“I love the location,” Danny says, leaning his back against the wall next to me.
“Worth every penny.”
“I think you got a better deal a few years ago, but yeah, still worth every penny.”
I tap my glass against his beer bottle. “Let’s hope I did. Ha!”
“You’re not home much or you’re a very quiet neighbor. Do you travel a lot?”
“I travel a little. Not much for work if I can help it. I went to Vegas recently.”
“I’m still amazed I live next to the woman who created the Bite Me Lime. That’s so cool.”
“And what do you do?”
“If you listen to my agent—”
“Ahhh,” I say, “You have an agent.”
“Hey, hey. Not so harsh.”
I laugh. “Sorry. Go on.”
“Well, according to my agent, I’m an aging underwear model…” My eyebrows go up as he continues, “…But now I’m a photographer most of the time, location scout sometimes. It pays the bills and I love what I do. Something different every day. I never get bored.”
“I bet not. Sounds interesting.”
“Do you mind if I ask you something personal, Holli?”
Even in the soft light of the living room that’s seeping outside, I can see his eyes fixed on me. Makes me want to blush from the intensity. I laugh instead, my usual comfort reaction. “I think you have every right after what I asked you in the kitchen.”
“Well,” he starts, but pauses to glance down. “I’ve been wondering… if you think I should upgrade to hardwoods through the lower level.”
I burst out laughing and hit him on the arm. “You had me going the way you were so serious. You have a sick sense of humor, you know that?”
“I do,” he says, laughing. “Actually, I was wondering if you have hardwoods I could see?”
“Yep, I do. Stop by anytime.”
“How about now?”
I look at him and then to my patio, trying to remember if I straightened up earlier. “Sure.”
As we walk over to mine, he asks, “I’m thinking dark wood, but being near the beach makes me want to go light.”
“I went light.” I unlock the door, and walk inside.
He stops just inside the door. “Wow, for the same floorplan, your place is a lot nicer.”
“I’ve done a little renovation here and there. Make yourself at home.” I close the door and follow him around.
“Can I see what you’ve done upstairs or is it off-limits?”
“You can peek in my office, but not in the bedroom please. I have issues with hanging up clothes, so they end up on the floor and in my chair, piled high.”
He makes his way up and I go into the kitchen to get a glass of wine since I left mine at the party. My phone buzzes on the counter and Dalton’s name flashes. I hear Danny talking to friends at his house from my patio when I answer, “Hi.” I feel like I should join Danny, but stay in the kitchen.
“Hi. You’re up?”
“Yes, I’m still up.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’ve missed your voice,” I say, not realizing how much I have until I hear it again.
“You do?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. I miss everything about you. Especially that tattoo… and your pus—”
“Cool digs,” Danny says, startling me when he walks into the kitchen.
“Oh, thanks,” I reply, my attention divided. I raise my finger to let him know I need a minute. He nods and walks into the living room. “Dalton?”
“Holliday, who’s there?”
“My neighbor stopped by to see my hardwoods.”
“Hardwoods? Is that code for something?”
I burst out laughing, but suddenly realize he’s not joking. “No, it’s only code for flooring.” Trying to bring him around, I lighten it up by saying, “I know how sexy the topic of flooring is, but no, it’s not code… I don’t know where I was going with that.”
“Not at all,” he says, chuckling. “Get rid of the neighbor and let’s get back to talking about what I miss about you.”
“I like that idea a lot. Let me call you right back.”
“K.”
When I hang up, I join Danny in the living room. “Do you like what you see?”
He nods, a small smile appearing. “I do.”
“So you’re gonna go for it?”
“I might. It’s hard to decide. Sometimes you want to know for sure before pulling the trigger, so to speak.”
Leaning against the sofa, I’m suddenly thinking we might be talking about two different things entirely. Feeling the need to clear the air, I say, “Danny, I just started seeing someone.”