Neighbors (Entangled Flirts) by L.S. Murphy Page B

littered the hall, blocking the path to my door. Looked like I was the winner of the new neighbor lottery. Great. This mess pointed to sloppy Josh, but it could be both since the second floor apartments had two bedrooms.
    I was about to kick my way to my apartment when an empty box came flying across the hall, missing my face by less than an inch. I grabbed the banister to keep from falling down the steps as whoever threw the box slammed the door.
    This was the last thing I was going to deal with today.
    I grabbed some of the smaller boxes, clearing a short path to their front door. Before I could knock, the door flew open and I was face to face with a bare-chested Riker. His eyes registered a brief flash of surprise before turning into the same scowl I’d seen this morning. I couldn’t stop my gaze from shifting down toward his sculpted pecs. A long thick scar on his left shoulder caught my attention. After what happened this morning, I didn’t linger before meeting his eyes.
    “Yeah?” he asked, staring at me like I was the problem.
    All it did was piss me off even more. “I don’t know where you lived before, or how, but this is civilized territory. And I’d like to be able to walk to my apartment without stepping on boxes or getting them thrown at me.”
    “Sweetheart, I’d love to let you know where I was living last, but that’s classified.” He dropped the small box in his hand to the floor inside and took the ones I held. “But I’ll try to be more civilized .”
    He slammed the door in my face. I was completely flabbergasted. I mean, who acts like that? Sure, guys pull that crap in the movies, but this was real life.
    Still, I should’ve known better. Maddie dated a guy in the Army during our freshman year in college until his orders came in and he was off to Germany, leaving her behind without a second thought. Other than my uncle, most guys I’d met in any branch of the service thought progesterone was weakness. And they had no problem showing their assholery from the get go, just like Riker had. I shook my head as I turned toward my door, kicking the remaining boxes out of the way.
    “You should be nice to him, you know?” said a voice from the steps. I glanced over at the blonde bimbo supermodel wannabe. She carried a casserole dish in her hands like it was a bomb. The smell of meat and tomato sauce filled the hall. There was no way she made it.
    “Excuse me?” My key was poised at the lock as I glared at her.
    “Riker. You shouldn’t be such a bitch to him.” She watched her step as she carefully maneuvered around the boxes in her platforms. When she reached Riker’s door, she turned around to face me with a flip of her hair. “I mean, look at him.”
    “What?” Normally I’m not surprised by stupidity, but really?
    Riker’s door opened an inch, but the bimbo didn’t notice. “He’s missing a leg.” She jutted her hip out with a mislead authority. “He deserves a little kindness, after all.”
    That doesn’t mean he needs to be a dick. I kept my thoughts to myself as Riker yanked his door open. The look of complete fury on his face was enough for me to jam my key into the lock and hurry into my apartment. I leaned against the inside of my door, but that didn’t stop the shouting from across the hall. I heard three words, and that was enough.
    Why couldn’t I get quiet neighbors?

    Blind dates, never a good idea in my book. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason—a moment of insanity maybe—I agreed to go out with Jack, who Jeanette swore was a perfect match. I highly doubted it, but I had to get her off my back or the office would never be quiet again. It’d been about a month since she’d first brought him up, and I found myself working in the constant jabber of how great this guy was. In the grand plan of blind dates, I picked the time and place. McGovern’s was a local bar and grill within walking distance of my apartment.
    I put on my perfect blind date outfit: black