The Shifter Romances The Writer (Nocturne Falls Book 6) (5 page)

She laughed. “You really feel bad about that ticket now, don’t you?”

He groaned. “You’re not going to let me forget that, are you?”

“Nope. Let me just go grab a book and—”

“On second thought, if I bring that book home, Diego’s going to ask me all kinds of questions about it. And if he finds out who you are, he will definitely tell our mother.” He frowned. “I have to figure out a time to get the book from you when he’s not home. Which is always.”

“Is the station anywhere near the post office? I have to check my P.O. box tomorrow. I could swing by and drop it off. If you’re working on Saturday, that is.”

“I am working. That’s really nice of you. Tell you what, you bring me the book tomorrow, and I’ll buy you lunch at one of the best places in town. I won’t feel so bad about the ticket then.”

That sounded an awful lot like a date. A thought that must have shown on her face because he put his hands up. “Just lunch as friends. To make up for the ticket. Nothing more than that, I swear.”

She nodded. “I really should get back to writing after my errands, but I also want to get to know the town, and I’m having a saltwater fish tank installed in my office in the morning, so the day will probably be a bust writing-wise anyway. Lunch as friends would be great. And I’ll bring you the book.”

“Excellent. Meet me at one at the station, and we’ll walk from there. Cool?”

“Cool.”

“Thanks for the beer.” He stood. “I should get back or Diego will be ordering pizza with my credit card.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow. It was nice getting to know you.” She walked him to the door, then watched him through the sidelight a few seconds longer. The man had a powerful, graceful stride that could only be described as feline. And there was something about him that was instantly compelling. Something she couldn’t quite name. Maybe it was knowing what he did for a living.

Maybe it was how nice he’d been to her. And how he hadn’t mocked what she did for a living.

Whatever it was, Alex Cruz was hero-worthy. And based on how lunch went tomorrow, he just might find himself in a book.

When Alex walked in, Diego was standing in front of the fridge with the door open. The puddle around his feet was growing as more hot tub water trickled off him and onto the kitchen floor.

He turned when he heard Alex. “There’s nothing to eat in this house.”

The muscles in Alex’s jaw tightened. Muscles that had just been very relaxed over at Roxy’s. He tried to stay calm. “Hey, you’re getting water on the hardwood. Throw a towel down, will you? And there’s plenty to eat. There’s a tray of Mom’s arroz con pollo in there. I took it out of the freezer this morning. It just needs to go in the oven for forty-five minutes.”

“I’ll starve to death by then.”

Alex brushed past his brother to get the casserole out of the fridge. “You can always go out to eat.”

“You mean buy my own food?” Diego rolled his eyes. “You didn’t buy that. Mom stocks your freezer every time she visits.”

Alex set the oven temp, put the casserole in, and headed back to his bedroom to get his iPod. “I’m going for a run.”

“Cool. You want me to go with you?”

“No.”

“Hey, where were you?”

“Returning the neighbor’s mail.” He left it at that, hoping Diego would too.

“Was that the chick with the Vette? Dude, she’s hot for an older woman.”

Alex stopped dead in his tracks. “Older? She’s a year younger than you.”

Diego snorted. “Yeah, but women age differently. You know.”

Alex turned to stare his brother down. “No, I don’t know, and if you honestly believe that, you have more growing up to do than I realized.”

Diego’s brows shot up, and he grinned. “Someone likes the new neighbor.”

“As a friend. That’s it.”

Diego shrugged. “In that case, maybe I’ll go next door and ask her out.”

“No, you won’t. Leave her alone.”

“Why? You’re not interested. You just said so.”

“And if I was interested?”

Diego scratched himself. “Then I’d be hands off. You know that, bro. That’s always been our code.”

“In that case, I have a lunch date with her tomorrow.”

Diego’s eyes widened. “For real?”

“Yes.”

“You know she’s human, right?”

“I’m aware.”

Alex went into his bedroom as Diego yelled out, “Nice work, bro.”

Alex sighed and stared at the ceiling. He’d have to tell Roxy what he’d said in case Diego said something first. Which would be exactly like Diego. Alex grabbed his iPod and headed back to his pretty new neighbor’s house to tell her the news.

Roxy was about to head to her office with the intention of making some headway on the new book when she remembered the card Alex had brought over. She went into the kitchen and picked it up off the counter. No return address, but there was some stickiness in the corner like the label had peeled off.

The cancellation on the stamp was too smudged to read.

She got a steak knife and ran it under the edge, then pulled the card out. She stared at it, unable to comprehend what she was looking at for a moment.

Enjoying your new house?

The words were scrawled in black marker on a lined notecard, the kind people used to write recipes on. Or plot points. The handwriting wasn’t familiar. But it felt threatening. And deliberate.

She dropped the card on the counter and backed away. She watched it for a few seconds, like it might do something. Then she put her hands on her hips and got a little frustrated with herself. “This is silly. It means nothing.”

But that wasn’t true. It meant something. Otherwise, what had been the point of sending it? No doubt it had come from Thomas. Like their marriage hadn’t been punishment enough. The man just couldn’t let her be.

A knock on the door made her jump, and she shrieked before she could stop herself. She snarled out a groan, angry at herself for reacting that way. She strode to the door and pulled it open. “Yes? Oh, hey, Alex. I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

His brows bent together. “Did I just hear you scream? Everything okay?”

She waved her hand. “It was nothing. A spider. You know.” She wasn’t about to tell him about that silly piece of mail. “What’s up?”

He glanced toward his house, a very long-suffering look on his face. “If you happen to run into my brother, our lunch tomorrow is a date. Like, an actual date. I told him that to keep him from asking you out. As you surmised, he’s kind of a player, but if he thinks I’m interested in you, he’ll leave you alone. It’s the bro code. Or something like that. Anyway, I thought you should know so you don’t get blindsided. Or think I’m trying to pull something.”

She tried to suppress a smile. “Got it. Our lunch date is a date, but only if Diego asks.”

“Right. Sorry to bother you.”

“No problem. And no bother. Hey, one question.”

“Sure.”

Not that the weird note had made her jumpy about having strangers in her house, but… “Do you know Undrea Seely? She installs and maintains fish tanks? She’s cool, right? I mean, she seems that way and she came highly recommended, but—you know what, never mind. I’m just being weird.”

But he answered anyway. “I don’t know her personally, but yeah, I hear she’s nice.” His brows lifted. “Is that who’s installing the tank for you?”

Roxy nodded, liking that Alex had actually listened to what she’d said. Maybe that was just the cop in him, but it made her feel nice. “Yep. So it would be okay for her to be in my house alone? I just might not be here the whole time, and I was wondering.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“Okay, thanks. That’s what I was thinking, but never hurts to ask. See you tomorrow. For our non-date date.”

He smirked. “Yeah.” Then he gave a wave and jogged down her path to the sidewalk.

Her gaze lingered a little longer than was neighborly, but Officer Cruz was in very good shape. His running shorts showed off muscular legs that were hard not to admire. She finally pulled herself away from the door as he disappeared down the street. Time to get back to her office.

And back to the main man in her life, Wolfgang Blackborne.

She settled into her chair, tapped the touchpad to bring the screen to life and logged in. Her manuscript sat there, formatted and waiting, the blank white pages of the Word document mocking her with their emptiness. She stared at the screen for a moment, then put her fingers to the keyboard and started typing.

Wolfgang Blackborne stared out across the jagged castle ruins. Wind scoured the Scottish moors, buffeting his face and tugging at his long, leather coat. His childhood home had once been a majestic place. But that had been three hundred years ago. Before he’d been turned into the beast he now was.

He’d thought his life was about to be perfect again. That he’d be able to rebuild here, create a legacy for the family he and Marabella would conceive. But he’d lost his beloved Marabella. And his brother had betrayed him.

Now he cared only for one thing. Vengeance. And with the help of his pack, he was finally going to get it.

Roxy nodded. That was good. That was a start. Only eighty thousand more words to go. She sighed and started tapping away, losing herself in the world of the Blood Moon Brotherhood until her stomach started to growl.

She looked at the time. She’d been at the keyboard for almost two hours. That was enough for the day, considering it was getting late. She got up, went into the kitchen to fix something to eat and saw the note again.

She picked it up and was about to pitch it in the trash when a small voice in her head said not to. She really didn’t want it in her house, but maybe she’d hang on to it for another day or two.

Just in case.

She gingerly stuck the card back into the envelope and set it on top of the fridge, which required some stretching, but also meant out of sight, out of mind. She brushed her hands off and decided another beer, or two, was in order while her low-fat, all-veggie frozen pizza for one heated up.

She got the pizza in the oven, then turned on the TV and sat on the couch while it baked. Feet up on the coffee table, she scrolled through the channels, not paying so much attention to what was on as to what was happening tomorrow.

Lunch with Alex. The non-date date. She grinned. Whatever it was, it would be fun. He was a nice guy, and she needed to get out and see the town some more anyway. Maybe afterward, she’d stop by and see Delaney. Get the real scoop on her neighbor.

Hmm. Maybe she should get a picture of the two of them together and post it to her social media. Her fans would go nuts over Officer Cruz in his uniform. She shook her head. She wouldn’t do it, no matter how many likes it might get her. Some things weren’t meant for public consumption, like her private life.

Roxy nodded, pleased with her plan for the next day. Who knows? She might be so inspired after lunch with Alex that she’d get some writing done in the afternoon.

The next day started bright and early with the arrival of Undrea Seely, owner of Tanks A Lot. Undrea was stunning, in an unintentional sort of way. Her rose-gold hair was pulled back in a long braid and she wore denim overalls with a simple cotton tank top. Her amber eyes were bright and happy. “Morning! Ready to get fishy?”