Her Big City Neighbor (Cider Bar Sisters Book 1) Read online

  Her Big City Neighbor

  Cider Bar Sisters, Book 1

  Jackie Lau

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, companies, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2020 Jackie Lau. All Rights Reserved.

  First edition: September 2020

  ISBN: 978-1-989610-13-8

  Editor: Latoya C. Smith, LCS Literary Services

  Cover Design: Flirtation Designs

  Cover photograph: Adobe Stock

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Meet Amy & Victor...

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Also by Jackie Lau

  Meet Amy & Victor...

  When small-town engineer Amy Sharpe inherits a house in Toronto, she decides it’s the perfect opportunity to start over and go back to school. Away from the family that takes her for granted, away from the ex who expected so much and gave little in return.

  The new Amy enjoys wandering around the city and frequenting bubble tea shops, German beer halls, dim sum restaurants, and coffee bars serving Japanese pastries. She has a roommate with the same name as her favorite fictional character, and a group of friends who meet at a cider bar every couple of weeks.

  The new Amy is also in lust with her brooding, tattooed next-door neighbor, Victor Choi, who is far from friendly but looks really hot cutting the grass without a shirt. Too bad the grass doesn’t grow faster.

  As she starts telling him about her daily adventures—and as a little kissing in the garden becomes a regular activity—Amy begins to feel more than lust. But she fears she’s falling into her old patterns in relationships and refuses to let herself be underappreciated again.

  Is Victor really more than a hot fling? And what’s he hiding behind that grumpy exterior?

  Chapter 1

  Amy Sharpe stood on the sidewalk and surveyed the narrow, semi-detached Victorian house. It had reddish-brown brick and blue trim, and a tiny garden out front.

  And it was, unbelievably, hers. All hers.

  She grinned.

  Then she felt bad for smiling. The reason she owned this house was that Great Aunt Frances had died six months ago and left it to her.

  Amy glanced down at the sidewalk and said a silent prayer of thanks to her great aunt before looking up again.

  She’d been shocked that she’d inherited the house. She’d only met Aunt Frances—her paternal grandmother’s sister—maybe half a dozen times. Real estate was not cheap in Canada’s biggest city, and Amy had nearly fainted when she’d discovered how much this house was worth. She’d known houses were expensive in Toronto, but...wow.

  Many times more than what a house would be worth in her small hometown near Sudbury. But there were no Victorian houses back home.

  Speaking of back home...her mom was calling.

  Amy answered. “Hi, Mom.”

  “Hi, sweetie. Everything go okay? You’re all moved in?”

  “Yep, the moving truck just left. It hardly looks like I have any stuff when it’s spread out in a three-story house, but it’s all here.”

  “That’s good.” A pause. “I’ll let you go now. I’m sure you have lots of unpacking to do.”

  That was a remarkably short phone call for her mother, and though Mom had sounded upbeat, Amy knew her mother wasn’t thrilled with the move.

  Amy had finished her degree eight years ago. She’d planned to work for a few years, then go to grad school. Live somewhere big and exciting.

  But then, well, shit happened.

  Specifically, her beloved grandmother got sick.

  And so Amy had moved back to Silver River and gotten a job as an engineer in Sudbury. She was glad she’d been there for the last two years of her grandmother’s life. It was worth delaying her plans.

  At twenty-four, she’d started to consider her options, thinking maybe she’d try to get a job in Ottawa or Toronto, and then she’d met a guy, who lived just on the other side of Sudbury.

  So, once again, Amy had stayed.

  That relationship had lasted longer than it should have, until almost a year ago.

  A few months later, she’d inherited this house, and it was like a sign. Amy didn’t really believe in signs...

  Okay, she totally did.

  This inheritance was a sign that it was time for her to leave. She’d never even considered selling it. With this house, she could afford to live in downtown Toronto and go back to school—the university was within walking distance. She’d applied to a master’s program in the Department of Civil Engineering, and she may have jumped up and down when she got in.

  Thank you, Aunt Frances.

  Now it was the end of July, and it was time to start her new life.

  She squealed and clapped her hands, trying not to think of her mom’s disapproving look when she’d told her of these plans several months ago.

  A man walking by with a dog gave her a weird look, but that was okay. She didn’t know him. How exciting to be in a new city, where she didn’t know anyone! Where her family couldn’t pop in uninvited and ask her to run errands or babysit. Where her neighbors hadn’t known her all her life.

  In fact, she knew no one in Toronto. There were a bunch of classmates from Queen’s University, but she hadn’t seen them in eight years. They didn’t really count.

  But she would make friends. She was good at that sort of thing...wasn’t she? It had been a while since she’d been anywhere new.

  And for the rest of today, she would explore.

  She’d done research on nearby shops and restaurants. This area was apparently called the Annex. She wasn’t sure why—something to look up when she got the chance.

  She went upstairs and had a shower, then put on a sunflower halter dress that she thought was pretty cute. Not that she was meeting anyone, but she felt like looking pretty all the same. She stuffed her wallet, phone, and the latest Sierra Wu book into her purse and walked out the front door.

  Which she should lock. Right.

  There was a spring in her step as she headed to Harbord Street, just a short walk away. She knew exactly where she was going first: Harbord Coffee Bar.

  She’d been intrigued when she’d looked at the website last week. In Silver River, there was only a Tim Hortons, no Starbucks or Second Cup. Certainly nothing that would call itself a “coffee bar.”

  Her father would think it was dreadfully pretentious. As would Shane. But Shane thought a man cooking dinner was pretentious, so his opinions didn’t matter anymore.

  But what intrigued Amy the most was that Harbord Coffee Bar had Japanese-style desserts. What would those be like?

  The aroma of coffee hit her as she stepped inside. It was a minimalist design
with lots of pale wood. To the right was the counter with a glass display case full of gorgeous pastries. Amy carefully read the description of each one. There were roll cakes, which seemed to be their specialty, plus cheesecake, cream puffs, and things she’d never seen before.

  “Can I help you?” asked the lady behind the counter. Her nametag said “Lucy.”

  Amy shot her a smile. “Just deciding.”

  She let four people order before her. How was she supposed to decide when everything looked so good? One of the roll cakes had strawberries and whipped cream. It looked delicious, but no, she would try something different. Maybe something with hojicha, whatever that was.

  “Which is your favorite?” she asked Lucy.

  “Probably the strawberries and cream. Though the yuzu ginger is good, too. I think the dark chocolate raspberry is our most popular, or maybe the matcha and red bean.”

  That didn’t make her decision any easier, but that was okay. Amy grinned.

  At last, she decided on the matcha and red bean roll cake, as well as one of their fancy teas. Sencha. The prices nearly made her grimace—much more expensive than Tim Hortons—but she told herself it was okay.

  Lucy said she’d bring everything over, so Amy tucked herself into the bench seating. Next to her, a man was typing on his laptop. On her other side, two women were having an animated conversation. She took out her book, but she didn’t start reading. It was too exciting to be here in Toronto at last.

  Her roll cake and tea arrived. The tea, which was already steeped, was served not in a teapot or cup, but in a glass jug of sorts. She poured some tea into the little handle-less teacup, then had a bite of her cake.

  The green cake was light and not too strong, and the cream inside, with a little red bean, was delicious. She’d never had anything sweet with beans before, and it wasn’t chocolate, but it was still pretty good.

  Next, she tried the tea. It was a bit grassy, though not unpleasant, and with a few more sips, she’d get used to it.

  She took out her book and read for twenty minutes while she slowly savored her cake and drank her tea. She was currently reading the sixth Sierra Wu book by Megan Chen. It was an urban fantasy series set in San Francisco that she absolutely adored. The cover had an ominous background, and Sierra Wu was standing at the forefront, wearing jeans and a black tank top and looking totally kick-ass.

  After leaving Harbord Coffee Bar, she arrived back at the house and stood outside for another minute, admiring it. She glanced at the house on the right, separated from hers by the narrowest of paths. An older woman named Paula lived there. Amy had met her when she’d visited the house a few months ago, but when she’d knocked on the door today, nobody had answered.

  She had no idea who lived in the house attached to hers, though.

  Someday soon, she’d make a point of introducing herself to her neighbors—or was that sort of thing not done in Toronto? Well, she’d do it anyway.

  But for now, she’d have a pre-dinner drink on her patio.

  Her backyard was tiny. Yards were never this tiny in Silver River, but space was at a premium in downtown Toronto. The small patio took up a good third of the yard. Aunt Frances had owned some decent patio furniture, which Amy had set out earlier.

  She brought a glass of red wine outside, along with her book. She set everything down on the little table, and then she registered a noise coming from the yard to the left.

  Her neighbor must be cutting the grass.

  She bounded over to the low fence that separated their yards and stood there slack-jawed.

  Holy fuck, her new neighbor was hot.

  He was East Asian, maybe five or ten years older than her. His chest, back, and arms were covered in tattoos.

  She knew this because he was shirtless. He wore only a pair of black gym shorts, slung low on his hips. His upper half was on full display. The sight of his arms was nearly enough to make her drool, but then she shifted her gaze to his pecs, and...oh my God. Those were gorgeous, too.

  There were no men like this in Silver River.

  His expression was serious, as though he was concentrating very hard on this activity. He reminded her of Sierra Wu’s love interest, Rebel, though her imagination hadn’t been able to conjure up something quite as hot as the man before her now.

  Did he have a wife? If so, why wasn’t she also having a drink and watching him?

  Yes, this was certainly turning out to be a very good day.

  Since the yards were small, it didn’t take him long to finish his task. When he turned off the lawn mower, Amy waved and shouted, “Hey!”

  He didn’t seem to notice her, however, just put the lawn mower away with the same concentration he’d given to cutting the grass.

  “Hey!” she said brightly with another wave as he headed toward the back door of his house. “I’m your new neighbor.”

  Finally, he turned in her direction, and she swallowed hard. He really was attractive.

  But he didn’t say anything. Didn’t wave.

  No, all he gave her was the slightest of nods before going inside.

  Well, that was disappointing.

  * * *

  Later, Amy headed to Koreatown, since it was nearby on Bloor. She ventured into a store with cute notebooks, greeting cards, and BTS stuff. She came out with a little notebook and alpaca oven mitts.

  After wandering around for a while, she went to a restaurant and ordered bibimbap. Several tiny appetizers came first, and she was about to protest and say she hadn’t ordered them, but it looked like every table had the same dishes. She tried what looked like kimchi, then the bean sprouts. Both good.

  Her bibimbap came in a stone bowl. There were several neat piles of different vegetables and meat around the edge of the bowl, with an egg in the center, all on top of rice. She took a picture for her new Instagram account, kicking herself for not taking a picture of her cake earlier, and looked up how to eat bibimbap. Apparently, she was supposed to mix it all up.

  After dinner, she practically skipped back to the house, passing coffee shops and bars and restaurants. She counted three sushi restaurants in one block. How did they all survive?

  The best part was that she had a whole month of this before she started school. Not that she wasn’t excited about going back to school, but she hadn’t had a break in a long time.

  If she’d tried to take a staycation in Silver River, it wouldn’t have worked. Her parents and her brothers would always have something for her to do. She was the youngest of three, the only girl and the only one who wasn’t married, and everyone assumed she was always free to do favors for them.

  But now, Amy was far away. Plus, she was going to get better at saying no.

  No, Mom, I will not drive you to North Bay.

  No, Fred, I will not babysit the twins for six hours on Saturday. No, I will not babysit with no notice if there isn’t an emergency.

  No, Shane, I will not vacuum and do the dishes while you sit there and play videogames. No, I will not make your lunch. No, I will not plan every single date.

  When she’d met Shane at a party, there had been an immediate attraction. They’d slept together and somehow fallen into a relationship. She was so pleased to have a boyfriend for the first time in years that she hadn’t minded doing all the work in the relationship.

  Shane had never done anything for her, and she’d felt like she should be grateful simply because he wanted her around.

  But that was all wrong. She would not settle for that shit again.

  Amy had standards now.

  And after her experience with Shane, she wasn’t looking to date anytime soon. Her neighbor was good-looking, but she quickly brushed that idea aside. Nope, now wasn’t the time.

  That night, as Amy tried to fall asleep in her new room, instead of thinking of bibimbap or roll cakes, she thought of her neighbor. Although Rebel was usually getting in fights or stealthily spying on bad guys, she kept picturing her neighbor doing the sexy activity of...cutti
ng the grass. Without a shirt.

  She tried to stretch her imagination and only came up with him sitting on a riding lawn mower or pulling out weeds.

  Also without a shirt, of course.

  * * *

  I am a confident woman.

  I do not let people take advantage of me.

  Amy had decided what to write in her new notebook: positive affirmations.

  On the cover of the notebook was an illustration of a fluffy white puppy, a red cherry on its head. It was sitting on an ice cream cone. Amy hadn’t been able to help herself from buying it yesterday, even though she had no idea what to do with it.

  But she’d figured it out this morning over Cheerios and lots of coffee. She’d struggled to sleep last night thanks to her excitement and the unfamiliar noise of the city.

  I will make friends in Toronto.

  I love myself.

  I am beautiful and...

  Her phone beeped, and Amy nearly spilled her coffee.

  Ooh, it was someone replying to the ad she’d posted for a roommate, just an hour ago.

  Aunt Frances’s—Amy’s—house was more than big enough for one person, and the income from renting out a room would help pay the bills and property tax. She probably could have advertised for two or three roommates, given the size of the house, but she’d thought one would be enough. She’d looked at several ads the other day and determined a reasonable cost for a room in a shared house. Vacancies in Toronto weren’t high, and the location was great, so she’d figured it wouldn’t take long to find a roommate.

  But an hour? She hadn’t expected that.

  She checked the e-mail to see who her potential roommate was. Would it be a man or a woman? A fellow grad student, perhaps? That could be fun.

  She stilled when she saw the person’s name.

  Sierra Wu.

  And she wanted to move in today.

  Chapter 2

  Of course, Amy knew that Sierra Wu wouldn’t show up in tight jeans and a tight tank top, brandishing a sword and fighting off demons.

  She knew that.

  But her new roommate had the same name as her favorite fictional character. What were the odds? They were definitely going to be best friends.