Love Next Door (Lakeside #1) by Helena Hunting

“What the heck is going on?” he asks, face turning red.

“Welcome home!” we all shout, sort of in unison, and Aaron starts clapping, so we all join in.

“Man, if this is the kind of party you throw me for winding up in the hospital, I should consider going to college or something. I feel like there’d be a live band if I managed to graduate.” While he seems embarrassed, he also looks genuinely happy.

Dillion rushes up to him and says something. Billy smiles down at her and pulls her into a hug. “I’m joking around; this is great. Thanks for sticking by me.”

Everyone greets him and gives him a hug, telling him in low whispers how glad they are he’s home and that they’re there for him, whatever he needs. I stand back and watch, amazed by the way his family has rallied around him, and I wonder how different things would have been for our family if we’d come together when we’d lost my mom, rather than going in separate directions.

It doesn’t take long before Billy is worn out from the socializing, and probably the entire day. I help Dillion clean up, and while she takes some time with her family, Aaron follows me over to Bee’s so we can look at my plans for the garage and, later, once that’s finished, what it would take to renovate the cottage.

“I don’t think it’ll be tough to get permits to make changes to the existing buildings. That’s not usually the problem around here. It’s more about when people are looking to build things like condos. The lake can’t handle much more boat activity than it already has.”

“Dillion and I talked about that. I’ve talked to the town council and asked about cleaning up the beach on this side.”

He stuffs his hands in his pockets. “Yeah. I’ve heard about that. Just wanna make sure you’ve got Bee’s best interests in mind while you’re doing that.”

“How do you mean?”

He leans against the side of the truck, flipping a set of keys around his finger. “You’re city—you see an opportunity to swoop in and make changes—but there’s always another side to it. We can fix up that beach, but someone has to maintain it, and it all costs money. And if it’s too pretty, then everyone with cottages on the other side starts sniffing around, looking over here for more places to build. Bee was big on preserving the lake and the community. I hope you’re looking to do the same, is all.”

I don’t have a chance to reply because a car pulls down the driveway. “What the heck is my sister doing here?” I mutter.

She parks beside my BMW, which is covered with flower blossoms since I’ve been driving Grammy Bee’s truck most of the time. She barely has the car in park before she hops out. “You will never believe what I found today!” She practically bounces across the driveway, heading straight for me while waving her phone in the air. She skids to a stop when she sees Aaron leaning against the truck. “Oh! Hey. Hello! I didn’t realize you had company.”

Her gaze flips between me and Aaron and back again, and she changes course and makes a beeline for Aaron. Teagan has always been highly social, and very charismatic. She holds out her hand. “Hi. Teagan Firestone. I’m Van’s sister. You must be a friend of my brother’s.”

“Aaron Saunders. I was talking to Van about his reno projects. I work with Dillion and her dad.” He engulfs my sister’s hand in his giant one. His is covered in little scabs and nicks and scars. She has a purple manicure with some kind of design on the nail of both ring fingers.

“You have huge hands.”

Once he releases hers, she grabs his wrist and holds it up, like she’s forcing him into a high five. She matches the heel of her hand with the heel of his and presses her palm to his, splaying out her fingers. Her fingertips only reach his first knuckle.

She whistles lowly. “That’s just . . . wow. You should be a basketball player with mitts like these.” Her gaze drops to his feet, and then she does a full-body scan, all the way from his scuffed work boots, over his ripped and stained jeans, and back to his face.

He arches a brow. “I like football better.”

“There’s more violence in football. All that tackling. Full-body hugging.”

I clear my throat, not sure what I’m witnessing.

Teagan drops his hand and steps back.

“I should probably be heading home,” Aaron says, flipping his keys around his finger. “Just shoot me a message later next week, and we can set up a formal meeting to go over your plans. I’ll help you get them ready so the permits won’t be a fight with the town.”

“Great, thanks, Aaron. I appreciate that.”

He nods to my sister. “Nice to meet you, Teagan.”

“You too.” Her smile is on the right side of maniacal.

I wait until he’s out of hearing range before I ask, “What the hell was that?”

“I don’t know. But I made that so weird, and awkward. I guess it’s a good thing I don’t live here, otherwise I’d have to actively try to avoid him in the future. God, he’s so . . . small-town hot.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Like he clearly hasn’t showered, or changed out of his work clothes, but that just makes him sexier. Why is he so sexy? I mean, he hasn’t shaved in at least two days. And he probably doesn’t manscape at all. I wonder if he has any tattoos.” She taps her lip.