Page 1 of Forever Yours
CHAPTER 1
Cami
Me: Pretty sure it’s HIM.
I inch forward in line, eyes glued to my phone, heart kicking as Paxton’s reply pops in.
Paxton: Wait. Not that neighbor guy you flashed the other night.
Paxton: Lady bits and all?
Okay, first of all—I didn’tflashanyone. Not on purpose.
Sure, I may have been towel-deficient when thatneighbor guy—who felt solid in ways that made my pulse misbehave—literallyslammedinto me outside Ms. Palmer’s house. But still. Accidental nudity should not count.
Second of all,Paxtonis the one who warned me that Ms. Palmer’s head would flat-out explode if I dragged even a single grain of sand into her pristine beach house.
Which is the only reason I stepped into that outdoor shower—sans swimsuit—and ended up wet, naked, and, as my dumbluck would have it, nose-to-pectoral with the hottest man I’ve ever seen.
Ugh. This summer is supposed to be low-key. House-sit for three months. Wake up to ocean views. Maybe heal from the shit storm I left behind in England. My summer reset.
Instead—moonlight, an outdoor shower, and a mortifying full-frontal introduction to the neighbor next door. Definitely not on my itinerary.
Me: YES. He just walked into the coffee shop and is standing behind me in line right now.
Paxton: Hahahahaha!
Of course he finds this hilarious.
Honestly, I should’ve gone straight to New York from England like a sane person.
Butnooooo. I had to be a helpful bestie and swoop in to house-sit for Paxton after he got summoned early to his fancy Wall Street internship.
Not that I was in any rush. I wasn’t exactly ready to face New York—then or now.
Me: Not. Funny. Besides, maybe he won’t remember?
Ignoring the inner voice begging me to skip my morning brew and bolt out of Seaport Coffee Café like a bullet train, I shuffle forward.
A bright blue sign above the register flashes:“Skip the line. Download our app. Order ahead.”
Perfect. An app that could’ve saved me from standing in front of the guy who got an unsolicited peek at mylady bits.
A ping interrupts my mental spiral.
Paxton: Not sure why he wouldn’t remember a naked woman running into him. But maybe it’s not such a big deal…
Me: Not such a big deal for a total stranger to see me NAKED? Um, wrong.
Paxton: Girl. You’re HOT. That neighbor guy got lucky, if you ask me.
Me. Well, maybe he won’t recognize me. It was dark (thank you moon, stars, and divine mercy), plus I kinda zipped inside Ms. Palmer’s house like a comet.
Paxton: Or…maybe he’ll only recognize like 90% of you. Still a win.
Paxton: For him.
Me: I’m accepting applications for a new best friend…
