The Shifter Romances The Writer (Nocturne Falls Book 6) (4 page)

She went silent for a few seconds, then huffed out a breath. “Too late. I already put the check in the mail.”

“That was fast.”

“I don’t like having that kind of stuff hanging over my head.”

He respected that. “I’m sorry.”

She frowned, and her expression finally softened as she exhaled a long sigh. She was remarkably pretty when she wasn’t scowling at him. “Don’t be. You were just doing your job. And I
was
speeding. Still, it kind of put a damper on my day.”

He tried a smile. “How about I let you off the next one?”

Her brows knit together, then she laughed. “You’re that convinced I’m going to be speeding again?”

He broadened his smile, glad he’d gotten a happy response out of her. “I saw the car. I’d be speeding again. Unless that wasn’t your car?”

“No, it’s mine. It’s in the garage.”

“Good place for a machine like that.” He stuck his hand out. “I’m Alex, by the way.” And then immediately remembered he’d already told her his name. She
was
a little discombobulating. “Sorry we met the way we did, but maybe we can move past that.”

She hesitated. “Only if you never call me ma’am again.”

He nodded. “Done.”

She shook his hand. “Then I think we can move forward. I’d rather be friends with the cop next door than enemies. You know, in case I throw any wild parties.”

Her hand was soft and delicate, but her grip was firm. “As long as I’m invited.”

She smirked as they ended the handshake. “I’ll keep that in mind, but honestly, it’s not likely to happen. I’m pretty boring. I work from home and generally leave the house as little as possible. Although Nocturne Falls might change that. Seems like a really fun place.”

“It is. Or it can be. I don’t go out much myself either.” At least not since he started studying for the sergeant’s exam.

She squinted at him. “I actually thought I met you earlier. I mean you my neighbor, not
you
you. Anyway. There was a guy standing on your property when I left to take my drive this morning. Sort of looked like a younger version of you.”

“That was a younger version of me. My brother, Diego.” Alex sighed. “He’s staying with me while he gets back on his feet.” Or until Alex evicted him.

Roxy smiled. “That’s nice of you. Hey, you want a beer?”

He hesitated. It wasn’t every day an attractive woman asked him in for a beer, but she was human. He didn’t want to lead her on if she was thinking they were going to be more than neighbors.

“I’m not a mass murderer or anything, I swear. I only kill fictional people.”

He frowned. “What?”

She laughed. “I’m a writer.”

“Oh.” A beer with his new, hot neighbor? Or back to his own house and the Diego invasion? “A beer would be great.” He’d just make sure she knew he wasn’t looking to get involved, that he wanted to keep things strictly on a friend level.

Especially because he couldn’t exactly explain that he only dated other supernaturals.

“You sure I’m not interrupting anything?”

Roxy shook her head at Officer Hotness aka Alex, the man candy who lived next door. “You’re not. I’m on a break.” By which she meant she was procrastinating on writing the book she should have been halfway through by now, but whatever. Getting to know her handsome neighbor was definitely more important. And maybe the only way she’d avoid tickets in the future. “C’mon in.” She pulled the door open wide and stepped back.

“I just thought maybe I was interrupting your workout.”

She made a face, then glanced down at what she was wearing. Cropped T-shirt and yoga pants. They could definitely be interpreted as workout gear. “Because of my outfit? These are my work clothes. I go for comfort.”

“I see that.” He stepped inside. “Not that you don’t look good. You do. I mean, you look fine in comfortable clothes.”

He shifted uncomfortably, and she laughed. “Relax, Officer Cruz.” She headed for the kitchen, tossing the card he’d brought over onto the counter. He was really cute when he was flustered. And not writing her a ticket. “Light beer okay? That’s all I have.”

“Sure. And call me Alex, please.”

She pulled two out of the fridge and handed him one.

He took it, twisted the top off with his bare hand, then gave it back and gestured for the other one.

She gave him the other bottle while she stared at the one he’d already opened. “Um, these aren’t twist-offs.”

The sound of the second bottle cap hitting the kitchen counter filled the brief silence. He smiled oddly. “Are you sure? They came off pretty easy.”

She just nodded. He didn’t seem like he was showing off, but that little act was sort of impressive. Just like his biceps. The man looked
very
fit.

He lifted his bottle toward hers. “Here’s to new neighbors. And friends.”

“To new neighbors. And fewer tickets written by friends.” She winked as she took a sip of her beer.

He nodded and laughed before drinking his. “So you’re a writer? What do you write?”

And there it was. His reaction to her answer would be very telling. Because she wasn’t going to sugarcoat it or dance around the truth. That life was over. This one was all about truth and not being afraid. She leaned against the kitchen counter and lifted her chin. “I write romance novels.”

“Seriously?” He took a seat on a bar stool at the counter.

She wasn’t sure how to interpret that, but the question still put her on the defensive. “Yes.”

He grinned. “My mother is addicted to romance novels. I think she reads one a day. She’s hooked on this series right now…the Black Moon Brothers, or something like that. The hero is a werewolf
and
a vampire.”

Roxy bit back a laugh. “You mean the Blood Moon Brotherhood?”

“Yeah, I think that’s it. You know it?”

She nodded, doing her best to look nonchalant. “A little. Been writing it for three years.”

He blinked at her. “For real?”

She nodded. “Yep. That’s how I bought this house.”

“Wow.” He mumbled something in Spanish she didn’t understand.

“What was that?”

“Just that my mother will kill me if she finds out I gave her favorite author a ticket.” A sudden look of panic came over his face. “I can’t tell her I met you. Or that you live next door. She’ll be here tomorrow. She’ll try to move in with me. Or you. There’s no telling, really. She’s crazy like that.”

Roxy laughed. “I’ll sign a book for her if you want.”

He shook his head. “Maybe we could save that for her birthday. It would raise too many questions if I sent her something like that out of the blue. Really nice of you, though.”

“Her birthday, then.”

He smiled and toasted her with his bottle. “Congrats on your success. My mother says you’re her book club’s favorite author. She’s all worked up about the next book in the series. I take it it’s a big one?”

“It’s the final book before I start a spin off series and
Blood Moon Rising
is the one I’ve been teasing since I started the series. It wraps up Wolfgang’s story. He’s the pack leader.”

“The werewolf and the vampire.”

“Werevamp, but yes.” She took a drink. “I’m behind on it a little. Er, a lot, actually, but moving kind of took up most of my writing time. Unpacking takes forever.”

He glanced around. “Still working on it?”

“Yes and no. I didn’t have a ton of stuff.” Her house was a little sparse, but she’d covered the basics. Everything else would come with time. And after the book was done. The boxes in the garage weren’t going anywhere. She shrugged. “Divorce has a way of exhausting you, mind, body and soul.”

“You moved from New Jersey.”

“Yep. And I plan to be at the DMV on Monday getting my new plates and license. Getting pulled over reminded me it’s time to do that already. But it means one more day I won’t be writing. Not much anyway.”

His mouth bent in an utterly sexy half smile. “My mother can wait. She rereads the other books all the time.”

Roxy sighed. “I’m happy to hear that, but I hate to disappoint my readers by prolonging a book too much, so I need to get cracking.”

His lids lowered a bit. “Then you probably shouldn’t be wasting time talking to me.”

She shook her head slowly. “This isn’t wasting time. It’s being neighborly.” She tipped her bottle toward his house. “So, your brother…he likes to think he has a way with women, am I right?”

Alex grunted. “Please tell me he did not come on to you.”

“Yeah, no. Maybe a little.” She laughed. “I handled it.”

“I’ll talk to him. And I’m sorry. Diego thinks he’s God’s gift to women, but if his last girlfriend hadn’t kicked him out, he wouldn’t be living with me. I don’t know what to do with him. But he’s family. My kid brother. What am I supposed to do?” He let out a soft sigh. “I didn’t mean to dump all that out.”

“It’s okay.” It was kind of sweet that he was willing to share so much right after they’d met. Maybe he was still trying to make up for the ticket. But she got that kind of sharing a lot. She’d always chalked it up to being an author. People liked to tell their stories to writers. “Family comes first, right?”

“Right. You have any brothers or sisters?”

“Nope. Just me.”

“How’d you end up in Nocturne Falls from Jersey?”

“Delaney James. Ugh, Ellingham. I keep calling her by the wrong name. We were good friends in college, although I’m a year older than her due to getting a later start on school. We kind of bonded over almost having the same last name. Anyway, yes, I lived in New Jersey with my husband. Most of my so-called friends have sided with him in the divorce, but they were his friends first so no surprise there. I stupidly let my own friendships lapse. Too much work, not enough play.”

“I know all about that.”

“Well, that lead me to reach out to some old friends from school on social media, and Delaney was one of the first to respond. One thing led to another, and here I am. Fresh start and all that.” She laughed nervously. “I’m talking too much. I do that.”

“No, you’re not talking too much, and whoever made you feel that way was wrong.”

A warm spot blossomed inside her. She’d never had a man say something like that to her. The opposite, yes. Many times. And all from Thomas. “Thanks,” she said softly. “Old habits die hard, I guess.”

“This is a good town to make a fresh start in. And a great place for you to live considering what you do. Halloween three hundred and sixty-five and all that.”

She nodded. “That’s a big part of how Delaney sold me on moving here. You can’t get much more inspirational for a paranormal romance writer than a town that celebrates Halloween every day.”

“That’s for sure.”

“Hey, can I bug you if I ever need cop stuff? Procedural advice, that sort of thing? I can research it online, but it’s always better from a real-life source.” And it would give her an excuse to talk to Officer Hotness again. Without speeding. Because while she definitely wasn’t interested in being involved with anyone, being friends with a guy who could model for one of her book covers was never going to be a bad thing.

He smiled. “Sure, anytime. I’ll give you my number.”

“Great.” That had worked out better than imagined. Maybe she’d be able to make some friends in this town after all. Especially if everyone who lived here was as nice as Alex and Delaney. She glanced around the kitchen. “You know, I don’t have anything to write on in here. Kind of sad that I’m a writer with no tools, huh? Let me grab a pen and notebook from my office. Be right back.”

She left him drinking his beer and went to get paper, returning a few moments later. “Here you go. And here’s my business card with my number on it in case you need me. Not that you’re likely to have any romance-writing emergencies.”

He jotted his number down. “You never know. There’s always my mother.”

“Right. You sure you don’t want a signed book for her? I’m happy to give you one now
and
on her birthday.”

He slid the notebook back toward her. He had nice handwriting, firm angled strokes that exuded confidence. Sexy handwriting. Which was totally a thing. “Okay. Maybe it’ll distract her from her usual conversations with me about when I’m going to get married and settle down. Thanks again. You have no idea how much this is going to do for my favorite-son status.”