Ready or Not (The Ready Series Book 4)(13)

“Don’t you dare, Leah James! I’ll tell your husband you were checking out other guys!” I screamed, threatening her.

“Ha!” she shouted. “Declan is too cocky to care. He knows he’s better-looking than any other man out there.”

“He’s not wrong,” I muttered.

Leah’s husband was a god among men. A former movie star turned director, he had once held the hearts and panties of nearly every woman in America. He had been the quintessential untamable man until he’d met Leah. Now, he only had eyes for her. Their love was like a fairy tale—well, the R-rated, super-sexy kind. But still, it was a fairy tale of sorts.

“I mean, seriously, Liv. Look at that eye-candy you literally have right out your window. Why aren’t you glued to this plate of glass, eating popcorn and posting Instagram photos?”

The others joined us at the window, and they’d even brought the snacks and wine. Apparently, my sweaty, half-naked neighbor had been chosen as our form of entertainment tonight.

“Because he’s a jerk.”

“So? Does staring require talking to him?” Leah asked.

“No.”

“Then, it doesn’t really matter.”

“I still hate him.”

“Didn’t this guy move in, like, a few days ago?” Clare sipped from her glass of water.

“Wait a hot second,” Mia said, her eyes narrowing, as she took a step closer toward the window. “Holy shit!” she exclaimed, causing me to nearly spit out my wine from the rare use of profanity vacating her lips. “Is that the hot dad from your—” She stopped, turning to me, unsure if it was okay to finish.

I nodded. “Yes.”

Clare and Leah turned toward the two of us in obvious confusion.

“A little update would be appreciated,” Clare said sweetly.

“I met Jackson, my neighbor, and his son, Noah, at my office yesterday—before I knew they were my neighbors.” My face went blank as I waited for the two of them to piece everything together.

Their eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and I watched Clare’s gaze cast downward until her eyes suddenly shot upward.

“Oh my God! The son was a patient of yours?”

“Bingo!” I said.

“Well, that’s slightly awkward, but it doesn’t explain why you feel such an immense hostility toward the father,” Leah commented.

Setting my wine glass down on the bookshelf below the window, I pointed. “There? Do you see what I’m pointing at?”

“The flower bed? Did you redo it? It looks different from the last time I was here,” Clare said.

“No, I did not redo it,” I muttered. “His movers trampled all over it and ruined it.”

Mia’s hand fell on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, babe. I know those flowers meant a lot to you. So, I’m guessing the talk didn’t go well?”

“I thought it did, but I guess we didn’t exactly understand each other. He’s Mrs. Reid’s grandson, so I assumed he would appreciate the idea of restoring it back to its former glory. Apparently, money is all that matters to him, and I woke up this morning to find my flower bed being completely redone with chemicals and this horrid red mulch. It looks nothing like it did before. I could have saved some of those poor plants.”

“I’m sure you could have,” Leah echoed, giving me a warm smile.

“That’s not all,” I said softly.

“Of course not.” Mia laughed.

“I might have marched over there and yelled at him—a lot.”

They just laughed, not surprised at all by my reaction. I guessed I wasn’t known for tact.

“Perhaps I was a little rude,” I admitted. “But then, he called me crazy, and went out and did that!” I pointed to his backyard.

Mia snorted. “Is that a flamingo?”

“Yes, and there are about five more back there somewhere. Oh, and more red mulch.”

“You know, it’s really doesn’t look that—” Clare started to say.

“Don’t finish that sentence if you want to live past your first trimester, Clare,” I said.

Everyone’s eyes widened as Mia and Leah spun around to face Clare.

“How did you know?” Clare asked me.

“I uncorked a bottle of that chocolate wine you love so much, and you haven’t touched it. Add that to the fact that you’re stuffing cheese in your mouth at an alarming rate…it can mean only one thing.”

Her eyes moistened with unshed tears. “We just found out this week,” she gushed, her voice becoming heavy and full of emotion.

This would be Clare’s third child.

Lucky number three.

Clare and Logan had gotten married before I knew them, but I’d been told the harrowing story of how they came together. Clare had lost her first husband to brain cancer, and she’d been left to raise their infant daughter, Maddie, on her own. Several years later, in an ER room, she’d met Logan, and the rest was history. They’d had their own share of ups and downs, including Logan’s own battle with cancer, but they’d managed to pull through. Several years and another child later, they were still solid and strong. They constantly amazed me with the enormity of love they had for each other and their growing family.