The Neighbor's Son (The Forbidden Love Series: Book 1) (3 page)

I turned on my heel and was about to
walk out of the room when Dana grabbed my wrist. “Wait a second,
Sidney. The deck in your backyard… Doesn’t it need to be repaired?
Maybe Cade can help you with that,” she said, smirking, her eyes
wide with mischief.

I began to stammer like an idiot, not
knowing what to say. Dana's suggestion caught me completely off
guard. I wanted to strangle her. My gaze flickered from Cade to
Dana and back to Cade. He seemed thrilled with Dana’s idea and
eagerly awaited my reply. “Nah. It’s okay. Cade’s probably very
busy with all the faulty plumbing around the neighborhood that he
has to fix. Besides, I already hired someone to fix my deck. He’s
coming over in a couple of days.” I said all this through gritted
teeth while scolding Dana with my eyes. I was not making excuses. I
had, in fact, hired someone to fix my deck.

“
But how much is that guy
going to charge you, honey? I bet Cade here can fix it for you for
a lot less. Isn’t that right Cade?”

Cade nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know what
price that guy quoted you, but I bet it's a lot more than what I'd
charge you,” He held his lower lip between his teeth again. Yep. He
knew what that did to me. He was doing it on purpose. The bastard.
“Besides, with me, you won’t have to wait two days. I could fix
your deck for you right now. I just need a few minutes to finish up
here and I’m all yours.” He flashed his dimples at me. Sigh. Pure
torture.

I began to stammer like an idiot again,
my gaze bouncing between Cade and Dana as I tried to come up with
an excuse to keep Cade out of my house. I had no doubt he could do
the deck work. It wasn't a complicated repair job. I just didn’t
want to be alone with him.

It had been a while since the last time
I got laid. I had needs, needs that were keeping me up at night,
needs I couldn’t ignore no matter how much yoga I did to distract
myself from them. Night after night since I met him, I had been
daydreaming about Cade Fisher satisfying those needs. But
fantasizing about the guy was one thing. Acting on those fantasies
was another thing entirely. He was too young. I was afraid of doing
things I'd regret if I suddenly found myself alone with him for a
long period of time. That's why I didn't want him in my house.
Unfortunately, that morning, I didn't have a good reason to reject
Cade’s handyman services. Thanks a lot, Dana.

“
Fine. I guess you can fix
my deck, Cade,” I finally said. Cade’s face broke into a slow
smile. “Great. I’ll be over in a few minutes.”

I turned on my heel and finally walked
out of that kitchen, but not before shooting Dana a deadly look.
She stuck her tongue out at me before turning her attention back to
the pretty repairman. I rolled my eyes at her and headed for the
front door. I wasn’t really angry at Dana. I understood what she
was trying to do. Like a good friend, she was trying to share her
eye candy with me and I love her for that. I just wish she hadn't
ambushed me like that. I knew the next few hours were going to be
pure torture.

CHAPTER
IV

After leaving Dana’s house, I crossed
the street and went into mine. I was determined to have as little
contact with Cade as possible. I was just going to show him what
needed to be done and leave him alone on the deck until he was
finished. While waiting for him to show up, I paced back and forth
in my living room. My pulse was already racing and he wasn’t even
in the house yet. Damn it Dana! Why did you have to open your big
mouth about the deck?

About twenty long, agonizing minutes
later, there was a knock on my door. With a fleet of butterflies
swarming my stomach, I took a deep breath and went to let Cade
in.

“
Hi,” Cade breathed,
flashing his signature, slow-motion devastating smile at me. The
front of his tank top was still damp and clinging to his
magnificent torso and he had his toolbox with him.

“
Hi. Please come in,” I
said, trying my best to hide how nervous I was.

“
Nice place you got here,”
Cade remarked, walking past me and strolling around my living room
as if he owned the place.

“
Thank you.” I shut the
door and leaned against it while Cade continued to survey the
place. Once he was done, he turned his attention back to me. He
just stared at me without saying anything. It was almost as if he
knew the effect he had on me and enjoyed making me feel
uncomfortable. When I couldn't handle the heat of his lustful gaze
anymore, I rushed past him, out of the living room and toward the
deck. “Come with me," I hollered. "I’ll take you out to the
deck.”

Once outside, I showed him the parts of
the deck that needed fixing and got out of his way. I stood by the
kitchen door while he walked around, meticulously inspecting every
piece of lumber. When he was done, he slowly strolled back to where
I was and stood uncomfortably close to me. “You know, this deck is
in pretty bad shape,” he said with his hands on his
hips.

“
I know. I would've gotten
it fixed a long time ago but couldn’t afford to hire anyone until
now.”

“
What about your husband?
Why didn’t he just fix it himself?”

“
I don’t have a husband…
not anymore.”

One of Cade’s eyebrows went up. “So,
you’re divorced?”

I nodded.

“
I’m sorry to hear that,”
Cade breathed, sounding insincere, almost gleeful. “What
happened?”

I cross my arms over my chest and shook
my head. “Boy, you’re just full of questions today, aren’t
you?”

Cade dropped his chin to his chest and
let out an embarrassed chuckle. “I’m sorry. You’re right. That’s
none of my business.” He turned his back to me and walked to the
other end of the deck to inspect it a second time. “I’m going to
need wood,” he said, his back still towards me. “I’ll have to swing
by a Home Depot to pick some up before I can get
started.”

“
There’s no need. My ex
bought all the wood and tools he needed for the job about a year
ago. Everything is in the garage.”

After I helped Cade get everything he
needed out of the garage, he gave me an estimate for the job. The
price he quoted me was actually half of what the contractor I was
going to hire had given me. I was very relieved and grateful that
Dana had suggested Cade do the job. I was still nervous and
uncomfortable around him, but for the price he quoted, I figured I
could keep my lust in check for a few hours.

Once Cade was set up with all the
things he needed for the job, I went back inside the house and let
him work. Through the kitchen window, I watched him as he took his
tank top off, put on his safety goggles, and went to work. The
sight of his taut, sun-kissed muscles flexing and relaxing as he
got down and dirty was almost too much for my poor senses to
handle. It was, without a doubt, the most erotic thing my eyes had
ever witnessed. He was drilling and sawing and nailing like he was
mad at the wood. It didn't take long for his whole body to be
glistening with sweat and I couldn’t look away.

As time passed, my lust for the smoking
hot handyman turned into genuine concern. It was almost one hundred
degrees outside that day. Cade was sweating so much, his khaki
shorts were getting soaked. He looked sluggish and dazed when he
moved and kept blinking and wiping his brow. Worried that he’d pass
out, I decided to offer him something to drink. After pouring ice
cold lemonade in a couple of tall glasses, I went back
outside.

“
Here. Why don’t you take
a break and drink this,” I said, handing Cade one of the
glasses.

Cade dropped the electric
saw in his hands and shot to his feet. “Thanks. Yeah, I could use a
little break.” He still had that sweet smile on his face despite
the sweltering heat. When he went to grab the glass out of my hand,
his fingers brushed mine, lingering on them until I pulled my hand
away. My heart dropped to my stomach.
Danger, danger
, a voice in my ear
whispered. Once again, I ran. This time toward the patio set at the
bottom of the deck stairs. Cade followed me there and we sat across
from each other. For what seemed like an eternity, we just sat
there, staring at each other and sipping lemonade in complete and
awkward silence.

“
So, how is it possible
that someone so young knows so much about plumbing and fixing
decks?” I remarked when I couldn’t take the weight of his
blistering gaze any longer.

Cade leaned forward, his elbows on the
table, his hands cradling the half-full lemonade glass in front of
him. “First of all, I’m not that young. I’m nineteen years old,
going to be twenty in a couple of months.”

Crap. He was even younger than I had
estimated. I would have never guessed nineteen. Cade Fisher walked
around with the confidence of a man who was at least ten years
older than that. That and the oh-so-sexy scruff he was sporting
made him look like a grown up. The revelation took me aback. Now I
felt even guiltier for having the dirty thoughts and dreams I was
having. He was barely legal. He was definitely forbidden fruit and
more than ever I had to stay away from him.

“
And to answer your
question, my dad taught me to fix things with my hands,” Cade
added.

“
He did?”

“
Yes. He owned a home
repair business. When I was in high school, he’d let me tag along
and help him. That’s how I learned how to fix plumbing and do a lot
of other stuff.”

“
You said he ran a home
repair business. He doesn’t do that anymore?”

Cade’s expression turned somber. “He
passed away a year ago.”

“
I’m so sorry to hear
that. What happened to him?”

"Well, aren't you full of questions,"
Cade quipped. His lips made an attempt to smile but the sadness in
his eyes gave away just how much pain there was in his
heart.

"I'm sorry. I didn't meant
to..."

“
I was just kidding. It's
okay." After gulping down most of the lemonade left in his glass,
he continued. "Car accident. A drunk driver traveling in the
opposite direction jumped the median strip of a busy road and
plunged into him head on. He died at the scene.”

I gasped. “Oh my God, Cade. That’s
horrible. I’m so sorry.” Without thinking, I reached over and
placed my hand on top of his and gave it a little squeeze. I just
felt so sad for him. I too had to cope with the tragic death of a
parent when I was very young, so I knew exactly how he
felt.

“
After my father died, my
mom said she couldn’t live at our old house anymore because it
reminded her too much of him. So she sold it and bought the house
down the block.”

“
That’s so sad. You must
really miss him.” By now I had realized that my hand had been on
his too long and awkwardly pulled it away.

“
I do miss him. He was the
best father a person could ask for. I’m an only child so now it’s
just my mother and me. My father’s death has been really hard on
her so I try my best to show her as much love as
possible.”

“
You’re a good son,
Cade.”

He shrugged. “I try. But enough about
me. What about you? What are you doing all alone in a house this
big?”

I sighed. “I thought about selling and
moving to a smaller place, but I love this house so much I’ve
decided to stay. Besides, I’m not alone. I have a cat.”

“
A cat?” Cade remarked
with laughter in his eyes. “A cat is not company. You know what I
think?"

"What?"

"I think it’s a crime for a woman as
beautiful as you to be alone. I don’t know what happened between
you and your ex-husband but he’s a damn fool if he walked away from
you. If I were lucky enough to have a woman like you by my side,
there’s no way I’d walk away from her.”

I looked down at my drink, trying not
to smile, no longer able to hold his smoldering gaze. There he was
again, making me uncomfortable with his words and the adoring way
he was gazing at me. Damn him. Why is he saying those things to me?
Doesn’t he realize how much older I am than him? I needed to get
away from him before I did something I’d regret. I could
practically see a red “DANGER” sign flashing over his head. I shot
to my feet and picked up both his and my empty glasses off the
table. “Well, I’m going to get back in the house and let you get
back to work, Cade.”

“
That’s a really nice pool
you have over there,” Cade breathed, pointing with his chin at my
massive, in-ground, kidney-shaped swimming pool on the other side
of the yard. Before I could make a remark, Cade was already on his
feet making his way towards it. I put the empty glasses down on the
patio table and followed him.

“
Yeah. This pool is one of
the reasons I don’t want to sell the house. I love swimming,” I
said once I was standing on the edge of the pool next to
Cade.

Cade crossed his arms over his chest.
“I love to swim too. At the old house, we had a pool a lot like
this one.”

“
You did?”

“
Yeah. My father built it.
I loved swimming in it. The new house doesn’t have a pool and my
mother refuses to build one.” Cade snatched his gaze away from the
water and turned it towards me. “You know, that lemonade I just had
did nothing to cool me off."