Downfall(23)

She slipped out the door without another word, leaving me with one more piece of a puzzle I was determined to put together. Figuring out my pretty neighbor was going to have to wait. I still needed to shower and drive out to see my mom. My obligations were never-ending and usually I liked being busy enough I didn’t have to think about much of anything. Lately, I found myself resenting every minute that took my attention away from the mysterious redhead I couldn’t stop thinking about.





Orley



Dinner.

It was something I managed every single night now that I had a more predictable schedule. I would sit with Noble and catch up on the day. She had a million stories to tell now that she was spending time with other kids again and had found a new idol in Riley. Adding Solo into the mix shouldn’t have been a huge deal, it was just a friendly meal between neighbors, literally the least I could do, but for some reason, knowing he was going to be in my space, within the walls of my tattered sanctuary, turned me into a scattered mess of a human.

I was sticking with something simple and cheap. I planned on making something I knew both a toddler and a big guy like Solo would eat: spaghetti and meatballs. But somehow, I managed to scorch the sauce, burn half of the meatballs, and drop most of the noodles on the floor before I got them into the boiling water. My itty-bitty kitchen looked like a warzone, and I was fairly certain I’d somehow managed to get red sauce on the ceiling. Noble thought the disaster was hilarious. She made picking up the noodles off the floor a game, making even more of a mess as they cracked and splintered into too many pieces to count. When I told her Solo was coming over to join us for dinner, her little face lit up and her blue eyes glimmered with obvious delight. My daughter was much more comfortable showing how much she liked our handsome neighbor than I was. She asked about the dark-haired man on a regular basis, wanting to know when she would see him again and asking if he would finally take her up on her challenge to race up and down the block. She’d caught sight of him jogging in the mornings a couple of times and was obsessed with the idea of being faster than him.

Ready to throw in the towel and order pizza or call the whole thing off, I took a second to breathe, put my hands on the counter next to the stove, and valiantly tried to pull my shit together. I helped Noble clean up the mess on the floor, and realized I could save most of the sauce if I changed pots and tossed in the remaining, non-burned meatballs. I boiled the noodles that didn’t end up on the floor and let out a sigh of relief when it all came together at the last minute. I even splurged and bought stuff to make garlic bread, which I was pulling out of the oven when there was a knock on the door.

Noble let out a shriek of delight and bolted through the living room before I could stop her. Her little feet pounded on the floor as she ran for the door full-out, barely stopping as she reached for the knob.

“Hey! What did I tell you about answering the door without an adult in the room?” I dropped the hot pan in my hands on the counter and rounded the corner of the long breakfast bar in a rush. The door jerked open, bouncing against the chain at the top. Through the small space, I could see Solo’s surprised expression. He was missing the well-worn baseball hat I’d grown accustomed to covering his dark hair, so there wasn’t the usual shadow hiding his intriguing dark gaze.

The corner of his mouth kicked up in a slight grin as he looked down at the little girl bouncing up and down on her toes in front of him. “I think you’re supposed to ask who it is before you pull the door open, little one.”

Noble smiled up at him as she continued to tug on the door. “I’m not supposed to open the door at all. I got too excited. Mommy is mad.”

I heard Solo chuckle. “I think you should listen to her so she doesn’t get mad.”

Noble’s bottom lip stuck out in an exaggerated way as she moved away from the door in a huff. She turned her bright gaze up toward mine and offered a reluctant apology. “Sorry I answered the door without you, Mommy.”

I reached over her head to slide the chain free and pulled her back with the other. “It’s not safe to open the door without knowing who is on the other side. That’s an important lesson for you to learn. If you don’t get dessert tonight for not listening, then next time you’ll remember to wait for me when someone is at the door.”

I lifted my eyebrows at Solo, tilting my head toward the interior of the apartment so he would walk through the door. Noble proceeded to throw a fit at the threat of no dessert. So far this was turning out to be the opposite of the simple dinner I’d planned.

I tried to calm my daughter down and pointed Solo in the direction of the kitchenette. “There’s stuff in the fridge if you want to get yourself a drink. I don’t have anything fun. I think orange juice is probably the hardest thing I keep stocked.”

He nodded in understanding and gave me a little wink. “It smells pretty good in here.”

Noble stopped wailing about getting dessert long enough to rat me out. “Mommy made a mess. I had to help clean it up.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes at the back of my daughter’s head. “That was supposed to be our secret.”

Solo laughed, and I tried not to stare at the way the expression turned his face from harshly handsome to outright breathtaking. He didn’t smile or laugh nearly enough. I was suddenly thankful for his serious nature. There was a solid chance I would have tried to climb him like a tree if he was flashing that deadly grin in my direction all the time. I lost all sense of reason and reserve when I was around him.