“No problem, doesn’t look like you bought the store out.”
I blushed. No, there really hadn’t been any need to. But, then, even when I had shopped for two, the groceries had normally gone to Connor’s place. “How do you like the place so far?”
“My grandmother hadn’t had a repairman in the place in years, so I’ve spent the last couple of weeks repairing the stairs, replacing floorboards, and talking to plumbers. I’m sorry I scared you. I’ve actually been looking for you to return so that I could get with you about the front door.” He put the bags on the counter and glanced around the kitchen area. “Same floor plan.”
“Yes.” I motioned upward. “I use my loft space for storage just like your grandmother did.” I pulled off my coat and overlooked his raised eyebrow at my dress. It was short and revealing and I’d worn the little blue bit of silk as a petty little dig at Connor. It felt even more petty now. “So about the front door?”
“I’d like to have it replaced and put in an alarm system. I’ve gotten four quotes from companies so that we could go over it together. If it isn’t in your budget, we can work out a payment plan of some kind.” He looked me over again and then met my gaze.
I’d meant to ask him about it when he’d first moved in, but my impromptu vacation had interfered with that.
“No, I can handle it.” I had quite a little bit of savings that wasn’t going to go into buying Lavone’s apartment after all. “I tried several times to talk your grandmother into getting a security system, but she always refused. Since we shared that space, I couldn’t do it without her. Not unless I went to court, and I really didn’t want to bully her.”
Shawn laughed. “I imagine she was a pain in the ass to live with.”
I frowned at him. “You shouldn’t talk about your grandmother like that.”
“Unfortunately for us both, Lavone and I never actually met.” He leaned against the counter. “She disowned my father when he married my mother.”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah.” He nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I tried to meet her once, but she refused. After that, I just left her alone. She was an old woman and I couldn’t bring myself to bully her any more than you could, I guess.”
“Stubborn and unreasonable were some of her better qualities,” I admitted. “And she left the apartment to you?”
“To my father, actually. The family took a vote and because I was living in a rental, I got the privilege of taking over the apartment and cleaning it out.” He shoved his hands into his jeans and looked around. “I hired some movers to help me get rid of stuff before I could even move in myself.”
I laughed softly. “Well, at least it’s paid for.”
“Yeah.” He slid the tip of his tongue across his bottom lip and let his gaze drop down slowly over me. “I figured I was going to be living next door to an old woman, so seeing you before your disappearing act was a pleasant surprise.”
“I feel old, if that counts for anything.” I leaned against the counter and tried to relax. It had been a long time since a man’s interest had made me nervous.
“Hardly detracts,” he admitted. “I collected your mail while you were gone. It’s in a box by my door.”
“Thanks.” I blushed. Christ, I hadn’t thought of anything but me and my dog when I’d bailed on Connor and Boston in general. “I took a vacation. It was a sudden decision.”
“We all need a little time to ourselves now and again. What do you do?”
“I’m a sales and purchasing manager for Holman Gallery.”
“That charity art place downtown?”
“One and the same.”
“Nice. I took my niece through there about a year ago; she really enjoyed it.”
That’s what I get for leaving the sales floor. Eye-candy watching had been cut to practically nothing. “I’m proud to be a part of something that offers so much to the city. What about you?”
“Much to my mother’s distress and my father’s shock, I’m a cop. I’ve worked robbery/homicide for about eight years now.”
“I take it you weren’t following in his footsteps?”
“No, he’s an accountant. I have two older brothers…one is a lawyer and the other a psychologist.”
“No sisters?”
“My mother couldn’t have gotten that lucky. She’s been outnumbered for nearly forty years.”
We both jerked when the phone started ringing. I figured it was Mercy or Jane; but when I got to it, it was Connor.
Picking it up with a sigh, I rubbed my forehead carefully. “Hey.”
“Can I come in?”
I frowned. “Come in?”
“I’m outside in my car.”
Fuck me running. I glanced at Shawn and bit down on my lip. “How many drinks have you had?”
“I sat at the bar with one and stared at it. I’m sober, Casey. I just want to talk to you.”
“Okay, but not long. I’ve got an early morning.” I disconnected and looked at Shawn. “I’m about to have company.”
“I heard.” He tilted his head slightly. “So, did that dress make him as uncomfortable as you’d hoped?”
I laughed. “I don’t know.”
“Okay, well, I’ll be across the hall if you need me.”
“Thanks and you can just pick the best bid for the door and let me know what my half is.” I walked with him to the door and opened it. Connor was standing there. “Hey, come in.”
Connor glared at the two of us and backed up a step to let Shawn by. My new neighbor had barely closed his door when Connor spoke. “Who the hell is he?”
“My new neighbor.” I shut my door and glared at him. “A cop and my old neighbor’s grandson. What’s it to you?”
“He comes out of my woman’s apartment half-dressed, it’s my concern.”
I glared at him briefly and shook my head. Taking off my shoes, I walked toward my bedroom to get into some comfortable clothes. “Look, Connor, I realize that you aren’t used to being left by a woman, but you aren’t going to turn into a psycho on me, are you?”
“No.” He glared at me from the doorway of my bedroom and frowned. “Look, you walk out on me after a great evening, disappear for two weeks, and then come back only to act like you barely know me.”
I grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of flannel pants from a drawer and glared at him briefly before slipping past him to go into the bathroom to change. When I emerged he was standing, waiting. “Great evening? We fucked all night and then I woke up, came into the living room, and found you on the phone with God-knows-who talking about me like I’m a piece of ass off the street.”
“You misunderstood.”
“The hell I did.” I pushed my finger into his chest. “No, man, she’s just a good time. You know me, I can’t get tied down.” It hurt to even repeat the words; hearing them the first time had been devastating. “I know nothing about you that matters and now I don’t want to know.”
“I respect and care for you, Casey. You have to know that. Men say stupid shit to their friends.”
I wanted to smack his face. “Care for me? Respect me? A man that respects me wouldn’t have told his friend that I was just a good time.”
That