The Neighbor (The Neighbor #1) by Claire Adams Read Free Book Online

little honesty.  
    “I love Nemo . My mantra is
just keep swimming,” Ryder commented.
    “Not a bad one to live by,” I told him. ”Ryder, do
you plan on a guest room back here. It’s pretty much empty .
I see you have an office and a bedroom. Add on the viewing room, living room,
dining room and kitchen and you seem to have an extra.”
    I wondered about the room. In the back of my mind I
envisioned it as a love palace in which he would entertain his friend Sammy or
Amelia from the club. Maybe he would add a stripper pole. As far as his bedroom
went, it was sparse except for the bed. Maybe I was too
focused on the bed. I did not want to get ahead of myself and think we
would end up there.
    “Yeah, I have some ideas about that space. I will
tell you about it later. If you want to come in here, I can put you to work.
Are you any good at throwing together a salad?”
    “Very good. I was a vegetarian for about a week. For seven days, I lived on salads. My
friend Sayler was eating a burger in my presence. I almost tackled her for a
bite of the thing. I realized that pigs, cows and goats were a part of the food
chain and not my friends. I retained a knack for building the perfect salad.”
    I walked into the kitchen. It looked like a tornado
had touched down. Simply marinating some shrimp had become quite the project. I
tore up some fresh romaine and made a light Caesar dressing. When the shrimp
was safely on the skewers, we headed outside. Ryder was wearing an apron, which
I thought was extremely charming.
    It was odd being in the shadow of my own home. I had
a direct view of my bedroom.
    “I love shrimp on the grill. My pal Leo lives on
Pelican Island. He has a Johnboat that he takes out on the river. He nets these himself. He gets oysters as well. We will have to
roast oysters sometime. Do you like them?”
    “They’re an aphrodisiac aren’t they?” I asked.
    “I think it’s a myth. I find that anything can be an
aphrodisiac if eaten with the right person. Take shrimp for example.”
    My hands began to sweat.
    There was a slight breeze outside and the heat of
the day had diminished. Still, things were heating up on Lewis Ave.
    “To answer your question – yes I like oysters.” I
smiled. I liked that he assumed we would have the opportunity to roast oysters
in the future .
    “If I open a bottle of wine will you share? I don’t
want to assume you drink alcohol. I was in Western Europe last year and I had
fun selecting some bottles. I keep them on hand and they remind me of my trip
and the fun we had.” Ryder eyes got big and I knew he realized that he said we .
    “Were you joined by Sammy?” I asked bluntly.
    “Yes Sammy came over for a couple of weeks,” he
stuttered. “You are fixated on Sammy.”
    “Not fixated. Just curious.”
    “I am going to get that bottle of wine. I have a
nice pinot gris . I picked it
up in Rovere della Luna. It is a spot in Northern Italy. Sound Okay?”
    “Sure anything. The shrimp is delicious and I love the fresh tomatoes. They are easy enough for
me to grow. It is something about the soil here but people who live in New
Jersey say they have the best tomatoes. I bet they say that about every state
that grows the things. Along with zucchini, tomatoes are my only crops,” I
said.
    Ryder poured me a glass of wine. The glasses were
free of water stains and suited perfectly for white wine. It was a definite
step up from the boxed wine in a tumbler I tasted at Sayler’s all the time.
    “Interested in watching a movie after we eat some
pie?” Ryder asked.
    It was beginning to sound more and more as if we
were on a date.
    “Yeah. We can discuss what to watch over desert,” I replied.
    “I have a theory about movie watching on dates.”
Ryder sealed it – we were officially having a date.
    “I think I know what you are going to say. It leaves
no time for conversation; therefor it is a bad idea.”
    “No smartass. I think watching a movie or television
is a great way to