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“So you don’t do relationships?” he asked.
“Nope.” She hadn’t done one for a long time.
He pulled up onto his drive, and they climbed out.
Cassie waited for him to open the trunk of his car, and when he paused, seeming frozen in time, she looked at him. He was staring at her.
“What?”
“You know about the whole neighbors to lovers thing?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think it started with a car ride?”
Cassie burst out laughing. “Nah, I think it started out as a hell of a lot more. Maybe there were some car rides, and then spending time together, being with each other every single day, decorating. Before long there’s no dates appearing, and then bam, they’re the ones having sex. I wouldn’t worry, Slade. I do not for a second think that one car ride home, and we’re heading down the aisle.”
He started laughing as well. She grabbed several bags, and as she went for a third, Slade waved her off.
“I’ll bring them in.”
“Excellent, thanks.”
She entered her home and went straight to the kitchen. The natural light was something she loved about the house. Opening the back doors to let more fresh air in, she placed the bags on the counter, and began to empty them out.
“Are you expecting a party or something?”
“I know. I’m a sucker for a bargain, and all of this cost me like half the price.” She was used to growing up with nothing, so she had a thing now that she made sure there was enough to eat in the house. “It’ll be fine.”
“If you need any help eating your way through this, give me a holler. I’m an expert eater, and I love food.”
She giggled. “I may hold you to that.”
“Right, I better get my own steaks in the fridge.” He was just leaving, pulling open a door when the handle snapped off. “Well, shit,” he said.
She winced. “Yeah, that’s been wobbly for some time. I have to say repairing door handles is not my forte.”
“I’ve got a spare. Let me go and grab one. I’ll fix the damage.”
“Okay. I’ll leave the door unlocked.”
By the time Slade got back with a little toolkit in hand, she had put everything away, and was making herself a salad.
“Do you want some lunch?” she asked. “I could grill up some shrimp, and make it something a bit more than some leaves of salad?”
“Absolutely. I’m starving.”
While he fixed her door handle, she finished up the tomato-mozzarella salad, with a basil dressing. She quickly cooked up some shrimp, and tossed it through the mixture adding some arugula to finish. She served them up just as Slade got done.
She placed their meals on a plate, with some iced tea, and they agreed to eat in the yard.
Cassie sat down, pushing her hair off one shoulder before reaching for her plate. “The only problem with the summer is keeping up with everything.” She had to mow her lawn and weed through her vegetable patch.
“What do you do with all your vegetables?” he asked. “There’s more there than you can use.”
“I can.” Her cheeks heated as she admitted to the old-fashioned skill.
“Really? Wow, you can. I thought that was still pretty outdated. You know we have stores all around with canned goods.”
