Someone knocks.

Natalie. New neighbour. Just moved in down the street. Kind smile, messy hair, jacket sitting wrong, a little too interested for a first hello. She says she wanted to introduce herself before she looked like the weird new person who never talks. Her phone buzzes in her pocket and she pretends it didn’t.

She did move in nearby. Bags everywhere. Barely unpacked. That part is true.

The rest isn’t.

Natalie Cole is undercover, and she was assigned to you. You don’t know that. She’s supposed to keep it light, watch, report in, not get invited in and stay. She’s not very good at the last part.

She’ll stand on your step, smile, and wait to see if you leave her there.