Heart and Soul by Carrie Elks

3

“Mommy, please can we go to the pool?” Isla implored, giving Meghan a hopeful smile.

It was just after eight on Saturday morning. Jeannie was due to open the shop today, aided by three students they’d employed to work part-time shifts. Meghan and Isla would go in for the late shift. The office had been converted into a cozy playroom, complete with a two-seater sofa, a coffee table for Isla’s painting projects, and a television for those moments when she was really bored.

It wasn’t perfect, but Isla’s babysitter didn’t work on the weekends.

“Maybe for an hour,” Meghan said, mentally shifting her morning schedule in her head. “But after that we have some errands to run. And we need to clean the apartment, because Granny and Gramps are visiting us tomorrow.”

“They are?” Isla’s face lit up. “Yay!”

At least one of them was happy about it. Meghan’s relationship with her parents was fragile. Had been since the day she’d told them she was pregnant and the father didn’t want anything to do with it. At first, her parents had gone crazy. It had taken them almost six months before they spoke to her again. But they loved Isla and she loved them back. And that was enough.

“Yep. So you’ll need to tidy your room when we get back from the shop tonight.”

“Can we bring some cookies home for Granny and Gramps?” Isla asked. “I could decorate them. They’d love it.”

Yes they would. Luckily, Isla could do no wrong in their eyes. Their worship of their granddaughter made up for their disappointment in their only child.

“Sure. You can decorate them this afternoon. Now go get your bathing suit on, and I’ll grab mine. But we have to leave the pool when I say so, okay?”

Isla’s expression was full of innocence. “Sure.”

Most of the loungers were already taken when they made it down to the pool, but Meghan managed to find two in the third row, spreading their towels out on them and putting her beach bag on top. They’d already put sunscreen on before they left the apartment, much to Isla’s disgust.

“But it’s not even summer,” she complained.

“It doesn’t matter. You can still get burned.”

Truthfully, the sun had barely managed to warm the air up yet, though the forecast promised a balmy day with temperatures reaching the low seventies. That had made Meghan smile because good weather meant more visitors to the beach – and to the ice cream parlor.

“You’re new,” a smokey voice said. The woman on the chair next to Meghan’s put her Styrofoam cup of Déjà Brew coffee down and lifted her sunglasses up, giving Meghan and Isla the once over.

“We are.” Meghan gave her a smile. “We moved in this week. Have you lived here long?”

“Three years. I’m practically a veteran now. I’m Raeanne, by the way.”

“I’m Meghan, and this is my daughter, Isla.”

“Which floor are you on?” Raeanne asked.

“The tenth.”

“The tenth?” The woman next to Raeanne sat up, smoothing her blonde hair back. “With Mr. Gorgeous?”

Raeanne’s eyes widened. “You don’t live with him, do you?” Her eyes swept over Isla. “Before we embarrass ourselves?”

“I assume you’re referring to my neighbor. And no, I don’t live with him.”

“We live on our own,” Isla piped up.

Raeanne leaned back on her deck chair. “Ah well, at least you get daily eye candy. That man could be my next door neighbor any day.”

“You’ll have to get in line,” the woman next to her said. “I’ve been here for five years. I have seniority.”

“Let’s face it, neither of us are going to get that lucky. I’ve never seen him with the same date twice.” Raeanne shook her head.

“I’d be happy to settle for once. Have you seen his body?”

Meghan glanced at Isla. She was rummaging through Meghan’s bag, too busy trying to find her pool toys to listen to the gossip, thank goodness.

Not that Meghan had any moral authority here, after the way she’d reacted to her new neighbor the other day. She’d practically stripped him with her eyes.

Or she would have, if he hadn’t been half naked already. And that’s something she definitely wasn’t sharing with Raeanne and her friend.

“Is it okay if I leave my bag here while we go for a swim?” she asked Raeanne. The pool area looked secure enough. You had to use a special key to open the gate, and there was a lifeguard on duty at all times, but she wanted to make sure.

“Of course. But the water’s cold, I’m warning you.”

“I don’t think Isla cares.” Meghan smiled. “But thank you for the warning.”

Raeanne wasn’t wrong about the temperature. While Isla jumped straight in, her bright red hair emerging to the surface before the rest of her, Meghan sat gingerly on the edge, dipping her feet into the chilly water, wincing as it hit her skin. Maybe she could get away with sitting here while Isla swam. She took the ball Isla had brought down and threw it at her. Isla caught it and giggled, throwing it back to Meghan.

It was no good, she was going to have to get in. Her two-piece bathing suit wasn’t exactly skimpy with its grey, waist high bottoms and a black triangle top that just about contained her breasts. But her exposed skin was still cool and at least in the water she’d be able to move around and warm up. Resigning herself to the inevitable, she threw the ball into the water and put her palms flat on the edge and braced her arms to lift herself in. But before she could, a dark shadow moved over, blocking out the sunlight.

Looking up, Meghan saw her new neighbor towering over her, wearing a pair of swim shorts and nothing else.

In the bright morning light he looked even more glorious than the first time she’d seen him, maybe something to do with the fact that his muscled thighs were dead set in her eye line.

Well, hello!

“Hi.” He gave her an awkward smile. Damn, had she said that out loud? He sat down on the edge of the pool next to her, his face blanching as he dipped his toes in. “You’d think they’d heat this up until the sun does the trick. I swear it’s warmer in the ocean than it is in here.” He cocked his head, his eyes dipping to her body before rising quickly up. “I keep meaning to knock on your door and say thanks for the cookies. They were delicious.”

“You’re welcome.” She looked across the pool, checking on Isla. She’d grabbed the ball and was using it as a float, treading water to stay in the same place. Over her shoulder, Raeanne had lifted her sunglasses to her head and was staring unashamedly at Meghan’s neighbor. When she caught Meghan’s eye, she gave her a thumbs up.

Meghan quickly pulled her attention back to Rich. Thank goodness she didn’t have to stare at his thighs and groin anymore. It was much easier looking at his face. And yeah, she could spend hours looking at that face. Thick eyebrows framing piercing blue eyes, a strong straight nose that led to a top lip that was thinner than the bottom. He hadn’t shaved and the dark shadow on his jaw defined their sharpness.

“Aren’t you working today?” she asked him.

“I have the weekend off.” He lifted a brow. “Thought I’d come for a swim before I headed out to do all the things I never get to do when I’m on shift. How about you?”

“I’m working this afternoon.” Isla was looking over at her. Meghan lifted her hand in a wave.

“Is that your daughter?”

“That’s Isla, yeah.” Meghan nodded. “She’s giving me some grace before I freeze to death in this pool.”

“Good thing I know how to do CPR.” He really did have the most delicious grin.

“I thought it might be useful having a doctor as a neighbor,” she told him. “Though I promise not to take advantage.”

“What do you do again?” he asked. “So I know not to take advantage of that, either.”

“I run the ice cream shop on the boardwalk.” She was amused that he’d forgotten their conversation from the other night.

“Angel Ices? Ah, that explains the cookies. You made those?” His head tipped to the side. “In that case, you can take advantage of my medical skills whenever you like, as long as you pay me in cookies and ice cream.”

“I’ll remember that.”

“You do that. Now, I need to go swim. I figure this way I get to exercise without annoying my neighbors with loud music.” The sparkle in his eyes told her he was teasing.

“Good idea. You can warm it up for me.”

He grinned and jumped to his feet, then dove into the water, cutting through the surface like a swan. By the time he emerged from the deep, he’d swum almost to the other side, grabbing onto the edge as he shook the water from his hair, the droplets flying everywhere. It was the first time she’d seen his back muscles, and they were as impressive as the rest of him. Rippling beneath his smooth, tan skin as he pushed himself off and turned back into the water, his arms pushing through the surface in an easy, elegant crawl.

Meghan was definitely ready to cool down. Not just because her new neighbor was as fine as anything, but because he actually appeared to be a nice guy, too. She felt like she’d lucked out, moving into an apartment where all of her neighbors were lovely. Gloria and her kind, warm welcome, Kevin and Grant and their thoughtful gift, even though they were thousands of miles away.

And then there was Rich. The hot doc who’d just offered her medical advice in return for cookies. A quid pro quo she felt was pretty one sided.

Thank goodness he was out of her league. Too old, too handsome, and way too eligible to be interested in a single mom with an eight year old kid.

She was hoping this place would be home for her and Isla for a long time. She wasn’t planning on letting her attraction to one of her neighbors get in the way of that.

* * *

It was almost eleven by the time Rich had showered and dressed, taking the ten flights of stairs down to the basement lot, where his Toyota was parked in his allocated spot.

The sun was warmer now, and as he pulled up the ramp and onto the road he could see the apartment pool area was swarming with people. He knew Meghan wasn’t one of them, because he’d heard her come back up to her apartment with Isla about half an hour before he left.

He hadn’t stuck his head out to say hello. He’d done his bit – thanked her for the cookies and been friendly at the pool. She was his neighbor, and it was the right thing to do. But he didn’t need to be her best friend. Not even if she had the prettiest smile he’d seen in a long, long time. Not to mention that deep auburn hair that caught the sun as she sat with her lithe legs dangling in the communal pool.

Not that he was checking her out. The last thing he needed was another Carlyn, but this time living next door. When she’d knocked on his door the other night he’d been taken by surprise, and had been naturally reticent toward her. He’d learned from experience that to be too friendly only opened him up to later problems.

Full of yourself much? He bit down a smile and shook his head, turning his car onto the main road out of Angel Sands. Weird how much that little voice in his head sounded exactly like his sister, whose house he was headed to. And no, he wasn’t full of himself. He just knew where to draw the boundaries. He didn’t want to give people the wrong idea.

His sister lived in a bungalow on the edge of Angel Sands. He pulled into the driveway, behind her adapted Honda Element, and climbed out of the car, pressing the doorbell to let her know he was here.

“You can come around the back.” Her voice echoed through the speaker beneath the bell. “You know the code by now.”

“I was just being polite.” He smiled at her sassiness.

“There’s a first time for everything I guess.”

He had to bend down to open the gate. Everything in the bungalow had been adapted for Belle, including the keypads, door handles, and in this case – the gate latch. He punched in the code and it unlocked, before he walked into the backyard, fastening the gate behind him.

Belle was in her studio at the bottom of the yard, a paintbrush in her hand as she mixed colors on the wooden palate she held in the other. Her face lit up when she saw him.

She had paraplegia since an accident seventeen years ago, when Belle was twelve, and Rich nineteen. The same accident that had ended their parents’ lives. For the first ten years, she’d lived with their aunt, with regular visits from Rich. But after she turned twenty-one and inherited half their parents’ estate, she’d chosen to live alone in her specially adapted bungalow, with support from hired caregivers.

Her strength and optimism never failed to amaze him. And make him feel guilty, too. Because she was the one who paid the big price for their parents’ death. He was already grown up, and in his second year of college when they passed. She wasn’t even a teenager, and on top of losing her parents she had to learn how to live life without legs that worked.

“That’s looking good,” he said, pointing at her painting. Belle was in the final year of her art degree at community college. She’d been doing it part-time for a while now, and her talent shone through her work. This painting was of the ocean, but in a Belle Martin-style – waves tipped with glittering jewels, red-headed mermaids dancing among them. She liked to paint whimsically, and somehow it really worked.

“So how’s your week been?” he asked ten minutes later in Belle’s house. He’d made them both coffee, and they were sitting looking out at her yard. He always felt like a giant when he did anything in her kitchen, having to stoop down to reach the specially adapted work surfaces and appliances.

“It’s been good. We’re working on our final shows.” Belle smiled. “We can either have them at the college, or arrange them privately ourselves. I’ve put a call in to a couple of local galleries to see if they’d be interested. The lighting at the college isn’t always the best.”

“Have you heard back from them?”

“One of them.” She smiled. “And I’ll chase the other one down next week.”

His sister was never afraid to push herself forward. He loved that about her.

“How about you? Have you been working too hard again?” Belle asked him, taking a sip of her latte.

“It’s been busy,” he admitted. “And I didn’t get to return your call on Wednesday. I’m sorry.”

Her expression was soft. “You don’t need to be sorry. I was only calling to say hi. And you always come to see me. Stop beating yourself up. It makes your pretty face look weird.”

“My face isn’t pretty.” His frown deepened.

“Tell that to all my friends. Do you know how many of them keep asking for your number? I could get you a date for every night this year and they’d still be hassling me.”

Rich shook his head. “Your friends are too young for me.”

“You’re not exactly ancient,” Belle pointed out.

“I’m thirty-six. That’s pretty old.”

“Yep. And by now you should be settled down with my sister-in-law and a few nieces and nephews.”

“Sorry, kid. I don’t have time for that.” He put his coffee cup on the counter and stretched his arms out. His muscles felt tight from his swim earlier.

“Yes you do. You just don’t want to. Anyway, I was teasing you about having kids. I’ll have some of my own and then you won’t have to worry.”

“Is there something you want to tell me?” He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“No.” She started laughing. “Oh god, you look so big-brotherish right now. I’m not pregnant, if that’s what you’re asking. Though I did go on a date last night.”

“Who with?” Rich asked, his voice low.

“I’m not telling you.” Her smile widened. “Though I can tell you I’ll be seeing him again. That man was good.”

“Belle!”

“What? I’m in my sexual prime. And stop wrinkling your nose up like that. God knows I’ve had to hear about your sex life enough.”

“When have you had to hear about my sex life?” He folded his arms in front of him.

“Every time you brought a girl home when you lived with us in the summer. And don’t screw your face up at me again, because it’s a natural act. I can do it if I want to.”

“Yes you can. I just don’t want to hear about it.” He swallowed down some coffee to try to wash the thought away.

Her lips twitched. “Okay then.”

“And you need to be safe,” he told her. “Not just using contraception, but you need to think about your physical safety, too. I worry about you.”

Her blue eyes met his. “And I worry about you, too,” she said softly. “Not about your safety but about your happiness. You work too hard.”

He winked. “I know.” They were back on safe ground. “But if it makes you feel any better, I’m going out later.”

“Where?”

“To James and Harper’s.” James Tanner was his best friend, and a spinal surgeon at St. Vincent’s.

“Will there be any girls there?” Belle’s eyes sparkled.

“Only Alyssa.” He grinned because he knew what she’d say next.

“She’s two years old.” Belle shook her head. “What are we going to do with you?”

“Speaking of kids, I have a new neighbor. A mom and her little girl. She’s eight.” He steered the conversation far away from his dating life. It wasn’t something he planned on talking with his sister about.

“You do? Is she pretty?”

“She’s eight.” His voice was deadpan.

Belle wrinkled her nose. “You’re getting boring, you know that? We need to find a way to spice up your life.”