Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
A myriad of emotions flashed across her face before settling on what I would call unsure and confused. Her eyes cut to look over the rest of the residents in the pool area to see if anyone was looking in this direction before swinging back to me.
“What are you doing here?” she asked me.
“What are you doing here?” I replied.
With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, she said through clenched teeth, “I live here.”
Then, I laughed. I couldn’t help it. I had already deduced she was probably a resident, but there was always a chance she was visiting someone and using the pool here. Knowing she lived in my building was too fucking funny.
“Do you find that amusing?” she asked, then tilted her head to the side and glared up at me. “You don’t live here. Why are you—” Then, she stopped, and her eyes widened. That full bottom lip of hers dropped down as a gasp came out of her. “No,” she breathed, then closed her eyes tightly and muttered something under her breath that I didn’t quite catch.
I watched her, completely entertained by her reaction. “I’m going to assume you figured out on your own why I’m here,” I drawled, crossing my arms over my chest, unable to stop smirking.
“You,” she said. “You bought this place?”
I nodded.
“Why? Don’t you have a …” She paused and glanced around again, then whispered, “A mansion in Beverly Hills or something?”
She knew where I lived. I was impressed.
“If you know that, then you probably know I have a son who lives in Rosemary Beach. Grandkids too.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Yes, but this isn’t Rosemary Beach.”
“How do you like the pool?” I asked her instead. “Needs a makeover, don’t you think?”
She stared at me, saying nothing. I would admit, I had been bored before coming down here and finding her. I enjoyed seeing her annoyance with me. She was interesting, and although I was done fucking women her age, that didn’t mean I couldn’t talk to her.
“The pool is fine as it is,” she said.
“But you like the new lounge chairs,” I said, knowing she would be lying if she said no.
“Yes, I do like those,” she acknowledged, but the sour look on her face made it clear she hated to say so.
“How’s Cam?” I asked her, surprised that I had remembered the name of the poor guy she controlled with her magic vagina.
“He’s fine,” she snapped. “I need to go,” she added, then stepped around me to leave.
Just like that, she was going to walk away. Had a female ever just walked away from me when I was talking to her?
My gaze followed her as she left, and when she glanced back at me before opening the gate, I winked. Brielle had just shown a small crack in her annoyed attitude by looking back. She wasn’t completely immune to me. Even if she wished like hell she were.
four
brielle
Slamming my door with more force than necessary, I tossed my bag down on the floor and growled in frustration. He was an asshole, a jerk, and he just kept showing up in my life and reminding me of all those things. What had I done wrong for the cosmos to drop him not only into my building, but also as the new owner of my freaking building?
This did not matter. I would rarely see him. I doubted he was going to just walk through the place. He had obviously been trying to hide his identity down at the pool. As if people wouldn’t notice a man wearing ripped jeans and black snakeskin boots by a pool in Florida during the summer. Not to mention, his unbuttoned black shirt that was showing off his tattoos. He was going to stand out.
“God help me if Clara finds out,” I mumbled aloud.
She would never leave.
A knock on my door interrupted my thoughts, and I turned back around to walk over and answer it. I expected it to be Mrs. Jo since I knew Clara wasn’t coming over and Mrs. Jo was the only other person who visited me. Mostly to drop off something she had baked that I didn’t need to eat.
The brown-eyed construction worker I had passed a few times while he was working outside the past week was standing there. He smiled at me, and his eyes dropped to my chest. I pulled my cover-up, which had fallen open, closed. His eyes snapped back up to my face when he realized he’d been caught.
“Uh, I was just letting you know we are working on your floor this week. Painting, some hammering, but not too much. Shouldn’t be that noisy.”
Another annoyance, compliments of the new landlord. Although a fresh coat of paint wouldn’t hurt. New light fixtures would also be nice. Maybe new paint on the doors too.