My Beautiful Neighbor (The Greene Family Book 1) by Piper Rayne (phonics reading books TXT) 📕

We were messing around until a week ago when he made love to me.”

He looks up and the shame on his face breaks me. A tear slips down my cheek and he steps forward, but I swipe it away, stepping back.

“Presley,” he says.

I shake my head. “Don’t sweat it, Cade, I was just as naïve as you. I knew the stakes and the game I was playing. But I’m done. So you don’t have to gently break my heart by dodging me anymore. I’m giving you the out you’re looking for.”

He steps forward again, and my head falls down to hide the tears that won’t seem to stop cascading down my cheeks.

“Come on. Let’s talk.” He reaches to touch me and I smack his hand away.

“You had your chance to talk to me. It’s too late now.”

“It’s not. I’m here.”

“Okay, why did you run out after you made love to me?”

He opens his mouth and closes it, shaking his head. “I got scared.”

“Of?” I break the small distance between us. If he’s willing to open up, I’ll go somewhere with him and talk this out. But if he’s not, then there’s no point.

“Because I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea. I got scared that I hurt you.”

A stabbing sensation pierces my chest. “So there are no feelings on your side? I was just a girl to mess around with?”

He looks down again and nods.

All the air rushes from my lungs. I nod and close my eyes, gathering all the strength I have left. “Thanks for finally being honest. Have a good life.”

I walk past him toward my store. The crowd acts as if they weren’t hanging on our every word and goes back to their conversations.

“Presley!” Cade calls. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. You saved me a lot of trouble.” I meet Reese and her smirk outside The Story Shop, but I push past her.

Then I head to the back room and sink down in my office chair, wishing I’d never tried to have a fresh start.

Three days after the grand opening of The Story Shop, four days after Presley decided to have it out with me in the middle of duo night with the entire town as our witness, I’m at my mom’s gravesite.

What a fantastic fucking week this is turning out to be.

Chevelle hands us all flowers, each one different to make a bouquet that Mom would love. She always said she never had a favorite flower, how could she choose, they’re all beautiful like her kids. But I might be the only one who remembers Mom saying that. Sometimes I think being the oldest child with the clearest memories of her is a curse.

“We’ll start oldest to youngest, like always,” Chevelle says, nodding at me.

I blow out a breath, not really into this. “I’ll pass right now.”

“Cade, you always go first,” she says.

I shake my head. I don’t want to do the rah-rah talk to make all my siblings feel better. We’ve all lived without her longer than we lived with her. There’s nothing rah-rah about how I’m feeling right now, and I only have myself to blame.

I let Presley slip through my hands. I lied to her when I said I felt nothing. She was right to call me out.

“Not this year.” I place the lily in the vase next to Mom’s grave. I wonder if Chevelle planned the lily because of the ceramic lily Presley painted at Fired Up. I never did ask if it was her favorite or not. Because I knew I was sinking farther and farther into her and I thought if I knew less about her, it would make it easier to stay afloat.

“Okay, fine. Fisher.” Chevelle motions to him.

Fisher clears his throat and gives his usual few words about missing her and don’t worry, he’s keeping Sunrise Bay safe. Xavier talks about his season and the fact he’s starting next season. He wishes her a happy birthday and drops his tulip in the vase. Adam wipes his face, probably wishing he could listen to some Motown to push aside any feelings. He apologizes for his marriage not working out. That he didn’t do what it took to make it work and he’s sorry he’s disappointed her since she and Dad were college sweethearts.

“Adam, Mom wouldn’t care. All she’d want is for you to be happy,” I say. He shouldn’t feel guilty that he and Lucy didn’t work out.

“She would’ve wanted you to be happy too,” he says and slides his rose into the vase.

“I am happy.”

Fisher blows out a breath.

“What?” I ask.

“Nothing. I’m tired,” he says.

“My turn.” Chevelle stands straight and pulls a piece of paper from her purse. “I wanted to write Mom a poem, but turns out it’s the one thing I’m not good at.”

We all laugh. I wish I would’ve had her read it to me that day in the kitchen. Another fail for me.

“But I wrote a letter.”

Fisher groans. I know he’s not into these days. He’d rather deal with this on his own, same as me. He’s just more vocal about it.

“‘Mom, I’m sorry…’” She glances up, and all of us huddle around her because we know the guilt that weighs heavily on her small shoulders. Our mom’s death is not her fault like she thinks it is. She was five. She didn’t know. “‘But we have a problem. Because you died, Cade is scared.’”

I draw back, and Fisher’s gaze meets mine.

“‘He’s scared to get close to someone. I’m sure you know, but there’s this new woman in town, Presley.’”

Adam steps back, smiling at our sister for calling me out.

“‘He’s so happy when he’s with her, Mom. I’m sure you see his smile all the way in heaven. But he’s trying to act like he doesn’t care about her. He humiliated her in front of the whole town. I know, I know. Not very Greene-like.’” She scolds me with a glare. “‘Please do whatever you can to reach him and send him