But He's My Grumpy Neighbor (But He's a Carter Brother #1)

by Annah Conwell

while still staring out at the ridiculously attractive man stalking across his yard like he’s mad at it for existing at all. Which is quite sad, considering how lovely our little neighborhood is.

“Sorry about him!” Smiley twin yells across the yard. “He gets nervous around beautiful women.”

I gape at him behind his back. Why does he have to like tea? He’s gorgeous, dresses like the men on my fantasy life Pinterest boards, has antique furniture, and likes tea. If he wasn’t so ornery, I’d think he was my future husband.

take off again, wishing that I could outrun the image of Juliette warm and soft under a blanket. The kind of image that makes me want to join her there on the bench instead of what I need to do which is stay far, far away.

Oh hes crushing already. Cute

“We do not tolerate tardiness, boy,” Henry says, trying to stand tall at the front of the room. It’s hard to look intimidating compared to Adrian though. “The flyer said 6:15.” Adrian’s low voice echoing through the silent room has my pulse fluttering. “We changed the meeting to six, it was on the community Facebook page,” Henry says, haughtiness coating his scratchy voice. “I don’t have Facebook.” A chorus of gasps filter through the crowd and I can’t help but giggle.

“You can relax, I don’t bite,” I whisper, leaning toward him. There’s ample space between us that he seems determined to keep. He looks down at me, something glittering in his blue eyes. I can imagine him in another life leaning down and whispering but I do. The thought sends a tingle down my spine–but doesn’t come to fruition.

Lol

Did I just blackout and wake up in an alternate reality or did Adrian just flirt with me?

“I come to family dinners, I go to all of Maddie’s dance competitions, and I text in that insipid group chat. What more do you want from me?”

Same adrian same

“My problem is that you’re forcing yourself on a woman in the street.” Adrian’s voice is dangerously low. “I barely touched her!” Kyle whines while trying to wriggle out of Adrian’s iron grip. “And you won’t touch her ever again, nor will you contact her.”

Hehe

Kyle’s face twists up in anger. “Who are you to say what she wants?” “Juliette,” Adrian says my name, but his icy gaze doesn’t leave Kyle. “Do you want this man to contact you again?” “No,” I whisper and Kyle turns his head to glare at me. Adrian presses him into the wall harder in response. “Then it’s settled. You’re going to leave without so much as a glance at her, or you’ll have to deal with me.”

Giggling

My mind won’t quit replaying the moment I spotted them across the street. Before I assessed her discomfort, an unwelcome feeling arose to the surface of my mind. Jealousy.

Some people would resent the fact that the weather matches their mood, but not me. It gives me a sense of justification.

“You know I hate being called Georgie!” Georgiana stomps one of her kitten heels with a huff. “Both of the cards are correct,” Henry says, looking as though he might be sick. “You both have won the jackpot and must split it.” “Rigged,” Gerty declares. “This whole darn thing is rigged! Down with the man!” She tips the bingo cage, causing the balls to spill out all over the floor.

Yes Gerty!

“Running is like dying but without the relief of death.” Her words come out stilted in between short, panting breaths. “That’s a disturbing analogy.”

We’ve spent the past hour going over various small talk options. So far I’ve learned that we both hate small talk and I’d much rather sit with him and drink tea than be anywhere else. But I do feel more confident about tomorrow, so that’s something.

“Anything you don’t want is worthy of punishment. You deserve respect.” His words come out gravelly and rough, those deep blue eyes boring into mine. “That’s kind of you to say.”

“Can you please watch out for her? I should have told her not to go, but her best friend convinced her it would be a good idea.” “Sure, I got her. I’ll fend off the worst of them.” “If I had to bet, no guy in there deserves Juliette.” “I’m hurt on behalf of myself and Jeremy.” “If you wanted to date Juliette you would have already and Jeremy cowers every time I walk past his cubicle. Juliette needs someone who can protect her.”

“Both fair points, though what I still don’t understand is why you aren’t here growling at anyone who so much as glances in her general direction or better yet, reading to her by a fire or whatever your idea of romance is. I wouldn’t know, since you never date anyone.”

Hahaha

“That’s nice of you. Your girlfriend isn’t sad you’re missing out on Valentine’s Day?” I ask and he grins, that feline nature coming back into play. “I thought you had a crush on my brother, but now you’re flirting with me?” My eyes get big and I blink a few times, trying to understand where I went wrong. “N-no I don’t- I wasn’t–”

hah

“This isn’t what I imagined my love life would look like,” I admit. “But I live in a community of mostly elderly people and I work from home, so there’s not a good way for me to meet people.” “You met my brother. I know he acts like a grumpy old man, but he’s only thirty.” I smile at Grayson’s joke. “Your brother and I are friends.” “Adrian doesn’t have friends.” “I know, I volunteered to be the first one.” I keep my tone light, but deep down my heart squeezes for the stoic man who lives next door. At least he has his family, that’s more than I can say. Somehow, his loneliness bothers me more than my own. “Well, could you take one for the team and be his girlfriend too?” I shoot Grayson a flat look that has him laughing. “There

His smile fades into a somber look, catching me off guard. “I care about what you think, Juliette. The list of people who get to have opinions on my life is admittedly short, but you’re on it.”

“Only Juliette gets to call me Sunshine.” His gruff order makes those around us share knowing looks.

“We’re going to look like one of those cringey couples on the cover of an L.L. Bean catalog, except without the flannel,” Juliette murmurs, coaxing a laugh out of me.

I’m exhausted, and my couch is far from long enough for me to comfortably sleep on. So that leaves me with the floor … or the other side of my king bed. I’m being idiotic. We’re both adults. We can sleep on opposite sides of the bed without it being awkward.

Loololol the one bed trope strikss again

I, however, am going to hold onto this for years to come. As I fall back asleep I do the grounding technique I taught Juliette for her anxiety, except instead of using it to calm down, I’m using it to catalog every detail of this period in time.

I didn’t deserve your efforts–I still don’t. Your kindness and gracefulness are boundless. But I’ve come to accept the fact that while I can’t be who you deserve, neither can any other man. So, I’m asking for permission to fail you.

Stop

don’t believe that a man is capable of saving me from my struggles, not even one as wonderful as Adrian. But I do believe that he’s helping nurse my bruised and battered heart back to health.