Emily eyes filled with tears as I smiled. “Sierra wanted to ask you herself to be in the wedding, so act surprised when she talks to you about it.”
Em did a little scream and threw herself into my arms. “Oh, Aaron! I can’t believe you’re getting married.”
Closing my eyes, I held her tight. “Me either, Em. Me either.”
Carrying the last box out of Sierra’s house, I put it in the back of my truck. Wiping the sweat from my brow, a woman about my age approached me with a smile. “Hello there. Moving in?”
Letting out a chuckle, I said, “No, I’m moving my fiancée out.”
The stunned expression on her face caused me to smile bigger. “Sierra is getting married? Didn’t she just get divorced?”
Glaring at her, the woman’s smile faded as she rocked back and forth nervously on her heels. “Well, not that it’s any of my business.”
Smiling, I nodded my head and said, “No, it really isn’t.”
Giving me a dirty look, she cleared her throat. “I was coming over to invite Sierra over for our daughter’s one-year birthday party. She was the labor and delivery nurse when I had Angie.”
“Really?” I asked as I glanced back toward the house, wondering where in the hell Sierra was. She had been right behind me with a box. When I saw the curtain move, I knew what she was doing.
That little brat was hiding!
“Yes. Ever since we found out Sierra lived a few doors down from us, we’ve invited her to all of Angie’s parties.”
Jerking my head back, I gave her a dazed look. “All of Angie’s parties? Isn’t she just turning one?”
Laughing and hitting me playfully on the chest, to which I took a step away from her, she said, “She is just one, but we’ve had parties for each month, silly.”
“Each month?” I asked as I glanced back at the window and saw Sierra looking out with a smile on her face.
“Sure, one-month birthday, two-month birthday, three-month birthday, four—”
Holding up my hands, I smiled politely. “I get it. You don’t have to count them all out for me.”
Lifting her hand, she handed me the invite. “You’re more than welcome to come with Sierra. It would mean a whole lot to us to have Sierra there. Let her know for me, okay? I’ve got to run.”
Taking a few steps back, the woman lifted her hand and waved as she eye fucked the hell out of me. Licking her lips, she turned and walked away. I was pretty sure I heard her moan as she turned away from me.
Shaking my head, I headed back into the house only to find Sierra in a laughing fit. “Haha. Don’t think I didn’t notice you left me high and dry out there. I feel like I need to take a shower with the way she was eye fucking me.”
Throwing her head back and laughing, Sierra wrapped her arms around her waist and motioned with her hand for me to stop talking. “Can’t. Breathe.”
“That’s not cool. You’re going to be my wife in a couple days and you’re laughing at me.”
Sierra took a deep breath in and calmed herself down. “I’m sorry. It’s just when I came walking out and saw her making a beeline toward you, I turned and hightailed it back into the house. That family is nuts! Do you know how many birthday parties I’ve been to?”
“I’d say at least eleven,” I said with a chuckle.
Shaking her head, Sierra picked a box up and said, “Ugh. As much as I’m going to miss this house, I’ll be so glad to be away from them. At least once a week she would bring me over—”
I opened the front door for Sierra to walk through when she let out a scream. “Hey, Sierra!” The neighbor I had just been talking to was standing outside the door.
“Holy hell, you scared the piss out of me!” Sierra yelled out.
The woman smiled and said, “I’ll never get used to the bad words that come out of your mouth, Sierra. I forgot to tell your boyfriend . . .”
I could practically see the steam coming from Sierra’s ears.
“Fiancé,” Sierra said under her breath.
The woman stuttered on her words for a brief moment before talking again, “Right well, I forgot to mention it’s a costume party. Everyone is dressing up like a character from Winnie the Pooh.”
“No way,” I whispered.
“Sierra, you would make a wonderful Eeyore!”
Letting out a laugh, I pointed to Sierra as she turned and glared at me before looking back at her neighbor.
“Joyce, I’m so sorry but we won’t be able to make it.”
