The Promise (Neighbor from Hell #10)(28)

“I see,” Reed murmured after a slight pause before saying, “And I’m guessing that upset a few people.”

“It usually does,” Joey said with a shrug because there was nothing that she could do about it now but wait.

Maybe she should take up a hobby? she wondered while she sat there, watching as Shawn continued to build her dream castle. At least a hobby would keep her out of trouble, she mused only to feel her shoulders slump in defeat because she didn’t want a hobby. She wanted to-

“You can start tomorrow,” Reed said, finishing off the last bite of his sandwich.

“Start what?” Joey asked even as she couldn’t help but nod in approval at the castle that Shawn was building for her.

“The favor you owe me.”





Chapter 16

“I have some follow up questions,” the little demon that he was stuck with said when he made the mistake of opening his bedroom door.

“What are they?” he asked, sighing heavily as he folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall while he waited for the latest round of questions to begin.

“Have you talked to Jackson?” she asked, shifting the large stack of books that she’d helped herself to in her arms as he reached over and plucked the small Tupperware bowl off the top.

“No,” he said, pulling the lid off and taking a peek to find the bowl filled with-

“Are you planning on telling him that I’m here?” Joey asked as she plucked the bowl back out of his hands and placed it back on top of the stack of books that she would most likely devour before morning.

When they were kids, it used to amaze him to see how many books she could go through in a day. Every day at lunch she used to grab the bagged lunch that he’d had his eye on and head to the library where she would find a new stack of books to bring home only to haul them back the next morning, grumbling that she didn’t have anything to read. She used to read everything that she could get her hands on, history books, textbooks, comics, novels, magazines, brochures, manuals, absolutely fucking anything and it seemed that hadn’t changed, he thought, biting back a smile as he took in the stack of books in her arms.

“It depends,” Reed said, reaching out to take back the Tupperware bowl only to find her stepping back out of reach.

“On what?” she asked, with a curious tilt of her chin as he leaned back against the doorframe with a sigh as he took in the little pain in the ass, noting just how cute she looked in that oversized tee-shirt and baggy flannel pajama pants that were too big for her with her cute little toes just barely sticking out from beneath the folded pant cuffs.

“On whether or not you’re going to take the job,” Reed said, running his gaze back up to find her eating one of his brownies.

“I thought it was a favor,” Joey said, shifting her bundle to one arm so that she could take another bite.

“So is letting you live,” Reed pointed out.

“True,” she murmured, nodding in agreement before asking, “Isn’t having me stay here going to cause problems for you?”

“Probably,” he murmured absently as he took in those oversized pants that were practically hanging off her, the crease lines running down the middle, and couldn’t help but wonder who they belonged to.

“Is Julie okay with this?” Joey asked as she finished off the brownie while he stood there, trying to figure out what the hell she was talking about.

“Okay with what?” Reed asked, shifting his gaze to that oversized black tee shirt and wondered if she’d borrowed the clothes from Matt.

“With me living here,” Joey said, making him frown even as he decided that it would probably be for the best if he let her borrow his clothes from now on.

“What does she have to do with anything?”

“Everything?” Joey said, blinking up at him as she reached into the bowl and helped herself to another brownie.

“She’s just a friend,” he said absently as he wondered if those clothes belonged to another man only to immediately dismiss the idea since Jackson would have called him to bitch about another asshole that better keep his fucking hands off his baby sister. Since that hadn’t happened in a while, Reed was going to have to assume that the clothes belonged to Matt.

Which reminded him, where was the little prick?

“He’s out back working,” Joey said, correctly reading the glare that he was shooting his brother’s closed bedroom door.

Nodding, Reed returned his attention to the little pain in the ass who was now walking past him and heading toward his bed. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked as he watched her walk around his bed, stumbling along the way thanks to the pants that were way too big for her.

“Really hoping that you’re willing to overlook the fact that you hate me so that I don’t have to sleep on the couch,” Joey said, shooting him a hopeful smile as she deposited the stack of books on the nightstand before she yanked her pajama pants back up, somehow managed to trip the short distance to the bed, grumbled something, yanked her pants back up again, climbed onto his bed, sat back, grabbed a book and another brownie before she settled in for the night.

“I don’t hate you,” Reed said, closing the door behind him.

“Okay, then you have a severe aversion to my existence, but I’m still hoping that you don’t make me sleep on the couch,” she said, nodding solemnly even as she continued shooting him that hopeful smile that left him powerless to say no to her.