Neighbors with Benefits (Anderson Brothers, #2)(11)

A confused expression crossed his face, and then he laughed, dimples appearing. “Ha. No. But had that been the case, I’m sure you could have fixed it with some Weird Al Yankovic on continuous loop blasting from your apartment.”

He looked younger out here in the sunlight, his clothes all out of order. And his smile was gorgeous, dammit. Her insides did a little flip as she remembered how he smelled and felt yesterday. Nope. Not going there. “There’s a groomer just up the street. You could both use a bath and possibly a flea dip.” Not as good as his leash line yesterday, but still…

“Thanks.” He turned and headed in the direction she had pointed. No zippy comeback, no pithy remarks. As she stood there watching him, she wondered if perhaps Ms. Braxton had gotten it wrong. Maybe this guy wasn’t as bad as all that.

“The only thing that should be on a leash around here is you.”

No. He probably was that bad. Regardless, she decided then and there, Michael Anderson and his adorable dimples were way out of her league and completely off limits. From now on, he was to be avoided at all costs.





Chapter Four


It wasn’t bad music coming though his neighbor’s wall that pulled Michael’s attention from the Kawashima file, it was yelling. Well, more specifically, a male voice shouting from the hallway.

Not my problem. He turned his attention back to the file. Chasing the damn dog eight blocks and then having to pull him out from under a dumpster had not only ruined his suit, but had killed over an hour he’d scheduled for file review, if he counted the time to take it to the groomer and get himself cleaned up.

“Open the door, Mia,” the male voice shouted, followed by banging.

Her door opened and the male voice became muffled. She had let him in. Why? A better question was, why did Michael care? He didn’t. Again, he tried unsuccessfully to focus on the file. Only a word or two coming through the wall were clear, but it was obvious the man was chewing Mia out for something. Unable to curb his curiosity, Michael put his ear against the wall. He could only catch bits of the conversation, but the man was angry about a wedding or something. Michael padded barefooted to his front door and cracked it slightly. From where he stood, it sounded as if her door had been left open because both voices were clear.

“I told you to never bug me again. Not at my work and not here,” Mia said, voice harsh.

“Well, if you’d answer your phone or respond to texts, I wouldn’t have had to bother with hunting you down. Did you lose your phone again?”

“No. I was avoiding you. What do you want?”

“We need to talk about the wedding and the weird shit you always pull,” the male voice said.

“Weird shit?” she replied.

Michael stepped into the hallway and found her door open.

“Yeah, weird. Like forgetting to show up or saying the wrong thing. You really shouldn’t go, and if you do, you’re going to leave Kelli alone and you’re not going to talk about our relationship at all.”

From where he watched through the front door, Michael had a clear view of the guy in the middle of the living room and past him to Mia, who was standing in the doorway to her bedroom with her back to the front door. “Oh, you mean the Kelli you cheated on me with? That Kelli?”

He held his arms up. “I didn’t cheat on you. We broke up.”

“You dumped me and banged her the same day.”

“Classy,” he said, moving closer. “Classy as always.” The hair on the back of Michael’s neck bristled.

She spun to face the man where he stood to the side of the bedroom door. He was tall and handsome in a Ralph Lauren model kind of way with a cable-knit sweater and blond wavy hair. “You’re a fine one to talk about class, Jason,” Mia said. “You actually did it, I’m just calling it what it was.”

The man named Jason placed his hand on the frame to the bedroom door, striking a purposefully relaxed pose. “I didn’t come here to rehash the good old days. Mark’s been my best friend since high school. A lot longer than you’ve been friends with Sue. Maybe you should bow out.”

“I’m as unhappy about this as you are,” she said, “but backing out isn’t an option. Sue asked me to be her maid of honor, and I accepted. I’m not going back on my word because we broke up and my presence will make you uncomfortable. It’s about Mark and Sue, not you and me.”

“You’re right.” He maintained his casual pose. “It’s not about us, which is why I thought it might be best if you step aside.”

Although this guy was doing his best to appear nonchalant, it was clear to Michael, who made a living by reading people, that he was uptight as hell and spoiling for a fight. No telling how far he’d take this.

“It’s not going to happen. There’s no way I’m letting Sue down. Now, leave.” She walked into her bedroom, and before she could shut the door, he shoved it open. “I asked you to leave, Jason. You will never set foot in my bedroom again. Leave me alone!”

It took a considerable amount of restraint on Michael’s part to not intervene. He consciously unballed his fists.

The guy’s cool facade fell away and his face flushed red up to his hairline. “You bet I’ll leave you alone. That’s all you’ll ever be: alone. No man in his right mind could put up with your flakiness. I don’t know how I did it, honestly.”