Spider stumbled groggily into the marble tiled entry, blue hair sticking straight up from his pale face. We’d had some words last night about Mila, but our spats never lasted long. They’d both been gone last night when I’d returned.

“Rough night?” I asked.

“Maybe.” He scratched his crotch through his dark blue boxers. Nice.

The doorbell went off and he flinched at the sound.

“Bloody hell, who’s here this early?” He stalked to the door to check the peephole. Seeing who it was, he tossed a smirk over his shoulder at me. “Now that’s a sight for red eyes. It’s your girl from next door.”

“Not my girl,” I said. “You handle it. I have some muffins to check on anyway.” I left him in the foyer and headed down the hallway to the kitchen.

He snorted, yelling at my retreating back, “You’re kidding me, right? There’s a hottie on our steps, and you don’t want to invite her in? Maybe she brought us an apple pie.”

“You hate apple pie,” I called back.

He muttered loud enough for me to hear. “Be warned, I never turn down girl pie.”

Whatever. I kept walking until I was in the kitchen. I pulled out the blueberry muffins, and Monster flew into the room, practically salivating.

I strained to hear what Spider had decided to do, and was rewarded when I heard him open the door. Muted conversation and then laughter reached my ears. A bolt of unwanted jealousy hit me. Of course they’d hit it off.

Spider sent me a smug-ass look as they entered the kitchen together. “Look who’s here,” he announced. I definitely detected glee in his tone.

She set down a purple dog collar on the granite countertop, a rhinestone nameplate dangling from the center. “I wouldn’t have come by so early, but I found this at the bottom of the pool when I cleaned it this morning. Thought you might need it since Monster likes to run off.”

“Thanks.” I did my best to not let my eyes rake over her, but they had a life of their own. I took in her tight running shirt, gray pants, and athletic shoes. Sweat still glistened on her face, and her ponytail was damp. I wanted to lick her neck and taste the salt on her body. I wanted to pull her hair down and run my hands through it. I wanted to peel her shirt off—stop!

She rocked on her heels a bit, looking uncomfortable as we made eye contact.

On the other hand, Spider seemed bushy-tailed, leaning against the stainless steel fridge, watching us both with a crazy glint in his eye.

I cocked an eye at him. “Don’t you think you need some pants?”

He sent me a wry grin. “No way am I budging from this kitchen. Does my lack of attire bother you?” he asked V with a formal flourish.

She chuckled. “I suppose all your important bits are covered, and I love your accent, by the way. It makes your near nudity quite funny.”

He barked out a laugh and stuck his hand out. “Great. I’m Spider, by the way. I think I missed saying that at the door. Probably because I was blinded by your beauty.”

“I’m V.” Her eyes lingered on his tattoos. She smiled at us both. “So. You got any bananas?”

“What’s going on?” I asked as Spider handed her a couple of bananas from the fruit stand on the counter.

“When I opened the door, V noticed how poorly I looked and offered to make me a hangover remedy. By the way, nice of you to tell me you took a swim in the neighbor’s pool to rescue Monster.”

“I didn’t tell you because you were gone when I got back,” I snapped, jealous of their instant camaraderie.

“I’ll need more fruit—whatever you have. And something green, like spinach or kale or fancy lettuce,” she said, busily peeling the bananas and ignoring us. “Oh, and a mixer or a blender would be great, too.”

I found the blender while Spider pulled oranges and spinach leaves out of the fridge. “This work?” he said.

“Perfect,” she said brightly, taking it from him. “Once you drink this, you’ll be ready to take on the world.”

“Healthy drinks aren’t my cup of tea, but I’ll try anything for you.” He smiled broadly, his eyes crinkling in the corners. Great. He liked her—which was a rarity.

I grunted.

She shot me a look. “You need one too? It’ll help.”

“With what?” I muttered.

“With your grunting problem. Constipated?” she asked.

Spider snickered. “Oh, he’s just mad because I let you in.”

“Is that so?” she said, giving me a careful look.

“We left on weird terms last night,” I admitted.

“What happened last night?” Spider chimed in, eyes darting between us.

“Nothing,” V and I said in unison.

He narrowed his eyes. “Uh-huh.”

I checked out the mixture she’d put in the blender. It looked disturbing, but I held my tongue. I smiled. “So I take it you like to cook?” Being cool. Pretending like I didn’t want to sweep her out of this kitchen and straight to my bed.

She laughed. “Don’t let my expertise with fruits fool you. I’m a lousy cook. On the other hand, if you like cheese puffs and Oreos, I’m your girl.”

“I love Oreos,” Spider said in a flirty tone, and she rewarded him with a smile.

“Here, peel those,” she said, tossing me an orange.

“This is going to be gross, isn’t it?” I asked as she poured ice water over the mixture.

She shook her head. “My mom used to make these when I was sick with a cold. She swore it cured whatever ailed you.”

“Yeah, because it made you sicker,” I joked.

“Funny,” she said and hit the button, turning the contents a greenish-brown. Spider pretended to throw up in his mouth.

“You see your mom often?” I asked.

She went white and her hands stilled as she lifted the blender off the base. “She’s dead. Both of my parents are.”

My chest constricted at the pain on her face. “Recently?”

She nodded, and I noticed she was gathering herself, her throat muscles working as she swallowed. And right there in the kitchen with the early morning sunlight shining through the window, V became more than just a girl I was attracted to. She was real, a person who’d seen the loss of a parent at a young age, who’d faced empty chairs at the dinner table. Like me.