. Especially after last night. I touched the ends of my hair and forced myself not to shiver. I could still feel his hands in my hair as he played with and braided it if I concentrated hard enough.

"You didn't tell me he was so hot…" Her voice drifted off to nothing, and I turned to look at her. She had a weird smile on her face as she stared at me.

"What?" I asked nervously.

"You like him." She wagged her brows up and down.

"Jen—" I started to say when her eyes widened.

"Holy crap, you really like him," she whispered a tad too loudly for my comfort. I shook my head as I turned to look at my roses .

"Jenna, te va oyer. Please, I don't want him to hear you and get the wrong impression."

"Babe, he's hot!"

"I know that," I clipped. "He's perfect."

"Perfect?" She laughed, and before she could open her mouth to say god only knew what, I glanced up at her and begged her to stop.

"Please, Jen, I beg you, please stop. We will talk about him inside. Not here where?—"

"Shh," she shushed, and I scowled at her. A big sugary sweet smile was pasted over her face. "He's coming over," she shared under her breath, and I watched her get into guy meeting mode.

I'd known Jenna since college.

She had gone to business school and started her own cleaning service that was one of the best in the city. The girl had so much work coming out of her ears, she didn't know what to do with herself. She was also seriously understaffed and worked herself to the bone. The fact she had stopped by midweek in the afternoon was shocking enough because the woman was always working. If not in her office making sure every vendor was invoiced and employees were on the schedule and payroll was in order, she was in actual offices in the dead of night, working side by side with her crews.

But in that moment, I hated how I felt next to her. Jenna was beautiful. And not just because not only could she literally eat a whole menu at a restaurant and not gain an ounce, but she was also as sweet and kind as she was beautiful.

"Hey, Lita," Ford's deep voice sounded, and I turned to see him step closer .

He was wearing a red T-shirt that looked like it had been washed so many times it made the material look almost buttery soft. The graphic in the front was for a local skate shop over by the downtown arts district. It fit him perfectly. Showcasing his broad shoulders, giving you a glimpse of his biceps, hinting at the muscular body I was almost positive he was hiding. I didn't know a lot of forty-year-olds who looked like him.

"Hey, Ford." I waved and winced at myself. "How are you?"

"Good."

"Umm, Ford, this is my best friend, Jenna. Jenna, this is my neighbor Ford," I introduced and waited for him to react to her. But he didn't even spare her a second glance. I knew because our gazes were locked. There was something about the way he watched me that made me feel like I was the only one who existed.

"Nice to meet you," he mumbled, but his gaze stayed locked on mine.

"Nice to meet you, too," I heard her respond, but I couldn't look away from Ford. Not when his hazel eyes seemed greener than brown today.

"How was your day?" His voice softened, and I licked my lips. I could feel Jenna staring at us, and I could only imagine what she must have been thinking.

"Good," I whispered.

"I like the hair," he pointed out, and I smiled brighter.

"You know what? I was about to say that, too. I like it wavy. You never wear it that way," Jenna cut in, and I blushed .

"Ford braided my hair last night," I shared. For a quick moment, I glanced away from Ford and toward Jen, whose eyes suddenly looked like they were going to pop out of her head.

"Well… umm…" Her eyes held a million questions, and I silently pleaded for her not to ask them out loud while he was there.

I could only imagine what she was thinking.

I didn't date.

I didn't even talk to guys, not really. I had been very focused on finishing nursing school because it was something my parents wanted me to do. And afterwards, six months into working at the clinic, I accidentally had gone viral with my social media platform.

"Thanks again for saving my day. Here you go." That's when I turned and noticed he was holding a gift bag. A pink one with pink tissue paper inside of it. My breath hitched, and warmth started to flutter through my body.

"What is this?" I asked, and when I took it and our fingers touched, I really wished Jen hadn't come over and was watching this whole thing.

"A thank-you gift."

"A thank-you— you didn't have to do anything." I shook my head.

"I know, but I wanted to."

"Thank you?—"

"Open it," Jen pushed. I tossed her a look.

"Jen."

"What?" My lips twitched. But before I could answer, she glanced at the watch on her wrist. "Oh, wow! It's late! Shoot!" Her eyes rose to mine. "I gotta get going! I have that new account by the beach. The one I was telling you about."

"Okay, go, just drive safe. Don't rush."

"Thank you. I'm glad we got to hang a little." She hugged me, and then, in a tone low enough for my ears only, she added, "We're going to need to talk about him! He totally likes you!" I didn't say anything when she peeled away and waved at Ford. "Nice meeting you!"

"You, too." He waved her off, but his attention was completely on me. It was jarring. I'd never been around a man who hadn't been somehow mesmerized by Jen.

We stood side by side, not close enough for his arm to brush up against mine but enough to feel the heat radiating from his body. In silence, we watched her hurry into her car and peel out. I winced.

"She likes to drive fast," I shared, and he grunted. I glanced at him. "When we watched Fast & Furious, it changed her." He chuckled. The sight of him laughing was extraordinary.

He was beautiful.

The definition of masculine beauty. And for some reason, I almost thought maybe he was a little interested in me. I wanted to laugh at the thought. No. He couldn't be. He was just being polite.

"Will you open it?" He gently hip-bumped me, making me giggle.

"I guess, if you insist," I teased, and his lips twitched.

"I do."

"Wanna sit?" I offered. He nodded and followed me to the porch steps in front of my house. We sat down close even though there was more than enough space for our knees not to touch. I liked that he'd sat close. When I looked over at him, his eyes were already on mine.

"You know you didn't have to do this," I softly told him. His eyes dipped to my lips and back up.

"I know."

"But thank you. This is really sweet."

"You haven't opened it yet," he pointed out. I giggled nervously.

"Still sweet." How long had it been since someone bought me something, put it in a gift bag just because? His eyes warmed up, and something flashed in them, but I couldn't read him. I looked down at the gift bag on my lap. I lifted the tissue paper out and saw a coffee bag. "You really didn't have to wrap this for me." I giggled.

"Keep looking. There's more."

"There is?" My head popped up in time to watch him nod. I took the rest of the paper out and gasped at the sight of a furry something inside.

"What is this?" When I pulled it out, everything inside me went warm. Mushy almost. "A plushie," I whispered as my fingers stroked the small Squishmallow. It was a coffee cup with the prettiest little face. Two little pink spots on her cheeks and big dark lashes. She was adorable. "She's so pretty," I awed. "Thank you!" Without thinking, I turned and hugged him.

A heartbeat later, I realized he wasn't hugging me back. "Shit! I'm sorry! I, umm, oh god! Umm…" I jumped off the step, and when I almost tripped over my own two feet, he thankfully reached for me before I fell. Wrapped in his arms, I looked up at him and felt hot.

Hot and bothered.

He was so big. I felt tiny in his arms. Delicate. Very, very feminine.

"Shit, baby girl, you okay?"

"I'm fine," I squeaked. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to invade your space. This was really sweet of you." I forced myself to step out of his hold and looked at the plushie in my hand like it held all the answers to life.

"You said coffee was the elixir of life, and she kinda reminded me of you."

"She did?" I lifted my eyes to his and watched him nod.

"As for the hug, I didn't mean to not?—"

"It's okay. I should really learn boundaries," I nervously cut him off. Then, as if I hadn't made enough of an idiot out of my self, I snorted. "I— god…" I shook my head. "I better go inside before I'm even more of a nerd in front of you," I blurted, and I really wished a black hole would suck me up.

"That would be a shame."

"What?" I blinked.

"Would you like to go on a walk together today? I see you go. I don't know if you would like a buddy, but if you would, I'd like to join to. See the trail you travel."

"Oh, umm… you wanna go for a walk? With me?" I felt like a parrot.

"Of course. "

"Oh… okay… I just have to go change." I glanced down at the old jeans I'd cut up into shorts last summer. "I'm not really dressed."

"Or you know what? I have a better idea." He extended his hand. "Trust me?" His eyes pierced through me. I felt like he could see everything inside of me. The good and the bad and then some.

And for whatever reason, he really liked what he saw.

Maybe it was my wishful heart, but when I took his hand, I had a deep, soul-searing feeling life as I knew it was about to change.