Chapter 1

“Sienna, get down here right now!"

The sharp call from Sienna's mother echoed up the stairs. Sienna’s hand jerked, the sweater in her grip dropping on the floor. She stepped out immediately, peering over the railing. "Mom? Is everything okay?"

"Look out the window," her mother whispered, snapping the living room curtains aside a few inches. "Quick, before they go inside."

Sienna ran down the stairs barefoot, wondering what it was her mother was so eager to show her.

When she reached the glass, her mother grabbed her elbow, guiding her angle toward the driveway next door. A black moving truck stood at the curb, its back doors hinged wide.

"A mother and two boys," her mother murmured under her breath. "They pulled up ten minutes ago."

Her eyes traced her mother's gaze and fell on a kid carrying a small cardboard box toward the porch—short, dark hair sticking up in uneven spikes, a wide grin plastered across his face as he bumped the front door open with his knee.

He had to be in seventh grade, looking cute with those bright blue eyes.

Then her gaze drifted to the guy standing at the back of the moving truck, and her pulse hitched.

He was clearly in the same grade as her, built with broad shoulders and lean, effortless muscle that showed through even a plain white t-shirt. Dark hair fell into his eyes, but it didn't hide the striking, piercing blue underneath. He tossed a heavy wooden bed frame onto his shoulder like it weighed nothing at all, his jaw set in a cold line.

"He's so damn fine… and dangerous," she muttered under her breath, so low her mother couldn't hear it.

"They look nice," her mother mused, jolting her out of her daydream. "We should run over with a tray of cookies and introduce ourselves."

"Mom, absolutely not," Sienna said quickly, pulling her mother back from the glass. "They're covered in dust, sweating, and trying to unpack an entire house. The last thing they want is the next-door neighbors breathing down their necks."

Her mother let out a disappointed breath, giving the driveway one last reluctant glance. "I suppose you're right. Go back to your room, then. I'll call you when dinner is ready."

Finally able to escape, Sienna retreated upstairs to her bedroom to finish organizing her schedule for senior year. But no matter how hard she tried to focus on her laptop screen, her eyes kept darting back to the open window across the narrow driveway gap.

The blinds in the neighbor's second-floor room were pulled all the way up. The older guy was inside, lifting heavy poster tubes and tacking dark band posters to his walls. He had thrown off his shirt, leaving his bare back and the sharp cut of his shoulders fully exposed as he worked.

Sienna caught herself staring, her breath catching in her throat.

Just then, he turned around.

Across the small distance between their windows, his piercing blue eyes locked squarely on hers. Then, a slow, arrogant smirk curled the corner of his mouth, silently calling her out for watching him.

Heat flushed up Sienna's neck instantly, turning her face beetroot red. She snatched her curtains closed so hard the metal rings clattered against the rod, ducking back behind her desk.

Her heart hammered against her ribs. "Sienna, you idiot!" she cursed under her breath, burying her face in her hands. "He’s been here less than an hour and I already made a complete fool of myself."

She stayed hidden in her room until her mother’s voice rang up the stairs again an hour later. "Sienna! Dinner's on the table!"

Glad for a distraction, Sienna headed downstairs, expecting the quiet routine of their usual dinner for two. But when she walked into the kitchen, she froze dead in her tracks.

The counter wasn't set for two. There were five placemats set out along the island bar.

"What is this?" Sienna asked, half expecting it not to be what she thought. "Mom, why are there five plates?"

Her mother turned around from the stove with a guilty, beaming smile. "Well, I saw their mother standing on the front porch looking completely exhausted. It turns out their kitchen stuff is still buried in boxes, and they don't have groceries yet. So, I did the neighborly thing and invited them over."

"Wait—right now?" Sienna squeaked, her eyes widening in terror.

"They're walking up the walkway as we speak," her mother said, wiping her hands on a dish towel.

"Holy crap, Mom! I'll be right back!"

Sienna bolted back up the stairs like her life depended on it. She tore into her closet, yanked off her paint-splattered oversized lounge shirt, and scrambled into a fitted knit top and dark jeans.

She dragged a brush through her hair and checked her burning cheeks in the mirror, taking a deep breath to force her heart rate down before marching back downstairs.

"Calm down, Sienna," she told herself, though her heart still hammered like it would jump out of her throat as she walked back in.

Soon she stepped into the dining space, the three guests were already seated on the tall barstools surrounding the island.

"Oh, look, there she is," her mother said, gesturing with a serving spoon. "Sienna, come say hello."

Sienna forced a tight, polite smile as she stepped forward. "Hi, welcome to the neighborhood. I'm Sienna."

She reached out to the woman, who took her hand in a light, tired grip. "I'm Sarah," she said, offering a soft smile. "Thank you for having us. We were twenty minutes away from eating cereal out of cardboard boxes."

"I'm Toby!" the younger boy said, waving a fork in the air. "Your kitchen smells crazy good."

"Really? Nice to meet you, Toby." Sienna threw him a wide smile.

She then turned toward the far end of the counter.

The older brother sat slouched against the stool, arms locked across his chest. Up close, the sharp line of his jaw stood out under the kitchen light. His eyes trailed down her fresh sweater, lingered on her hair, and drifted back up to her face.

"And this is Jax," Sarah said, nudging his arm with her elbow.

Jax didn't say a word as he kept his eyes locked on hers, that same faint, knowing smirk returning to his lips.