He propped himself up on his elbow with a crooked grin, his curls in disarray. It was funny that Dean called me a troublemaker. I’d never been more in trouble than when I was around him.

“Are you doubting my professional reputation?” he asked.

“Surely only time will tell.” I winked at him. Color rose in his cheeks, even after what we’d done.

So much trouble.

He dipped his head and brushed our lips together. “Then it’s a good thing you’re all mine today.”

27. Dean

Twenty-Seven

Dean

Five Days Later

I sat sprawled on the couch, head tipped back against the wall. I was covered in sweat. Dirt stained the tips of my fingers. My shoulders ached and there was a twinge in my right knee that would need an ice pack later.

I’d never been happier.

Tabitha and I had spent most of the morning and early afternoon in the pocket park, working in one of the raised beds we’d built. We planted seeds, hands brushing in the dirt, shoulders pressed together as we knelt. She’d opened Linda’s side window and turned a big speaker out, playing a Motown record my parents used to dance to when I was a kid. Like every day this week, neighbors stopped by to chat and help, to organize or get supplies. Eddie and Alice sat with Pam on the bench under the umbrella, calling out encouragement.

Tabitha had looked so pretty, singing along to the music. Flirting with me beneath the sunshine.

I had to keep reminding myself to breathe.

Now she walked back into the living room holding two giant glasses of lemonade. Setting them on the coffee table, she laughed as I tugged her down on top of me.

“Of all the laps in South Philly,” she said, stretching her legs long.

I reached up to pinch a leaf still tangled in her hair. “What kind of neighbor did you promise to be that night? Quiet and respectful?”

She arched one lovely eyebrow. “Are you implying I am neither of those things?”

I held her gaze until her lips twitched. “I don’t think the things we did in the shower this morning were very respectful. Or quiet.”

She looped her arms around my neck. “It would have been easier to be quiet and respectful if my neighbor didn’t constantly walk around in a towel, looking like a calendar model.”

I slid my hands around her waist and pulled her closer. “It happened one time.”

“I still stand by what we did in the shower.”

I grazed my lips through her hair. “You were very focused and dedicated.”

“And you were very impatient, Mr. Machine.”