Katherine Garbera - The Bachelor Next Door

Andy’s curiosity was insatiable. He drove his grandmother nearly insane with his questions. Sometimes he even managed to get on her nerves with his demands to know how everything worked. But this stranger, this man, was dealing patiently with Andy. Cass felt a softening near her heart.

She cleared her throat, and they both turned to look at her. “Can I offer you a cup of coffee, Mr. Santini?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Cassandra hated to be called ma’am but figured she should hold her tongue after her earlier ungracious behavior. “Andy, go get ready for school.”

“But, Mommy—”

“Now, please.”

She watched her child walk toward his bedroom looking as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Then she turned to Santini. “Are you done here?”

“Just about. You need to get a new knob. I removed the lock, though, so you won’t get trapped in there again.”

His silver-gray eyes seemed brilliant in the dim light of the hallway. She’d never stood this close to a man as virile as Rafe Santini. His muscles were well defined, but not overdeveloped. She was suddenly aware of how long it had been since she’d exercised. He made her feel shabby and out of shape.

“I’m ready for that coffee now.”

“Sure, follow me.”

His footsteps sounded heavy on the stairs as he followed her down and into her kitchen. She’d used a sunflower border to brighten the room and had purchased all of her accessories with the same motif in mind. She thought her kitchen was sunny and welcoming, but seeing Rafe there made her question that thought. He looked out of place and uncomfortable.

Instead of sitting at the café-style table in the corner, he leaned one hip against the kitchen counter. He was dressed in faded jeans that clung to his muscled legs like a glove, accentuating their length and leanness. His bare chest was even more tempting than those gorgeous buns of his. She imagined Rafe as a big cat lying in wait for prey, and tried to convince herself she bore no resemblance to a mouse.

Lust at first sight, her mind said. God, the man was gorgeous. It wasn’t fair that he should look like an ad for decadence and hard living after talking to her son with kindness and consideration.

Rafe made her nervous. It had been too many years since a man had lounged in her kitchen, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. She wondered if he’d comment on the lightness of the brew the way Carl always had.

“Thanks for coming to the rescue,” she said, needing to fill the silence. Small talk wasn’t her forte, but she knew she needed to say something.

“No problem.”

But there was a problem. She’d been rude to him and she didn’t know how to bring it up without admitting that she’d known what she was doing at the time. “Mr. Santini...”

“Yeah?”

He stretched out the word like a piece of chewing gum. She hated to hear anyone using slang, but resisted the urge to correct him. “I want to apologize for my rude behavior when you were helping me out of the bathroom.”

He stared at her until Cass was sure her hair must be standing on end or she had something on her face. She rubbed her nose before reaching into the stainless steel refrigerator to get the milk.

“I’m not used to a strange man being in my house.”

“Then you shouldn’t have sent your child out to find someone.”

Cass stiffened. “I didn’t send him to find someone. In fact I forbade him to leave, but Andy has a thing—” She broke off. Why would he care that Andy loved school and learning? Andy would go to any lengths to get to there.

“Well he didn’t stay home. He came to my house. How the hell do you know I’m not an ax murderer, rapist or child molester?”

Cass sputtered, trying to figure out a way of defending what she knew was an indefensible position. Andy had gone before she could stop him. The boy was getting a bit impulsive, but that didn’t excuse her for letting him go.

“You’re right. I don’t know anything about you, except—”

“Except that I have nice buns.”

Oh, Lord, why had she ever mentioned that to her sister? Usually Andy was involved with playing and didn’t pay the least attention to her. But on that day, he’d obviously listened. She sought to change the conversation. “And a dog.”

“Tundra?”

“We’ve seen you outside with her. Andy loves animals.”

The coffeemaker spurted and spluttered, filling the silent kitchen with noise. Cass nervously glanced around the room, looking everywhere but at her rescuer.

“Mommy, I’m ready to go.”

Andy stepped into the kitchen, wearing jeans and a G.L Joe T-shirt. His new tennis shoes were spotless, but the laces were loosely tied.

“Come over here.” She knelt next to him to fasten his shoes, grateful for the distraction. It reassured her that she and Andy had to leave soon, that she wouldn’t have to stay and make small talk with Mr. Santini.

“There you go,” she said, rising to her feet. “Grab your lunch bag, honey.”

She poured coffee into two large foam cups, handing one to Mr. Santini and keeping the other for herself.

“Milk or sugar?” she asked.

He declined both. Andy grabbed a handful of oatmeal raisin cookies, offering a few to Mr. Santini, who took them.

“We’re going to be late,” Cass said, “Andy, did you close the upstairs windows?”

“No,” he said. “I’ll run—”

“I’ll close the house up for you. Go on, get this little guy to school.”

Cass hesitated for a moment, then remembered that Mr. Santini owned a reputable construction and land development company. As president of the home owners’ association, she’d approved his application for purchase. She knew more about Santini than she should. He was a respected member of the business community and a supporter of the Police Athletic League. There was really nothing in her house that he couldn’t afford to buy for himself.

“Thanks,” she said, herding Andy out the door. “That’s two I owe you.”

“Bye, Mr. Santini,” Andy said, waving.

Cass backed the Volvo out of the drive, wondering how she was going to deal with her new neighbor and the debt that now stood between them. All the way to school Andy talked about Rafe Santini, and that worried her more than she wanted to admit.

She dropped Andy off in front of the school just as the bell rang. She watched him run toward his classroom on legs that were no longer chubby. Andy was beginning to lose that little boy look and becoming more like a young man. He was only seven years old, but looked a lot like his father, small and lean. Andy had come home from school with a black eye two weeks ago. Since then, he’d followed her dictate on “no fighting” but had ended up feeling insecure. Cass wasn’t sure what to do with her son now.

She wished he would stay her baby forever but knew that wouldn’t happen. Andy was getting too hard to handle, she thought with a sigh. She’d always believed that a child’s upbringing would influence his actions, but Andy had a willful streak a mile wide. She hated to admit it, but she needed help with him.

Now she had a macho man with a swagger a mile wide living across the street. She thought about her new neighbor and how Andy had taken an instant liking to the man. Trouble was brewing.

She could cope now, but in a few years, if she didn’t assert herself, Andy would be racing all over the place and getting into real trouble. Mr. Santini was no help at all. Running around in those skimpy jogging shorts of his every morning. He looked like every young boy’s image of what a man should be. An athlete and a macho warrior rolled into one. It was enough to give a grown woman a heart attack.

Rafe drove a classic Jaguar sports car and probably dated women with big boobs and bleached blond hair. He was definitely not her type, and definitely not a good influence for a young boy.

But his earlier concern came back to her. He’d lit into her about letting Andy out of the house without supervision. She wondered if there was more to him than that badboy facade indicated. Did Rafe Santini care?

She pulled into her driveway and let the car idle for a minute before shutting it off. She hesitated to get out, reluctant to face her neighbor again. But at the same time, an edgy sort of nervousness made her limbs tingle and her pulse race.

She went into the house and filled her portable carafe with coffee before going across the street. Rafe sat on his front porch, his Siberian husky sprawled at his feet. Both were completely relaxed. Rafe’s eyes were closed, and Cass stood there, staring at him.

“Oh, no,” she muttered. “He’s asleep.”

One gray eye blinked open and glanced up at her. Cass cleared her throat and lifted her carafe. She leaned against the porch railing next to his lounge chair. “Want a refill?”

“Now that’s right neighborly of you,” he responded lazily, picking up his empty cup from the porch.

Silence settled around them, and Cass stifled the urge to run back to her own safe home. Her experience with men was limited to her late husband, Carl. She’d never had a chance to experiment with boys, having married right out of high school.

“Mr. Santini—”

“Rafe.”

She nodded, but didn’t use his name. “I have an offer for you.”

He grinned. “Does it involve my buns?”

Cass blushed. She felt the heat of it radiating from her face. She was going to have to have a talk with Andy when he came home.

“No. It involves something else.”

He raised one eyebrow at her, studying her with the intensity of a carpenter about to cut into mahogany.

“Well?”

“I wanted to um...” This was harder than she thought it would be. “I wanted to thank you for helping me out this morning and see if there was something I could do to repay you.”

“Well, now that you mention it there is one thing I’d like.”

His eyes narrowed and his gaze swept slowly down her body, sending signals to parts that had lain dormant for a long time. She fidgeted and stepped away from the railing and away from Mr. Santini.

“What do you want?”

“You,” he said.

Two

The teasing glint in Rafe’s eyes kept Cass from making a fool of herself. She forced a smile to her lips and took a deep cleansing breath. Her pulse rate still hammered annoyingly high, making her feel like a schoolgirl. “I’m serious, Mr. Santini.”

“Call me Rafe.”

His eyes were truly remarkable. So light and clear in that dark, teasing face. She wondered if he was ever serious. But then she remembered his concern for Andy earlier this morning. Lurking beneath that carefree exterior was a man she could like, and that scared her.

“Okay...Rafe.” His name felt strange on her tongue. If he’d been more like Tony, her brother-in-law, or the slightly balding Marcus, who lived down the street, it would have been so simple. She could have pretended he was a buddy.

But he wasn’t. He was a dark-skinned Italian dream man with all the confidence in the world. Cass felt out of her depth with Rafe Santini. She swallowed hard. “I was more or less welcoming you to the neighborhood and offering to return the favor if you ever got locked in your bathroom.”

He raised one eyebrow, clearly questioning her suggestion of repayment. His mouth quirked in a half grin that made her pulse race. “Won’t Mr. Gambrel have something to say about that?”

Carl would have befriended any person who’d rescued her from the bathroom. He’d never been one of those jealous types. Steady, levelheaded and able to find the calm in chaos, her deceased husband had been an anchor. She still missed him, but at least she could say the words now without her throat closing up. “My husband is dead.”