The Game Plan (Neighbor from Hell 5)

“We can save it,” Trevor said, voicing his thoughts. “But it won’t be cheap.”

“No,” Danny said, pulling his hand away and wiping it clean on his pant leg, “it won’t.”

“Your future wife isn’t going to be happy about this,” Trevor pointed out with a taunting smile.

“I’m not going to marry her,” Danny said in a bored tone, surprised that his cousin had waited this long to start the bullshit back up.

Instead of arguing with him, Trevor simply chuckled, which wasn’t exactly comforting, especially not when Matthew chose that moment to look up at him with a knowing smile and shot him a wink.

Dear God, was he the only one that found Trevor’s kids terrifying?

Chapter 12

“The exciting life of a town librarian,” she muttered absently to herself as she pulled her damp hair back into a ponytail and took inventory of the folders covering the coffee table and half her couch with a sigh that bordered on a whimper.

It was going to be a long night.

Not that she had much of a choice, not since Bradford Construction made a call to the City Council and shared the good news that the library was not only rotting from the inside out, but that it also had a mold problem. That of course had triggered a series of events that ended with the Board of Health condemning the library during her lunch break. Thirty minutes later she’d found herself covered in a crusty mixture of paste, glue and glitter and sitting outside the City Council’s offices, accepting the fact that she was going to have to update her résumé.

After all the objections, demands, and limitations they’d placed on her for the library renovations she’d expected them to condemn the building and cut their losses. What she hadn’t expected was a group of giddy councilmen demanding that she help design a new state of the art library. Well, maybe demanded was too harsh of a word since what they’d really done was ask her if she’d be interested in creating another proposal. She wasn’t and she would have had no problem with telling them that if she hadn’t been so distracted to discover that she still had a job and other things…….

Other things being Danny Bradford and that incredibly sweet, sexy kiss that had left her stunned, confused and imagining a dozen more ways to get rid of the bastard by the time the second bottle of glue was poured over her head. Truly afraid that she would put one of those ideas into action, she’d stopped on the way home, bought a half dozen pints of Ben and Jerry’s for fortification and after devouring one in the parking lot, decided that it was safe to go home.

When she didn’t see his truck parked in its customary spot, she grabbed her bags, stormed into the apartment house, sent a murderous glare at his door and went into her apartment where she spent the next two hours scrubbing every inch of her body until she was sure that every last speck of glitter was gone. Once that was done she threw on her old favorite t-shirt, a pair of comfy sweatpants and decided to get the proposal out of the way and give herself the distraction that she needed. Now, as she faced a long night of paperwork, all she wanted to do was to grab another pint of ice cream, pop a movie in the DVD player and curl up on the couch and pretend that this day never happened.

Except maybe for that kiss…..

“I’m an idiot,” she declared to absolutely no one as she dropped down on the couch and grabbed the folder closest to her with an overdramatic groan, deciding that after the day she’d had that it was completely warranted.

At least it was almost over, she reminded herself as she glanced down at the notes the Council had handed her and closed her eyes in defeat as someone knocked on the door, destroying all of her hopes for a peaceful night in a matter of seconds. She started to stand up when a thought occurred to her, one that had her sitting back down, picking up her notes and deciding to ignore whoever was at the door. Whoever it was knocked again, more insistent this time, but she wasn’t answering it.

She was done.

More than done actually. As far as she was concerned the rest of the world no longer existed. The only thing that existed tonight was her couch, her television, this proposal and the ice cream in the fridge. Everything and everyone else could go-

“Open up, Jodi. I know you’re there,” Greg announced, but she simply shook her head as she said, “Go away.”

“Jodi, come on, don’t be that way,” he said with a touch of exasperation that had her shaking her head more stubbornly.

“I’m busy,” she said, spreading the notes before her on the coffee table.

“Are you still mad about the other night?” he asked, laying on the boyish charm that he’d used to get her to go out with him in the first place and then used a week later when he’d decided that she was too sweet to date.

“Uh huh,” she said, set on ignoring him as she organized the notes into some semblance of order.

“It was a busy night at work. I didn’t have time to return your text.”

“Uh huh,” she muttered, not in the mood to point out that it had been his night off or that she knew the rest of the guys had avoided her texts and calls, terrified that she was under the influence of antihistamine.

They were all cowards and she’d eventually forgive them, but not tonight. Tonight she just wanted to bury herself in her work.

A long sigh let her know that he’d given up. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Greg,” she said, shaking her head in amusement at just how quickly he gave up.

“Goodnight, Jodi,” he said, not sounding all that upset that she wouldn’t answer.

“I guess it was never meant to be,” she said on a long drawn out sigh before laughing softly and shaking her head in amusement.

That is until he started knocking again.

Sighing in disgust and knowing that he’d give up just as quickly as the last time, she focused on the files before her and ignored him. When a minute went by and he was still knocking, she looked up and frowned. He was being rather persistent all of a sudden.

“Go away, Greg!” she groaned, wondering why tonight of all nights he was being stubborn.

Another knock came, a more stubborn knock and one that had her eyes narrowing to slits. The next knock had her tossing her file aside and getting to her feet and by the time she made it to the door she was ready to kill her best friend with her bare hands. Hands clenching with the need to do just that, she flicked the lock open, grabbed the knob and yanked the door open to-