“You know my name? I don't know yours.”
"I'm Reese. This is my sister, Kimberly.”
Kimberly smiled from ear to ear. “Nice to meet you.”
“And I'm Luke," one of the guys said.
“And I’m Sam.” He yawned, then shook his head. “Sorry, still not completely on this time zone. I just flew in from Honduras.”
“You live there?” I asked.
“I work there for Doctors Without Borders.”
“It’s great to meet all of you.” I waved to everyone, then turned to my neighbor. "Declan, I need to ask you for a favor. I'm going to visit Helen, and I think it would make her day if I took pictures of the house and showed them to her. I know she’d love to see these beautiful hardwood floors and the reconditioned banister leading up to the first floor." I’d mentioned it to him earlier, but I didn’t want to bring up our time together in front of his family.
Declan's eyes turned soft. He was killing me. "Sure. Where does she live?" I hadn’t mentioned the location earlier, so no wonder he was asking.
"In an assisted living facility near Elm Street. I'm heading there right now."
“No problem,” Declan said.
“Thanks. You’ve taken such good care of the place, and I know she’ll be thrilled to see the changes.” I took out my phone. “Don't let me keep you from what you were doing." I started snapping pics, even trying to take a few selfies showing a thumbs-up, but I looked a bit ridiculous.
"Liz, give me that. I'll help you," Declan said, coming next to me. I felt his physical presence like a hug, as if he’d wrapped those muscular arms around me.
I handed him the phone, trying to ignore the sizzle in my body when our fingers touched.
I moved around the room, going to the banister and the window. He snapped a few pics as I made silly poses. I’d already photographed them before, but I knew Helen would have a field day with my shenanigans.
"You're thoughtful visiting her,” he murmured.
“I liked Helen. I’d hoped she'd be my neighbor for a long time.”
“And instead you got my grumpiest cousin," Reese said. “He’s like a year-round grinch.”
I looked at her over my shoulder, then back at Declan and winked. "Exactly.”
“Poor replacement, huh? Though we did hear that you’re not letting him sleep.”
“We reached a truce, didn’t we?” Declan asked, looking me straight in the eyes.
I cleared my throat, trying to ignore the way my stomach cartwheeled. “Yes, we did.”
His eyes were full of amusement as he handed me back my phone.
"I’m going,” I said with a wave. “Thank you. And again, sorry for my interruption."
“Wait," Reese said, looking at her cousins and sister. She ran her hand through her wavy tresses. Her hair was shiny, like she came out of a salon, which she probably had. "We can ask her opinion, right? As a third party, she’ll be objective."
I laughed. Well, I’d kissed Declan, so I wasn't sure about the objective part.
"Declan, do you mind if we share secrets with your neighbor?" Reese asked.
Declan threw his head back, laughing.
Ha! Good to know he laughed effortlessly around his family.
“Want to join us at the island?” Reese asked me. “Or are you in a hurry?”
