Love Thy Neighbor Read Online Free Page B

had my own interior design firm. With a partner. Lange & Norris. We were doing really well, too, until a few months ago when she developed a case of sticky fingers and decided to help herself to our clients’ money.”
    “Can’t imagine that’s good for business.” He cocked his head to the side and gave her a look that almost made her forget what they were talking about.
    “My partner left town and left me with a nightmare. I had to file bankruptcy. It was a disaster. And now I’m starting over again. Opening up my own firm. Norris Interiors. Or at least trying to.”
    “Is that why you moved here?”
    Nikki’s stomach twisted into a knot. “No, I moved here because right after my business folded, my fiancé told me he didn’t want to marry me anymore. I couldn’t really go on living with him after that, could I?”
    “Ouch.” Dallas turned his exquisite face toward her. “You’ve been through the wringer, haven’t you?”
    “I’m hanging in there,” she said, trying to sound upbeat. “And you know what Frank says—That’s life. Each time I find myself flat on my face… ”
    “ You get back up and get back in the race . ” He smiled.
    “Ah, Sinatra,” she sighed.
    “You’re a fan, I gather?”
    “You, too?” she asked.
    “Who doesn’t like Frank?” He smiled.
    Nikki smiled back, but still felt sad. Who doesn’t like Frank? Matthew. That’s who. He hated her taste in music. She liked the symphony and torch songs. She was a real sucker for the standards, whereas Matthew liked rap and techno music that made the walls vibrate. She could count on one hand all the concerts they’d ever gone to because they could never agree on a band.
    “Seriously though,” he said. “I’m sorry you’ve had to go through all that. How long were you with the fiancé?”
    “Five years.” She wiped away their musical differences while her mind did a mini retrospective of their relationship. How they’d met at a friend’s dinner party and he’d offered to walk her home. He’d called her the next day, asking how soon he could take her out. He was smitten. So was she. They’d never even had to discuss whether or not they were going to be exclusive. It was just assumed. They were falling for each other at exactly the same time, in exactly the same way.
    “So what happened with this guy, if you don’t mind my asking?”
    Nikki pressed her lips together and shook her head. “He got bored.”
    “Bored? With you?”
    “Yep, well, turns out I’m boring.” She tried to laugh, but it came out sounding like a desperate gasp for air.
    “Nah, no way. Not buying it. You don’t seem the least bit boring to me,” said the gorgeous man looking into her eyes. For a moment, she wanted to believe him.
    “Well, that’s what he told me,” she said, bringing her knees up to her chest and circling them in her arms.
    “Sounds like rubbish to me. Surely he gave you more of an explanation than that.”
    She shook her head. “He’s not a big talker. Never has been. He’s the kind of guy who keeps everything bottled up inside him and then one day, he snapped. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone over it in my mind, trying to figure out what went wrong. Maybe he thought I sucked in bed.” She blushed, realizing she was over-sharing with her new neighbor. But it wasn’t like she was trying to hit on him. He was so out of her league, and she wanted him to know that she knew that. In a strange way it made her feel more comfortable around him to be self-deprecating so she pressed on. “Matthew—that’s his name. Well, anyway, a few months before he told me he was bored. With me and—”
    “Wait a minute.” Dallas dipped his strong chin. “Sounds to me like this guy really did a number on you. Did you ever stop to think that maybe the problem wasn’t you? Maybe he was the one who was boring?”
    She stretched her legs out straight in front of her. “No. Matthew’s not boring. I think he just lost