“Let me pay for your coffee,” I said to Sam.

“It’s on the house.” Jamie smiled as she handed us our coffees. “Cheap-ass, Sam, over here never pays. Consider it a ‘welcome to Santa Monica gift.’”

“Thanks, Jamie!” Sam smiled as he grabbed a bag of coffee from the shelf. “I’m taking a bag home; I owe you!”

Jamie rolled her eyes. “He owes me every week.” She laughed.

“Thank you, Jamie. It was nice to meet you.” I smiled as I held up my coffee cup.

“It was to meet you too!”

I walked out of Brewsters and climbed into the truck. “Your cousin is really nice,” I said.

“Yeah, she’s more like my sister. She came to live with me and my family when she was eight years old. Her mom and dad were drug dealers who got caught, and they were sent to prison.”

“Are they still in prison?” I asked.

“Yeah, 20 years later, and they’re still there. She hasn’t seen them in all these years either.”

We arrived back at the apartment building, and I got out of the truck. I walked over to my Explorer and set my coffee cup on the hood. I took the keys from my purse and unlocked it. Sam followed me.

“Let me give you a hand with those boxes,” he offered.

“That’s alright, Sam. Go enjoy your coffee. I can handle this.”

He walked over to the back of the Explorer. “Nah, come on, Lily; just let me help. It’s the neighborly thing to do anyway.”

I sighed and unwillingly opened the hatch. Sam smiled, grabbed a box, and headed towards the apartment building. I stepped ahead of him so that I could hold open the door. Before I got up to the door, it swung open, and a guy stood there, staring at me.

“Luke, you’re just in time; hold this box,” Sam said as he handed it to him.

“What are you doing?” Luke asked. “I woke up, and you were gone. By the way, there’s no coffee left.”

“Yeah, I know; I just picked some up at Brewsters. I have the bag in my truck. By the way, this is Lily; she’s our new next-door neighbor.”

Luke looked at me. “Hey,” he said as he quickly looked away.

“Hey,” I replied back.

I couldn’t help but stare at him. He stood in the doorway—all six feet of him—in ripped jeans and a gray muscle shirt. He was barefoot, and his short, brown hair was messy. He was definitely one of the hottest men that I’d ever seen. You could tell he worked out by the muscle and definition in his arms and shoulders. He had a Celtic cross tattooed on his left bicep, with wings behind it. Thank God he was gay. I felt rather uncomfortable because Luke didn’t seem as friendly as Sam did.

“Lily, go unlock your apartment door so that we can get these boxes in there,” Sam said.

I walked past Luke and caught him staring at me. The minute I looked at him, he turned away. As I unlocked the door and opened it, I stepped outside and held the building door open so that Luke could set the box down in my apartment. He did just that and then went inside his apartment and shut the door behind him without saying a word.

“What’s his problem?” I asked Sam.

“Just ignore him. He’s not much of a morning person, that’s all.”

I couldn’t shake the feeling that he seemed familiar to me, but I knew it wasn’t possible. Just as Sam and I were bringing in the last of the boxes, Giselle and Gretchen pulled up. I haven’t seen them in over three months, so I put down my box and ran over to them as they got out of the car. I hugged Gretchen first and then Giselle.

“I’m so happy you moved to Santa Monica,” Giselle said as she hugged me tight.

“Me too,” I said as my eyes began to swell with tears.

“Who’s the hot guy that’s walking towards us?” Gretchen smiled as she pushed her hair back behind her ear.

“Hello, ladies.” Sam smiled.

“Sam, this is Giselle, and this is Gretchen; they’re my two best friends.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet the both of you,” Sam said as he held out his hand to each of them.

“Sam lives next door, and he’s been helping me bring the boxes in,” I said.

“We also went out for coffee this morning,” he blurted out.

Giselle looked at me and smiled. “Did you hear that, Gretchen? Lily went out for coffee with a guy.”

“I sure did, sis!” Gretchen smiled at me.

I turned and looked at Sam. “Don’t listen to them. Thank you for your help; I appreciate it.”

“No problem. If you need anything, just knock on my door or wall.” He smiled.

I grabbed Gretchen and Giselle’s hands and led them into my new apartment.