Chapter 1

"Babe, did you see the moving trucks next door?" I ask my boyfriend Luke as I wrap my arms around his middle. He shortly tenses but relaxes quickly underneath my touch.

When I turned my car into our street, the first thing I noticed was that it was busier than usual. A couple of trucks were parked in front of our neighbors' house, who I haven't met yet, even though I have been living here for almost a year now. They have never seemed to be there.

For the past two months contractors worked from Monday through Friday on remodeling the house and the surrounding property. How much I hated the nuisance noises from morning to evening and all the dirt and dust on our windows and in our garden.

During the first week, I wasn't able to concentrate properly on writing and was constantly cursing when I misspelled words or lost my train of thought. In the second week I gave up and sought refuge in a nearby coffee shop where I could at least work in some sort of calm environment. Now I can just hope that serenity and tranquility will return to our neighborhood as that was exactly the reason why I wanted to move here.

Resting my head on top of Luke's right shoulder I glance at the pot on the stove. Luke is cooking one of my favorite dishes. I can feel him putting one hand on top of mine, then he turns his head to me.

"I did." He puts a quick peck on my cheek, and I start to smile widely, because it has been months since he has done something remotely kind for me. Therefor I appreciate it a lot that he is cooking for me, and we can spend a little bit of time together.

"Maybe I should go over there and bring them one of my cakes. What do you think?" He turns around and shakes his head slightly.

"Let them settle in first," he says and moves a lose strand of my hair behind my ear.

"You are probably right," I sigh and give Luke a peck on his lips, before I continue, "I guess, I would have been pretty annoyed if someone had suddenly appeared at our door within the first few days of moving."

"I know, that's the reason why I opened the door after moving and left you to decorate our house and especially your office," he says in a neutral tone, and I grin.

"You know me way too well."

"It would be sad if that weren't the case as we have been together for three years now. Anyways, how was the meeting with your agent?" he asks me and turns back to the stove. Huffing I lean against the kitchen counter next to him.

"Do you want to hear the good or the not so good news first?"

"The good ones, so I can cheer you up afterwards." A sheepish grin adorns his lips and I roll my eyes, because I am still in a bad mood from today's meeting.

"Okay," I huff, and he tries to comfort me with a smile. "Netflix accepted the changes I made to the script, and they are almost done with casting the actors. I should receive an e-mail with their suggestions by tonight and I need to approve them."

"That's amazing," he says, and I can tell that he doesn't really mean it. I close my eyelids for a second, trying to not let it get to me. "What's wrong?" he asks and puts his hand on my cheek.

"I just hope that the movie will do the plot and the characters justice." As soon as I have finished, he withdraws his hand again and I am immediately hurt by it.

"We already talked about that when they offered you the deal over a year ago and back then you said that you wouldn't mind," Luke states and shakes his head slightly.

"Back then I needed the money to buy this house, so we could move in together." My words come out harsher than I want them to be, and he draws his eyebrows together.

This topic has been hanging above our heads since we were looking to move in together and has been something that we fought about more and more in the past few months. Whenever we have a discussion one of us brings it up .

I know that we settled on LA because of me and the deal with Netflix. As I am closer to the studios and can network better from here than if we had moved to New York or Boston, where he got offers from known law firms. He put his own career on the backburner for me. An act of love that I regret from time to time that he made, because he likes to use it against me.

It's no secret that he dislikes the fact, that I am currently the one who earns more in this relationship. He still has to pay off his college's debts from law school. That he is currently working on his doctorate in law even adds more to his financial situation and his frustration.

"I am sorry, I shouldn't have said that," I immediately apologize, and he takes a deep breath.

"It's your baby. Your first book. I get it," he sighs, and I can tell by his grip on the cooking spoon, that he tries to control his emotions.

"I am afraid, that my fans won't like it. Sure, you wrote into the contract that I have a say in it, but there is only so much a movie can grasp."

"It will be fine. So, if that are the good news, what is the bad one about?" Exhaling loudly, I run a hand through my bleached hair. Another thing that he disliked me doing a few days ago. He said that it looks unnatural and that he wished I wouldn't have done it.

"Zoey said that my publishers like the idea of turning the novel I am currently writing at into a new series and what it is about, however they think that there is a key element missing in the story. Something that will make the book stand out from the others in the genre." Not happy at it, I curl my lips and wrinkle my nose.

"I am sure you will find whatever is missing, Cece," he tries to comfort me, but it doesn't exactly sound sincere. Him staring at the pot and using the nickname I don't really like, tells me enough. He is mad at himself, and I should stop and change the topic, but I can't keep my mouth shut.

"I know I will, but I hate it. I am already invested in my new characters and the story. The fact that I need to add a new component to it, might change the tone and flow of it."

"You hate change," he simply states the fact and I nod. Still opposed to the idea of it, I cross my arms. "You can always tell them to fuck themselves and reach out to another publisher who will most likely welcome you with open arms," he suggests as he stirs the food in the pot.

Luke almost forces a smile on his lips. I know he doesn't like it when I am indecisive and overthink too much. He is a person who makes a plan, counts in all the variables, cuts lose the ones that might get in his way and then follows through with it.

"If it were that easy. We both read the contract I signed."

"There is always a loophole. And I'll find it, if you want me to," he offers, then raises one of his blond eyebrows and I sigh. It's not the first time he has offered me this.

"I don't want to go this far. We both know, I'm actually very happy with them. They let me finish my series on my own accord and didn't pressure me into dragging the story out so they would make more money from it."

"If you say so. However, I hope you know, that you can use my brain whenever you want," he now smirks, and I know what it means. Even though I know it is his new tactic to get out of an argument or conversation he doesn't like by using sex, I don't complain about it. At least we are having sex again.

"Just your brain?" I give back and bite my lower lip suggestively.

"No, not only that." He turns off the stove, then turns to me and lifts me up. Immediately I wrap my legs around either side of his middle and my arms around his neck.

"Even though I would love to have my way with you on the kitchen counter right now, we'll need to move this to the shower or else I might be late to Andrew's bachelor party in three hours. And we both know how nerve wrecking traffic can be in LA," he says against my skin while slowly kissing the skin of my neck and shoulder while carrying me towards our master bathroom. My concern and exasperation are long forgotten.

"I totally forgot that that was tonight," I moan as he gently bites into my skin probably leaving a faint mark on my shoulder.

"That's why I remind you and why I cooked for you, because I wanted to mellow you out when I'm gone for the next two days." Luke licks over my neck and then blows slightly over it. The feeling of it makes me shiver.

"Now that you mention it, you'll have to do more than cook to distract me from it."

"Believe me, when I'm done with you, you'll definitely be thinking about something else," he promises me, then kisses me feverishly.

And he did keep his promise. Even now looking at the screen of my laptop, I trace my lips with my fingers. I can feel his hands sliding over my body and his soft lips kissing my skin.

Okay, I need to get a grip of myself, I tell myself, close my laptop and get up from my chair. It is too early to go to bed and too late to call one of my friends to go out. Sighing I look around. Maybe baking a cake will distract me and when I am already on it, I can bring it over to our neighbors. At least now it seems as if they are moving in.

Pulling my hair up to a messy bun I walk into my kitchen and start getting all the ingredients I need. No nuts, because they might be allergic to it, and I don't want them to get admitted into the ER. Maybe I should bake it gluten free. Maybe I should make it vegan just to be safe. Why the hell am I suddenly overthinking this?

It's too late now and there is no turning back. If they don't like it, it's their loss and I will eat it myself.

Pleased with this decision I weigh the ingredients, mix them together into the cake batter and then I put it into the oven. While I wait for it to be ready, I start cleaning the house. Occasionally, I look at my laptop on the dining table and currently there would be nothing better for me than to throw this cursed object into the lake to which our property borders. But I know that I would regret it the second I would do it.

When the timer on my phone rings, I get the cake out of the oven and let it cool off. For a short moment I consider getting changed into a pair of jeans and a blouse, but who am I kidding. I don't need to impress my neighbors. I love Luke even though our relationship is a bit bumpy at the moment, but I know that we will persevere.

Dressed in my yoga pants and one of Luke's shirts which is way too big on me, I walk over to my neighbor's house and ring the bell. I can hear a dog barking and some hushed voices behind the door. When it gets opened a woman around my age stands before me. Her dark hair is in a similar messy bun as mine and she is a bit shorter than me. Curtly, she draws her dark eyebrows together and looks me up and down. She probably doesn't know why I am here. I would have reacted like that too.

"Hi, my name is Charlotte, and I am your neighbor. I noticed that you moved in and wanted to give you this cake as we haven't met yet," I tell her and lift the cake up a bit. She smiles at me warmly when she smells the aroma of the still a bit warm cake in the air.

"Thank you, that's very considerate of you." I am surprised by her Canadian accent and her gratitude. I was expecting to get the door slammed in front of my face.

"Who's there?" a deep male voice with a British accent asks from the distance and the woman before me sighs loudly, before turning her head backwards.

"If you had opened the door, you would know. It's one of your neighbors. She brought a cake which smells delicious," she lets him know and then turns back to me. The fact that she said one of his and not ours lets me draw my eyebrows together. Doesn't she live here? Maybe she is his girlfriend.

"I am sorry, please come inside. The douche of my brother-in-law will have to live with it." She steps to the side and looks at me expectantly.

"I don't want to intrude," I say as I don't want to be the cause of a fight between her and her brother-in-law.

"You don't. Actually, I am glad to have female support, because they bring me on the verge of losing my mind," she persuades me, and I step inside. When the door closes behind me, I can hear the clacking of nails on the wooden floor and a dog with its fur in the colors of black and white approaches me hesitantly.

"Don't mind him. He is grumpy on the outside, but a real teddy on the inside, just like his owner sometimes," she tells me and takes the cake out of my hands. "Would you mind taking off your shoes though? I know he hates it when people walk around with them on."

She rolls her eyes, but I fully understand his reasoning. I dislike it as well when Luke walks through the house with his shoes on. I find it gross as he spreads germs all over the floors on which I walk barefoot.

I follow her through the foyer of the house into the living room. To my surprise the house has a very open floor plan and the wall toward the lake is fully made of glass.

"Wow," I gasp at the sight before me.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? Still, I wouldn't want to be the one who has to clean it," the woman next to me says, then walks into the open kitchen. At the kitchen island sits a man with his back to me. In front of him I notice another man. Bulkier than the one sitting but I can't see his face.

"This smells heavenly," one of them says as she puts the cake down next to them. His voice is not as deep as the one who spoke before. I notice a hint of a British accent and assume it is her husband, especially after she kisses his cheek.

"Don't stand there. We don't bite," the woman tells me quickly and gestures me to come over. Not sure if it was a wise decision, I slowly walk to them. When I can see the face of the man standing on the other side of the kitchen island, I stop in my tracks.

He is the man, I never thought I would meet. He is the one, on who the looks of the male lead in my first book are based on. He is the one who haunted my dreams years ago with his blue eyes, his striking facial features and his seductive smile. Henry fucking Cavill.

My heart is racing in my chest. He has filled some of my naughtiest fantasies before I met Luke. I can feel my skin heating up in embarrassment.

"Char – I hope you don't mind me calling you that – please meet my husband Charles and my brother-in-law," she introduces us, and I quickly avert my gaze when I notice him staring at me.

"Lovely to meet you. And if the cake tastes like it smells, I will be in heaven tonight," Charles says, and I look at him. I try to conjure up a smile, but I am still too shocked about the fact that I am in the same room as him.

"This was a bad idea. I shouldn't have come here. I am sorry," I tell them and turn around. His dog is right next to me and tilts its head to the side.

I am more confused than you are, buddy, I think to myself. I can hear some hushed voices behind me as I make the first step towards the front door.

"Wait," I can hear him sigh. Yet again I stop in my tracks.