The Promise (Neighbor from Hell #10)(77)

“I love field trips,” Jason, Reed’s cousin who was working on Garrett’s house this weekend, said with a heartfelt sigh as he sat down next to her with a replica medieval mug in one hand and a large turkey leg in the other that made her stomach turn.

“What are you building?” Trevor asked as he sat down next to Shawn with a large tray of food.

“A fortress,” Shawn said, throwing Trevor a nervous glance as the large man placed the tray of food between them.

“And a bridge,” Joey said, biting back a smile when Shawn leveled a glare on her.

“We didn’t discuss a bridge.”

“We’re discussing it now,” she said as Trevor handed Shawn a small tray with a hamburger, hot dog, and fries, making sure that he had everything that he needed before he handed Shawn a fresh bottle of Coke.

“Thank you,” Shawn said, ducking his head with a shy smile as he picked up his burger.

“You’re welcome,” Trevor said with a fond smile, setting to work on his own food as he watched Shawn work.

“Hey, Pookie, still mad?” Jason asked Garrett, whom she noted always had a glare on his handsome face, as he joined them.

“Shut up,” Garrett said, dropping his head back against the fence with a sigh.

“That hurts my feelings, Pookie,” Jason said with a sad shake of his head only to pause mid-shake as something caught his attention and within seconds there was an anticipatory gleam in his eye that had her frowning and following his gaze to find Reed standing in front of them, looking down at the clipboard in his hands.

“Don’t,” Garrett said with a tired sigh.

“Can we help you?” Jason asked, blinking innocently up at Reed as his eyes narrowed suspiciously on his cousin, who seemed to enjoy screwing everyone over.

“Have you seen Matt?”

“I believe Matt was getting some food for Joey so that they could enjoy a romantic lunch for two,” Jason said, blinking innocently as Joey bit back a grimace while she shifted in an attempt to get more comfortable on the rough ground as Reed’s eyes narrowed dangerously on them.

“He also said something about winning a teddy bear that Joey had her eye on first though,” Trevor added as he took Shawn’s empty plate away and handed him a large brownie.

“She wants the white one,” Shawn added, making her lips twitch as Trevor shot him a wink.

Jaw clenching, Reed glanced over at the long food lines before glancing back at the strongman game just as Matt picked up the large hammer. Without another word, Reed tossed his clipboard to Jason, walked over to the game and-

“That’s going to leave a mark,” Joey found herself mumbling with a wince as she watched Reed grab the large hammer from Matt and shoved him out of the way.

With a glare in her direction, Reed raised the hammer and swung it, nailing the plate with a loud ding that echoed throughout the busy fair. He did it two more times before he tossed the hammer back to Matt, who caught it with a grunt, grabbed one of the white teddy bears that she’d had her eye on and walked back towards them. When he reached them, he hunched down by her side and handed her the teddy bear.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling down at the large teddy bear in her arms only to glance past Reed and couldn’t help but notice how cute the brown teddy bear was.

“You want a brown teddy bear, don’t you?” Reed asked, reaching over to push her hair back over her ear with that smile that she loved so much.

“We really do,” Shawn said, making their lips twitch.

“It’s true,” Joey said, nodding. “We really do.”

“High maintenance,” Reed said with a mock glare.

“I really am,” she said, nodding in agreement as she watched him walk back over to the game, grab the hammer back out of Matt’s hands and won the brown bear for her just as she couldn’t help but notice how cute the pink teddy bear was.





Chapter 45

“So, you still haven’t told me why you’re using my room,” Matt said as he dropped down onto that mess that he called a bed with a sigh.

“And I’m not going to,” Reed said as he adjusted his tie one last time only to pull it loose and toss it aside with a sigh and reach for the striped one.

“The black one,” Matt said as he searched through the mess on his bed.

Tossing the striped tie aside, Reed grabbed the black tie and put it on, all while telling himself that he had nothing to be nervous about. It was just dinner, drinks, and if he planned this right, a romantic night downstairs with her “pretties” where he would finally tell her that he loved her.

He’d been debating telling her at all for the past month, but now he was at the point where he needed to tell her. He never thought that he could love someone as much as he loved her. She was everything that he’d ever wanted and more. She was the woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

“Where are you going?” Matt asked as he settled on a half-eaten candy bar.

“Out,” he said, straightening his tie and deciding that it would have to do as he turned his attention to his hair, making sure it looked right before he reached for the bouquet of white roses and-

“Are the flowers for Joey?” Matt asked as he popped one of the chocolate covered orange jellies that Reed picked up for Joey, into his mouth.