Nicole McGraw's life had not improved much since the rude blond little girl incident at the bookstore. Her heartbreak still felt raw, her apartment still too quiet, and her winter walks too lonely. But something strange had been happening over the past few days.
Her door kept getting scratched at every morning, a faint barking echoing through the hall. At first, she assumed it was one of the neighbors' dogs. But then it became persistent , a small, golden retriever with a ridiculous energy was pawing at her door almost every day.
"Not again," Nicole muttered one morning, rubbing her temples. "I don't even know whose dog this is."
She opened the door to shoo the dog away, only to see him , the tall, dark-haired man from the bookstore — standing awkwardly a few steps back, holding the leash.
"Oh! Uh… hi," he said, smiling sheepishly. "I'm so sorry. This little troublemaker seems to have taken a liking to you."
Nicole's heart skipped,partly because of his presence, partly because of the memory of the bookstore encounter. "So you're… my neighbor?" she asked, frowning.
He nodded, letting the dog jump up to sniff her coat. "James Karen. And yes, I live next door. Sorry about the… dog situation."
Nicole raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding me. The rude stranger from the bookstore… is my neighbor?"
James laughed softly. "Apparently. Small world, huh?"
Nicole couldn't help the faint smile tugging at her lips, though her heart still ached for Michael. "Seems like the universe has a strange sense of humor," she muttered.
---
A Strange Family Call
Later that evening, James was pacing his luxury apartment, still chuckling about the morning. On a video call with his younger brother, he replayed the encounter.
"…and then she just glared at me like I was the devil himself. Rude blond little girl, I swear," he said, smirking.
His brother laughed. "So… she's cute then?"
James frowned, shaking his head. "I don't know. She's annoying… and stubborn. But I can't stop thinking about it."
Just then, his mother appeared on the video call, her sharp eyes fixed on him. "James, why are you talking about bringing a white girl into this house? There are plenty of Indian girls who would make proper wives. You don't need to"
James waved her off. "Mother, it's just a story. Nothing serious."
But his mother's tone lingered, a quiet warning: Don't bring a white girl at home.
---
Nicole and James Awkward but Growing
The next day, Nicole found herself on the hallway stairs, the little golden retriever bounding ahead.
"I'm so sorry again," James said, slightly breathless from chasing after the dog. "He doesn't usually,well… I mean, he usually likes people, just not everyone. Apparently, he likes you."
Nicole shook her head, half exasperated, half amused. "Great. Now I have a dog fan and a rude neighbor."
James laughed. "Rude? That was three days ago! I promise I'm not always that way."
Nicole folded her arms, trying to look serious. "Hmm. Noted. I'll give you… maybe one more chance."
James raised an eyebrow, a playful glint in his eyes. "One chance, huh? That's generous. I'll try not to disappoint, blond little girl."
Nicole glared but felt herself smiling anyway. Why am I smiling? she thought, shaking her head.
---
The Start of Something Complicated
Nicole had no idea that this neighborly dog incident and the awkward tension with James,would soon become a constant in her life. She also didn't know about James' family expectations, or that the comments from his mother would complicate their connection in ways she couldn't imagine.
Yet, as the golden retriever pawed happily at her boots, Nicole felt a flicker of something she hadn't felt in weeks: curiosity. Maybe, just maybe, the rude stranger from the bookstore was about to change her life again this time, in a way that had nothing to do with heartbreak.