Read Trust In Love (A McCord Family Novel Book 2) for Free Online

further around her face, traveling down her neck. "Well, like I said before, it just won't work."
    "Would you like me to mow your lawn? I don't mind. I can even look at the lawn mower and see if I can fix it," Austin offered.
    "I'm not dumb! I can handle it," Sophie exclaimed.
    He stumbled back a step by her outburst. "I never thought so. It was just a friendly offer, nothing else. Or we can do it together. I don't know much about lawn mowers. Actually, nothing about them, but sometimes a second pair of eyes helps."
    "I appreciate the offer, but I can handle it. Excuse me," Sophie said, giving one last pat on the head to Axel and walked quickly back to her house. She would not fall under his spell. He had experience and player written all over him, especially when he smiled. As she shut the door to the house, she also tried shutting the door on his glorious smile.
    To her extreme annoyance, unable to do so.
    ***
    Austin watched as she walked away without a backward glance, wondering how it went wrong so fast. She was a puzzle. He had been unable to help himself with a little light flirting. The longer he had stood there, the more her beauty had wrapped around his senses. Even covered in sweat and grime, she looked beautiful. The sun had shined brightly on her, haloing her loveliness, making it difficult for him to remember why he needed to stay away from her.
    Oh, yeah. She was his neighbor. He could not dabble with her.
    He hated the fact he missed seeing her, and the fact her face penetrated his thoughts more than he wanted. She still hadn't been nice to him once since they met. But she had liked Axel's name. That did make him happy. Zane didn't like the name and Ava didn't mind the name, but offered better choices, which Austin refused. He liked Axel and wasn't going to change it.
    He just seemed good at mucking things up with her. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't manage to get back on better ground with her. A very touchy woman, the littlest thing set her off. There was something about her behavior that struck him as odd, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
    Not his problem, though. He had to stay far away from her.
    Unfortunately, he had to keep repeating that to his thick brain. He wanted to unravel the mystery surrounding her and he hated that.
    To stop himself, he pulled his phone out, scrolling through the contacts until he found the one he wanted, hitting call.
    "Hey, Bethany, just the beautiful woman I was thinking about. How about hitting up a movie later tonight? I've been missing your gorgeous face," Austin said, even as he did, Sophie's face intruded on his thoughts.
    "Great. Can't wait to see you, darling," Austin said, hanging up the phone, feeling more miserable. He blew out a frustrated breath, glanced one more time at her house, then slapped his leg. "Come on, Axel. Let's get ready for our date. We have better things to do than worry about our crazy neighbor. She's not that beautiful."
    As he walked inside the house, Axel trailing his steps, he knew he was lying to himself. She was beautiful and he wanted to see a real smile light up her face.
    ***
    Austin walked quietly into the house, his footsteps barely making an audible sound.
    "Did you have fun?" Zane asked quietly as he sat on the couch in the living room, barely visible in the dark.
    Austin jumped from the intrusion, a hand jamming to his chest from the scare. "Geez, Zane. What the hell you sitting in the dark for?"
    "Where have you been? It's past curfew," Zane asked as he stood up, walking towards Austin.
    "What are you, my dad? Nope, you're not," Austin shot back sarcastically.
    "I can go wake up Dad for you if you like. Although, I think it's better I'm sitting here waiting for you than him."
    Austin sighed. "What's the big deal? Maybe you should try breaking curfew for once. If Dad were so concerned, he'd be up waiting with you."
    "I worry about you, Austin. You'll be graduating soon and look at what you're doing."
    "What am I