Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
“One of the York girls,” Ryan mused. “Which one?”
“Bella York,” a rich feminine voice answered as she came to a stop beside Everest. She was beautiful. Gorgeous with her long limbs, strong and lean. Long legs encased in a white tank top that showed off her shoulders and muscular arms, a pink bra peeked from behind one of the straps. But her legs were the real superstars, encased in denim that looked damn near painted on and a floppy hat on top of thick brown hair that hung halfway down her back, or would have if the wind hadn’t picked it up and swirled it around her body. She put a hand on Everest’s shoulder and smiled. “The Gregory Brothers. Hey Ryan. Roman.” She didn’t say my name or even look in my direction and I wasn’t at all surprised.
“Bella York,” Roman purred and leaned in with an appreciative smile. “You always were a pretty thing but holy hell woman. I’m of legal age now,” he reminded her and wiggled his eyebrows.
Bella laughed and the sound was thick and rich and over the top feminine. “Thanks Roman. And congratulations on your solo and group success. You guys are all over the place.”
“We took a risk and it paid off.” Ryan shrugged like it was no big deal. “What are you planning to grow?”
“Quite a bit actually. Soybeans will be our biggest crop, there will also be squash and tomatoes and apples from the orchard. I also have a vertical farm with plenty of herbs and leafy greens. A lot of stuff,” she said with an embarrassed laugh. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Ryan assured her. “I own Dark Horse, it’s a high end restaurant in town and my chef, Nina, loves to come out and pick fresh food. She would love this.”
I watched as she chatted easily with my brothers and wondered to myself, how was it possible that she had gotten even prettier over the years. She was still willowy with this innately delicate look about her, but now there was also a strength about her, inside and out. “It was great to see you guys, a real blast from the past. But I need to get back to it,” she said and thumbed in the direction over her shoulder. “Tell your chef to come by anytime to check the place out. I’m happy to show her around.” She took a few steps back, brown eyes smiling wide at my brothers before she turned to Everest with an affectionate smile.
“What about me?” I shouldn’t have said anything. I should have just left well enough alone. She didn’t like me, probably hated me and the fact that I was her next door neighbor and she had good reason to ignore me completely. But that just wasn’t my style.
Annabella York froze and turned slowly to level me with an icy glare. “What about you?”
I took a step forward and licked my lips. “Am I welcome anytime?”
She flashed a sexy smile and I swore my knees gave out a little. She was hot as hell in jeans and a tank, imagine what she would look like in nothing at all. “You, Derek Gregory are welcome, never. Not ever, even if there’s an end of the world disaster. Unless of course you have a fondness for the taste and feel of shotgun slugs.”
“Ouch,” Roman groaned and then laughed.
With a pointed look at me to make sure I got the hint, she turned and walked away, long legs eating up the space quickly.
My brothers roared with laughter at her insult, looking at me with questions in their eyes that I refused to answer. “I can’t wait to hear that story,” Ryan said around a loud guffaw.
Even Everest laughed. “Wow. I’m pretty sure Aunt Bella hates you and she likes everyone. Everyone,” he emphasized. “Sorry,” he added with a shrug. “It was nice to meet you guys. All of you.” He waved and walked off, shaking his head with an amused smile.
As soon as Everest was out of earshot, Roman let an even bigger laugh loose. “What the hell was that about man?”
“Ancient history,” I growled and walked away from the fence, putting as much distance between me and Bella York as possible. With her so close, her hatred so palpable, it didn’t feel all that ancient. It just felt like another thing that I would have to apologize for.
Eventually.
Some day.
Later.
Chapter 3
Bella
Derek fucking Gregory was my next door neighbor.
What were the odds? More importantly, what in the hell did I ever do to deserve this? To be fair I hadn’t really had much luck in life to expect anything different. I was twice divorced with no kids of my own, my best friend was dead, and I had no family that I cared to be close to, so in fact, the odds were pretty high that the man I hated most in the world—more than both ex-husbands put together—would be right next door.