Working from top to bottom, she released the chain lock, flipped the deadbolt free, and turned the lock on her knob before opening the door and stepping out onto the small, gabled porch.
A breeze blew past, and she had to tuck a few wayward strands behind her ear to keep them free from her eyes. The average high in Chicago this time of year was mid-to-upper seventies, but today was a much warmer eighty-four degrees.
God, I hate the heat.
Knowing there wasn’t anything she could do to change it, Raegan drew in a deep breath, held it a few seconds, and then released it in one long, slow exhale. With another quick inhale, she lifted her chin, put on her friendliest smile, and descended the home’s three front steps before cutting a hard left across the grass.
Her steps were silent as the soles of her shoes sank into the manicured lawn. When Raegan cleared the northeast corner of the rented house, she was relieved to see her neighbor hammering away at what she assumed were new shingles.
Brilliant deduction, Rae. Not like the guy has two bundles of replacement shingles sitting right next to him or anything.
Blinking the annoying—but accurate—voice away, she continued following the invisible path between his house and hers. Several yards of grass separated them, but the ground was fairly flat and easily traveled.
Raegan was halfway between the two homes when she heard…
“Hello.”
Deep. Masculine. And every bit as sexy as the man it belonged to.
With a hand shielding her eyes from the sun, she stopped and looked up to see the man she’d been watching from her window, looking straight into her eyes. Her lungs attempted to pull in a full breath, but for some reason, the feat seemed more difficult than usual.
“H-hi,” Raegan stuttered back.
The slight hesitation in her voice was fitting for the persona she was hoping to pull off, only…
That wasn’t an act.
Feeling a bit thrown off her game, she did a quick mental check because she’d never been the type to stutter. And she damn sure wasn’t one to hesitate.
Except…you just did.
Realizing the man on the roof was still staring down at her, Raegan cleared her throat and offered him her friendliest smile. “I’m Raegan,” she introduced herself as a good neighbor should. “I, uh…” She thumbed toward the house behind her. “I just moved in next door.”
“I noticed,” he rumbled low.
Um…he had?
His words had her heart stammering inside her chest. Did that mean, despite her best efforts to the contrary, he’d seen her spying on him earlier? Or had he merely meant he’d seen a car in the driveway when he’d gotten home at zero dark thirty in the morning?
Act normal, Rae. You’re just a normal girl from next door, remember?
“Oh.” She gave a nervous chuckle. “You…did?”
You hesitated again? Really?
“Yep.” Her neighbor nodded with a slight grin that made her imagine all sorts of naughty things.
And stop thinking about sex, for crying out loud! He’s an unknown, and you have a vibrator. Now focus!
Before Raegan could say anything more, her neighbor had already dropped his roofing hammer into his toolbox and was swinging his powerful legs over the top rung. Resuming her steps, she forced slow, steady breaths in and out of her lungs as she covered the remaining distance between where she’d stopped and the tall, metal ladder.
As she walked toward him, she absolutely didnotpay close attention to the way his jeans stretched over the man’s tight, tempting ass. She also didn’t feel a sudden rush of arousal from the close-up view of the magnificent back she’d admired earlier.
No, siree, Raegan didn’t noticeanyof those things because, as she’d so dutifully reminded herself seconds before, hooking up wasnother reason for being here. Intel. She was here solely to gather intel from the man who’d just stepped foot back on the grass and was walking her way.
“Hi,” her neighbor greeted her again as he covered the short distance between them. “I’m Rocky.”
“Raegan Perry.” Her brow furrowed with a slight tilt of her head. “And Rocky? Really? Did your parents hate you or something?”