The Things We Leave Unfinished Yarros, Rebecca (reading like a writer .TXT) 📖

as I love you, Ava rolling out the minute the advance hit is pretty much her MO. Was I hoping she’d keep her promise and stay? Of course. I was rooting for her to turn over a new leaf, but she might need to turn over a whole tree at this point. I just thought you would have called me when— Colin, honey, don’t touch that.” She scurried to my breakfast nook where her children sat playing, and she shut the first cabinet door.

“It’s fine,” I assured her. “Gran always kept those cabinets full of toys for exactly that.” Most of those toys were older than I was.

“I know, but I don’t want them to—” She caught the look I was leveling on her. “Right. This cabinet is fine, but let’s leave Aunt Georgia’s other cabinets alone, okay?” She swung open the door and walked back to the island, taking the stool beside mine. “I swear, I just wanted to stop by and check on you, not ransack your house.”

“Please.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m glad you did. It’s not like I have a whole lot going on.” A smile tugged at my lips as I leaned back slightly and watched them play.

“So he’s…here?” Hazel asked, lifting her coffee mug.

“He rented Grantham Cottage.”

“He what?” Her mug clicked against the granite as she set it down, forgetting to drink.

“You heard me.” I took another fortifying swallow. All the caffeine in the world wouldn’t help me today, but I was willing to give it a try.

“That’s like…” She leaned in as if someone might hear us. “Next door.”

“Yes.” I nodded. “I even called the trust attorney last night, who confirmed that the property manager rented it out as I instructed.” I scrunched my nose. “Then I may have asked if I could revoke the lease, and he told me that not liking Noah wasn’t a legal reason.”

Hazel gawked at me.

“Would you please say something?” I asked when the silence became painfully awkward.

“Right. Sorry.” She shook her head and glanced at the kids.

“Relax, they aren’t going anywhere.”

“You have no idea how fast they move. I swear I clocked Dani at a three-minute mile yesterday.” She crossed her legs and studied me. “So, the hottie is next door.”

“The writer is…well, if you can even call the cottage ‘next door.’” It was basically on the property—that’s how close it was, which was one of the reasons Gran had never sold it. She said it was better to pick and choose your neighbors than get saddled with a nosy Nellie.

Hazel’s eyes narrowed.

“In fact, he’s supposed to be here any minute so we can get down to the super fun business of arguing. He literally moved here so he could argue with me. Who does that?” I took another sip of my coffee.

“Someone who recognizes you for the stubborn—”

“Hey now,” I warned.

“You know it’s true. If anything, he gets points for getting on a plane instead of hitting redial.” She shrugged. “Plus, it makes my earlier suggestion of working out your frustration with him on him easier.”

Traitor.

“Whose side are you on?”

“Yours. Always yours. I didn’t even add the man to my hall pass.”

“Good. Then he doesn’t get points. There are no points to be had.” I finished off my coffee and took the mug to the sink. When I turned around, Hazel’s head was tilted as she studied me. “What?”

“You like him.” She sipped her coffee.

“I’m s-sorry?” I sputtered, my stomach twisting.

“I said what I said.”

“Take it back!” I snapped, like we were seven years old again.

“You’re wearing real clothes. Jeans, a shirt you had to iron, and your hair is down. You like him.” A smile spread across her face.

“I’m starting to regret letting you through the door.” My phone buzzed, and I snatched it from the counter before Hazel could see the screen. It was a text message from Noah.

Noah: Headed up. Need anything?

It would have been childish to respond that I needed him to take his gorgeous, insistent ass back to New York. I thought about doing it, anyway.

“I do not like him,” I fired back at Hazel, then tapped out a text message.

Georgia: Come on in. The door is unlocked.

“And he’s on his way,” I added, leaning my hip against the counter. Just because I’d woken up and felt…human didn’t mean I liked him. It meant I was preparing for a business meeting. My phone buzzed again.

“Kids, we need to pack it up. Aunt Georgia has a friend coming over,” Hazel called over to Oliver and Dani.

Noah: You can’t just leave your doors unlocked. It’s not safe.

I scoffed. Unsafe, my ass.

Georgia: Says the man who climbs mountains.

I set my phone on the counter and sighed at my best friend. “I don’t like him,” I repeated.

“All right,” she said with a soft nod, taking her coffee mug to the sink. “But you need to know that it’s okay if you do.”

I flinched. It wasn’t, though.

“Give it back!” Oliver wailed.

“It’s mine!” Danielle shrieked.

Both Hazel and I spun, but Danielle raced right past us, Oliver on her heels.

“For fuck’s sake,” Hazel muttered to the heavens, already moving.

“You cannot leave your door—oomph!” Noah’s voice bellowed from the entry.

Before we could make it out of the kitchen, Noah was already rounding the corner, a giggling kid under each arm. I didn’t notice the sheer size of those biceps. Nope. I didn’t. I also didn’t pay attention to the curve of his mouth or the straight-up sex appeal in his smile. It was inhuman to look that good this early in the morning.

“See what happens when you leave your door unlocked?” he asked, bouncing the kids slightly. “All sorts of wild creatures get in.”

Dani roared, which only made Noah smile wider.

No. No. No. No melting, no sighing, nothing. Nada.

“Hey, you’re not supposed to be nice to strangers,” I groaned.

“Isn’t he your friend, Aunt Georgia?” Oliver argued.

Lord save me from small towns. The kids hadn’t ever met a stranger.

“Yeah, Aunt Georgia, are you saying we’re not friends?” Noah challenged with