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Love Thy Neighbor
by Sophie Wintner

Copyright © 2014 by Sophie Wintner. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.

Chapter One

Nikki Norris shut the door behind the movers and looked around the new loft filled with items from her previous life. Storage boxes created a haphazard pathway, and throw pillows were tossed on the leather Belgravia sofa she’d gotten for a steal at a sample sale. The armoire, her pride and joy, lined the far wall. Everything looked cramped and out of place in the unfamiliar surroundings. But this was home for the foreseeable future. All seven hundred square feet of it.

She’d been through some rough times before, but nothing had prepared her for this. First her interior design business went under, and six weeks later, Matthew, love of her life, called off their wedding. But despite the recent turmoil in her life, she was determined not to curl up in a ball and sulk.

She picked up a box and hauled it to the armoire. Opening it, she pulled out a framed photograph—her engagement photo. Staring at Matthew’s handsome, boyish
face, she remembered the day he dropped his bomb on her.

He’d walked into their fabulous condo on Lake Shore Drive, plopped down on the sofa with the force of a man twice his weight, and said, “I can’t do this. I can’t marry you.” Opening the bottom drawer of the armoire, she laid the picture facedown and piled linens on top of it. It was time for a fresh start. Time to pull her life back together.

Gazing out the window from her third-story loft, Nikki noticed an impossibly long leggy thing with equally long, flowing hair pull up in a cab and enter the building. She realized this was the second such creature she’d seen in her building that day when the buzzer sounded.

“Hey kiddo, let me up. These bags are freakin’ heavy.”

“Jenna, what did you do?” Nikki pulled open the door as Jenna tumbled inside with two bulging grocery bags.

Jenna’s blond hair was windblown and strewn across her face, strands hanging down in her enormous blue eyes. “I knew you probably didn’t have time to go to the grocery store so I picked up the essentials.” She pulled out two bottles of Cabernet, a hunk of Havarti, a baguette, and some Greek olives. “And of course we have the basics: milk, coffee, orange juice, bread, and eggs.”

“You’re the best.” Nikki gave her a hug. “What would I do without you?”

“Well, you need to eat, sister. You’re starting to get too skinny.”

“Yeah, right.” Nikki laughed. “That’s something I’ll never have to worry about.” She’d battled with her weight all her life. From Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig to protein shakes, cleanses, and fat-sucking herbal remedies. She’d drop a few pounds and then yo-yo back up to where she’d started.

“The trick is finding where I packed the wineglasses,” she said, searching through a box on the counter marked Kitchen. “Not to mention the corkscrew.”

“No worries. Ta-dah.” Jenna produced a sleeve of plastic wineglasses and pulled a corkscrew from her back pocket.

“You thought of everything, didn’t you?”

As Jenna uncorked the wine, she said, “Have you met any of your neighbors yet? I passed a real hottie in the hallway.”

“Male or female?”

Jenna jutted out her slender hip and gave her long, blond hair a coquettish flip over her shoulder. “Now what do you think?”

“I’m only asking because I saw a couple of really gorgeous—I mean stunning— women here earlier today.”

“Well, he was pretty stunning himself, whoever he was.” She handed Nikki a glass. “Here’s to your new place and to a new beginning.”

They made the first of countless toasts that night, and before the evening was through, Jenna, with her type A personality, had half the boxes unpacked. No wonder she was such a good video producer. She knew how to get things done. Nikki called her the miracle worker.

With Jenna’s help, Nikki painted one wall a deep burgundy that instantly transformed the sterile-looking space. From there, they hung pictures on the other walls, arranged her oversize furniture, lined her bookshelves, and set out her knickknacks while they worked their way through the second bottle of wine.

The next morning, Nikki woke up in an apartment that, aside from the collection of boxes hovering near the door,
looked as though she’d lived there for years. She made a pot of coffee, curled up in her favorite tufted chair, and opened her laptop. She decided that today was the day she’d send an email to all her old vendors, architects, and real estate people, everyone in the business she could think of. She would let them know that she had just opened her own firm. That was the plan, only she couldn’t get past the first line:

I’m pleased to announce the formation of my new design firm, Norris Interiors.

Looking for anything that would distract her, Nikki decided to take a few boxes down the hall to the trash. She opened her door and found yet another box waiting for her. Ah, my letterhead and business cards are here.

She brought the box inside and tore it open, anxious to see her new logo embossed on the linen stock she’d selected. Feeling through the packing paper, her fingers landed on something silky. What the… She held up a black satin garter belt and lace bustier. There was more lingerie in there, but she didn’t dare look. She closed the box and glanced at the mailing label. Oh, shit. It was addressed to T. Dallas in apartment 301. That was the unit across the hall. Great way to make a good impression with your new neighbor. Nothing like riffling through their deliveries.

She sealed up the box and drew a deep breath to psych herself up before she went back out in the hall. She tucked the box under one arm and was about to knock on number 301 when the door opened. With one look, Nikki’s pulse took off as she came eye to eye with the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen. This had to have been the guy Jenna was
talking about.

God, he was spectacular. Tall, dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a loose, unbuttoned white shirt. She was so taken with him she almost didn’t notice the box he had resting on his hip.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Morning. I, ah—I was just coming to drop this off,” Nikki choked out, indicating the box.

“Looks like they pulled a switch on us. I received your parcel by mistake, too. I was going to drop it by your place. You must be Norris Interiors and this”—he hoisted the package a bit higher—”would be your stationery.”

Oh good Lord, the man had an accent. English, Australian, South African—wherever it was from, it was amazing and every bit as sexy as the rest of him.

Nikki giggled nervously. “I’m so sorry. I accidentally opened your—your stuff.” She was too embarrassed to say lingerie. Who’d he buy it for—his wife? Girlfriend? She could feel her cheeks turning red.

“Just moving in, are you?” he asked, running his free hand through his wavy brown hair. “Welcome to the building.”

“Ah, yeah.” Nikki could hardly speak, suddenly aware that her hair was in a lopsided ponytail, her oversize slippers were covered in paint, and she had on a pair of disgusting sweatpants and an old football jersey that had belonged to Matthew. And not a stitch of makeup.

“This is a little heavy. Let me help you,” he said, swapping boxes with her.

“No, I’m good.” She collected the package in her arms. “Got it. Really—I’m good, thanks.”

“You sure now?”

“Oh yeah. I’m sure.”

“All right then. I’m Troy, by the way. Troy Dallas, but everyone calls me Dallas. If you need anything, give a knock.”

“Troy. Dallas.” She sighed. She heard herself actually sigh.

“And what do I call you other than Norris Interiors?”

“Oh yeah. Sorry. Nikki. I’m Nikki Norris—your ah, neighborhood postal inspector.”

“Well, all right then.” He smiled, and of course the man had perfect teeth. “Good to meet you, Nikki Norris.”