Right Next Door
1220 Words
Chapter 101
Right Next Door
(Aspen’s POV)
I was halfway down the front steps when I saw him.
He stood just beyond the stone wall that separated our properties, one hand resting casually on the iron gate like he had all the time in the world. Sunlight caught in his hair, traced the line of his shoulders, and for one stupid second my brain stalled like it couldn’t compute what it was seeing.
Then it did.
And my stomach dropped.
Winter spotted him before I could react.
“Slade!” she called, already grinning.
Holly abandoned the box in her hands and ran toward him like this was a reunion instead of an ambush.
I stayed exactly where I was.
The morning had felt light. Exciting. Mine. I’d woken up thinking about furniture placement and whether we should put a swing bench in the back garden.
Now I was staring at the last complication I needed.
“What are you doing here?” I called out, not bothering to soften the irritation in my voice.
He looked up at me slowly, like he’d been expecting this moment.
“I live here,” he said.
I laughed once, sharp and humorless. “That’s not funny.”
“I’m not joking,” he replied, gesturing behind him toward the massive stone mansion across the property line. “That’s my house.”
I turned and actually looked at it.
The mansion was enormous. Classic stone, tall windows, long driveway. The kind of house that didn’t belong to someone casually.
“You expect me to believe you just happen to live next door?” I asked, walking toward the gate.
“I bought it last week,” he said evenly. “After the last road trip. I wasn’t planning on making a big announcement about it.”
“You bought the house next to mine.”
“I didn’t know you were buying this one,” he said. “I tried to buy it too. The owners wouldn’t sell.”
My eyes narrowed. “You tried to buy my house.”
“I wanted the land,” he corrected. “The privacy. I was thinking long term.”
“This is not San Diego,” I said, folding my arms. “We are not repeating whatever that was.”
He tilted his head slightly. “Repeating what?”
“This thing where you just exist in my space like gravity,” I snapped. “You don’t get to show up at my new house like nothing happened. You were the one who cheated. You were the one who broke my heart. Now you get to deal with the consequences.”
His expression shifted at that. Not defensive. Not angry. Just surprised.
“I didn’t follow you here,” he said. “If I had known you were buying next door, I would’ve at least warned you.”
“That doesn’t make this better.”
Winter and Holly sensed the tension and quietly drifted away.
“I’m not the same girl you met in San Diego,” I continued. “I don’t need you hovering around pretending to protect me.”
“I never thought you needed saving,” he said softly.
“I have money now,” I went on. “More than enough to keep myself and my sisters safe. We’re secure. We’re stable. I don’t need you complicating that.”
His mouth curved. “Is that what I am? A complication?”
“Yes.”
“And you’ll move because of me?” he asked.
“If I have to.”
He actually laughed.
“Are you scared?” he asked.
“Of you?” I said flatly.
“Of being this close to me,” he clarified. “You think you won’t be able to ignore me if I’m right there.”
My cheeks warmed and I hated that he noticed.
“I just don’t want to see your face,” I said.
“I don’t believe you,” he replied calmly.
I rolled my eyes and looked toward my house instead of him.
“This is my home,” I said. “I finally have something that feels like it belongs to us. I’m not letting you turn it into some twisted sequel.”
He studied both properties like he was calculating something.
“You know what we could do,” he said thoughtfully.
“I’m almost afraid to ask.”
“We tear down both houses,” he said. “Build something bigger. One estate. No neighbors. No interference. Just us.”
I stared at him.
“You’re insane.”
“I’m serious,” he replied. “You want security. I want privacy. We solve both problems at once.”
“That will only ever happen in your dreams,” I said flatly.
He stepped closer to the gate and lowered his voice. “It already is.”
I ignored the way my pulse reacted.
My phone buzzed in my hand.
Henry.
My thumb hovered for a moment before I declined the call.
I wasn’t ready to deal with him. Not after the hospital. Not after the way he’d grabbed my arm. Not after security dragging him away while everyone stared.
I slipped my phone into my pocket like it didn’t matter.
Slade noticed.
“You’re not picking up?” he asked.
I shrugged lightly. “I don’t feel like talking.”
He studied my face carefully, like he wanted to push further but knew better.
“Good,” he muttered.
I shot him a look. “Don’t.”
He lifted his hands slightly. “I didn’t say anything.”
“That’s the problem,” I said.
Before I could move away, he stepped closer and reached through the bars of the gate. His fingers brushed my wrist gently.
“Aspen,” he said, his voice quieter now. “I love you.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
Without thinking, I leaned forward and bit his hand.
Hard.
“Ow,” he yelped, pulling back.
Winter gasped.
Holly burst out laughing.
Slade stared at the red mark forming on his skin and then looked at me like I’d just surprised him in the best possible way.
“You bit me,” he said.
“You deserved it.”
He flexed his hand and grinned. “This is going to be entertaining.”
“I’m not staying,” I said again. “I don’t want your fiancée anywhere near my house.”
The smile faded slightly.
“Celeste doesn’t know about this place,” he said. “And she won’t.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
“It’s the truth,” he replied. “And the prince doesn’t step foot on your property either.”
“You don’t get to dictate who visits me.”
“And you don’t get to pretend he’s harmless,” he shot back.
I shoved his chest lightly. “Stop trying to control everything.”
He didn’t move. He just looked at me.
“You’re not moving,” he said quietly.
“Watch me.”
I turned and walked back toward my front door, my heart racing in a way that had nothing to do with anger.
Behind me, he laughed.
I hated that part of me still noticed how warm it sounded.
- Writer
