The moment my headlights turned into the driveway, they landed on a set of eyes next door. Ford was sitting on the front steps of his house drinking a beer. The looming bit of anxiousness I’d felt suddenly turned into full-blown panic.

I took a few deep breaths as I parked, telling myself I was being ridiculous and wasn’t doing anything wrong. I could drag Mark back to the house to sleep with him, if I wanted to. In fact, that’s probably exactly what I should be doing tonight.

In the rearview mirror, I could see that Mark had started to get out of his car, so I had to suck it up. My house and Ford’s were only about twenty feet apart. It wasn’t like I could pretend I didn’t see him sitting there.

Mark met me at my car door when I got out and closed it for me. We walked a few steps toward the front stairs, and my eyes locked with Ford’s. He didn’t say a word, just watched me silently as he drank his beer.

“Uh, hey,” I called, feeling totally awkward.

Ford nodded.

As awkward as I felt, I couldn’t avoid introductions. “Um, Mark, this is my…” Friend? Man making me take cold showers? Guy I met on Match? “…this is Ford.”

Mark walked over and extended his hand. Ford didn’t get up, but shook it. It was quiet, and I tried to think of something to fill the uncomfortable silence, because it didn’t seem like Ford was going to be any help.

“Ford owns the house. He’s Bella’s brother.” I looked over at Ford, who still hadn’t taken his eyes off of me. The intense look on his face made my stomach do a nervous flip. “Mark met Bella today at the art fair in town.”

“Wow. Nice house for such a young guy.” Mark was being his usual, friendly self. “I have a daughter I’d like to introduce you to,” he chided.

I closed my eyes. I hadn’t thought it could feel any more awkward, but, yup, that did the trick.

Ford’s mouth was a straight line as he brought the beer to it and continued the silent treatment.

“Bella said you had a meeting in the city today and weren’t back until tomorrow.”

“Change of plans.” His eyes darted between Mark and me. “Something came up.”

I nodded.

While I felt the tension emanating from Ford, at least Mark seemed oblivious. “Nice to meet you,” he said.

My eyes caught with Ford’s as I started up the stairs. “Have a good night.”

The antsiness I’d felt outside continued when Mark and I escaped into the house. I gave him the grand tour in record speed, showing him the inside, followed by the back deck. The moon lit the beach enough to see the ocean in the dark, and the sound of waves crashing came with a gentle breeze. He marveled over the view. It would’ve been a magnificent night to sit here, but I was too frazzled. I didn’t even do the polite thing and offer him a drink or a cup of coffee.

Taking the not-so-subtle hint, Mark said goodbye ten minutes later. I walked him to the front door, curious to see if my neighbor was still around, but Ford had disappeared.

I should have been relieved that he wasn’t hovering around anymore. But instead, his absence filled me with an overwhelming anxiety that I didn’t quite know what to do with.

***

A good, long soak in the tub with a glass of wine helped take the edge off. Though, even after that, I still felt out of sorts and not ready for bed, so I headed down to the kitchen for a refill. I poured wine and stood staring outside the kitchen window that faced Ford and Bella’s house. The lights were on, and only Ford’s car was home. I knew Bella had to work tonight, so she probably wouldn’t be home for a few hours. Maybe I should go over and clear the air?

I wasn’t dressed, and I had no idea what the hell I’d say. There wasn’t anything to discuss—because there wasn’t anything between us. So instead, I sipped my wine and stared blankly out at the night.

A set of headlights turning into the driveway next to mine brought me back from deep thought. Bella must’ve gotten off early from the restaurant. I was glad I hadn’t gone over there now. But after the car parked, I leaned closer to the window and noticed it wasn’t Bella’s car.

And the woman wearing a dress short enough to show her ass if she bent even slightly was certainly not Ford’s sister. My emotions, which had been in turmoil for the last hour, suddenly had no conflict. The burn of jealousy rose from deep within me and heated my cheeks.

I watched the woman teeter in her stilettos and walk toward the house. When she reached the stairs, the automatic security lights flashed on, and the face I hadn’t been able to see in the dark became clear.

Of course she was gorgeous.

And had a killer body.

Miles and miles of legs.

Boobs that hadn’t become acquainted with gravity yet, too.

Young.

So, so young.

She had a bottle of wine in one hand, and an overnight bag in the other.

I felt sick. Yet like watching a bad car accident, I couldn’t look away. As she got to the top of the stairs, Ford opened the door. He must have been waiting for her.

Anxious.

I looked away when he took her in his arms for an embrace. It shouldn’t have hurt so much. But that didn’t make it any easier to swallow.

***

I’d just drifted off to sleep when I heard a noise. Sitting up in a fog, I wasn’t sure where it had come from, only that it had woken me. I waited to see if I heard it again, because I wasn’t positive I hadn’t imagined it.

But then I heard the noise again. It was coming from downstairs and sounded like it might be the garbage cans rolling around in the breeze. Slipping from bed, I peered out my second-floor window. Our road had no streetlights, and it was too dark to see anything without the exterior house lights. So I went downstairs to turn on the porch light and take a better look.

At the bottom of the stairs, I saw the silhouette of a person standing outside my front door. It was late, and I knew Ford had company, so it likely wouldn’t be him. Maybe Mark had come back? That didn’t seem probable since he’d left more than an hour ago and would be halfway home by now.

My heart sped up as I moved closer to the door. “Who is it?”

“It’s Ford.”

That did nothing to slow my rapid pulse.

I opened the door. “Is everything okay?”

“No. Can I come in?”

Chapter 11

* * *

Ford

“How was your date?” I stared out her back sliding glass doors, looking out at the darkness. Valentina stood somewhere behind me.

“It wasn’t a date.”

I turned and caught her eyes. “Sure looked like one.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter what it looked like. It wasn’t. Mark is a friend from school. We belonged to a study group together.”

I took a few steps toward her. “Yeah. I remember you telling me about him…the night he asked you out on a date.”

She squared her shoulders. “How was your date?”

My brows drew down. Date? Then it dawned on me that she must’ve seen Nina come in—my cousin Nina, who came for the weekend to hang out with Bella. I wondered if she was feeling as jealous as I was—so I went with it and let her think what she’d obviously been thinking.

“Great, just great.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets and shrugged. “Nina—great girl.”

“She left early.”

I grinned. “Nope, she’s still next door. Getting all settled in for the night.”

Val looked hurt, but I wanted her to be pissed. So I pushed. Her back leaned against the kitchen sink. I took a few more steps, so I stood right in front of her.

“Just came over to see if you know of any good, romantic restaurants that are open late in town.”

“No.” Her eyes shot daggers, and her voice was clipped. Clearly she wasn’t even going to entertain my question and think about it.

I moved yet closer, just inside her personal space. She had nowhere to retreat.

“How about nude beaches? Thought maybe we’d go to a nude beach tomorrow.”

Her eyes sparked. “No.”

She was definitely jealous, though she did her best not to show it. But where there’s a spark, there’s fire, so I kept adding gasoline.

“How about lingerie shops? Nina likes to shop. I hate it, so might as well make it something we can both enjoy.”

She squinted. “Maybe you should go back into the city for the weekend. Not too many shops like that in Montauk.”

I clicked my mouth and grinned. “Shame. How about sex toy shops? Maybe some edible underwear and body paint? Do you think that stains sheets?”

That did it. I actually saw the spark in her eyes shoot to a flame. “You know what, Ford? I really don’t want to hear about your sex life.”

I put one hand on either side of the counter behind her, boxing her in. “No? Why not, Val? What’s the reason you don’t want to hear about me having sex with another woman?”

“I just don’t. Do you want to hear about my sex life?”

My chest burned even hearing her say sex life. I started to get angry. “Fuck, no. But you know why I don’t want to hear about it?”

She stared at me, steam practically coming out of her nose.

“Not going to take a guess? Let me fill you the fuck in, then. I don’t want to hear about your sex life because I’m jealous. Because I want to be the one taking you out on a date and sleeping in your bed. And you feel the same goddamn way I do, but you’re too afraid to admit it.”