The Promise (Neighbor from Hell #10)(46)

“What about him?” Joey asked, trying to remember if she’d packed her bottle of Advil.

“He’s always working,” Julie answered with a shrug as she grabbed her empty plate and headed toward the sink.

“Pretty much,” Matt said, nodding in agreement as he searched the boxes on the table for more pizza.

“Except for some reason I don’t think that will be a problem anymore,” Julie said, shooting her a wink that had her glancing at Matt to find him glaring down at the empty boxes in front of him.

“I don’t remember the last time he took a day off,” Matt said, sounding thoughtful as he reached over and-

“Damn it!” he said with a wince as he pulled his hand back while Joey sat there, wondering why she’d never taken a day off.

Probably because she was pathetic, she thought, biting back a sigh.

“He works nights, weekends, summers, and holidays,” Julie said as she paused by the stack of pizza boxes on the kitchen island and helped herself to a slice of Hawaiian pizza while Joey had to admit that sounded a lot like her.

“He needs a vacation,” Matt said with a heavy sigh as he reluctantly grabbed his plate and headed toward the sink that had her nodding in agreement because she could probably use a vacation as well.

“He really does,” Julie said with a pointed look in her direction as she went to take a bite of her pizza only to sigh when Matt managed to pluck it out of her hands.

“The most that he would do is a weekend camping trip, but even that might be asking too much,” Matt said before adding with a heavy sigh, “God, I miss camping,” that had Joey frowning because she’d never been camping.

She’d never done a lot of things now that she really thought about it.

She’d never taken a sick day, taken a vacation, gone on a road trip, gone to Disney World even though she’d promised herself a million times that she’d go one day, or even been on a plane for that matter, she realized, feeling her shoulders drop at the realization that she’d-

“I think your phone’s ringing,” Matt said, making her frown, because yes, yes, that did sound like her phone.

“It’s probably work,” Joey said, unable to help but hope that it was a telemarketer because she wasn’t sure if she was ready for that phone call just yet.

“My money’s on Jackson,” Matt said with a shrug as he reached for her plate.

“It’s too soon,” she said because she figured that she had at least another week before he called and risked making her cry.

Whoever it was, was persistent, she thought with a resigned sigh as she reluctantly pushed her chair back, send a heartfelt apology to her ass and made her way toward the living room where she’d left her phone charging. As she pushed open the kitchen door and headed down the long hallway, she couldn’t help but think about all the things that she’d never been able to do.

When she was little her grandparents hadn’t been able to afford to take them on trips, but that never bothered her because they’d made sure that she was well taken care of, had taken her to the library when she ran out of books, always encouraged her to be herself those times when she wished that she was different so that she could fit in, and made sure that she knew just how much they loved her. They’d done the best that they could and she would always love them for that.

Besides, she could have gone with the Bradfords any one of those hundreds of times that they’d invited her to go with them when they’d gone camping, fishing, visited amusement parks, Disney World and all of those places that most kids would have killed to visit. She probably should have gone, but she’d figured that Jackson could use a break from her. Well, that and she didn’t think it would be a good idea to put herself in a position where she might be tempted to shove Reed from a moving vehicle.

Speaking of Reed…

“What are you doing?” she couldn’t help but ask when the closet door was suddenly opened and she found herself being pulled inside before the door was promptly closed behind her.

“Keeping my promise,” he said as he moved to stand behind her so that he could wrap his arms around her.

“And what promise is that?” she asked as she watched his hands make their way down to the fly of the jeans that she’d changed into earlier.

“The one where I promised to look after you,” he whispered, pressing a kiss against her neck as he slowly unsnapped her pants and pulled the zipper down.

“And how exactly is this looking after me?” Joey asked as he pushed her pants down.

“Because,” he said, pausing to take her hands into his and raise them so that he could place them against the doorframe, “I’m making sure you’re okay.”

“That’s what it feels like,” she said, nodding solemnly only to moan when he pressed a kiss against the back of her neck as he slid her panties down.

“And what does this feel like?” he whispered seductively as he slowly kissed his way down her back.

“Like we’re going to get caught,” she said, closing her eyes on a moan when he pressed a kiss against the small of her back as he cupped her bottom in his hands.

“We’re not going to get caught,” he said, giving her bottom a gentle squeeze as he pressed a kiss against one cheek.

“Then what are we doing?” she asked on a soft moan as her grip tightened on the doorframe.