The Neighbor Favor


 
 
 
 PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF KRISTINA FOREST
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 “A bighearted story about being brave enough to go for what you want, even when the rules tell you something different.”
 —The New York Times
 “Pleasant, with a swoon-worthy ending straight out of the movies.”
 —Kirkus Reviews
 “This book is the perfect weekend read. If you love soft books about young black romance, genuine feelings, and a few stolen kisses and moments, then this is the book for you. There are few authors that I wholeheartedly support everything they write, but Kristina Forest is now definitely one of them.”
 —Melanin Library
 “Kristina Forest is such a ray of light . . . crafting such adorable stories that just are the book equivalent of a warm hug. The romance at the center of the book is just amazing as it has great chemistry and flirty, witty banter flying throughout.”
 —The Nerd Daily
 “If you’re looking for a heartfelt story that will leave your heart bursting at the seams by the end and is packed with adventure, then Now That I’ve Found You is the book for you.”
 —The Reading Chemist
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 BERKLEY ROMANCE
 Published by Berkley
 An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
 penguinrandomhouse.com
 
 Copyright © 2023 by Kristina Forest
 “Readers Guide” copyright © 2023 by Kristina Forest
 Excerpt copyright © 2023 by Kristina Forest
 Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.
 BERKLEY is a registered trademark and Berkley Romance with B colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.
 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
 Names: Forest, Kristina, author.
 Title: The neighbor favor / Kristina Forest.
 Description: First edition. | New York: Berkley Romance, 2023.
 Identifiers: LCCN 2022037544 (print) | LCCN 2022037545 (ebook) | ISBN 9780593546437 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9780593546444 (ebook)
 Subjects: LCGFT: Romance fiction. | Novels. Classification: LCC PS3606.O74747 N45 2023 (print) | LCC PS3606.O74747 (ebook) | DDC 813/.6—dc23/eng/20220815
 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022037544
 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022037545
 First Edition: February 2023
 Cover illustration and design by Lila Selle
 Book design by Ashley Tucker, adapted for ebook by Molly Jeszke
 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
 pid_prh_6.0_142752056_c0_r0
 
 
 
 For my literary work wife, Alison
 
 
 PROLOGUE
 Lily Greene always imagined that if she were to have the tragic misfortune of dying young, it would happen in a valiant, honorable way. Similar to the heroes in her beloved fantasy novels. Maybe she’d die while rescuing a child (or cat) from a burning building. Or darting into the street to save an elderly person from being hit by a speeding truck.
 She didn’t imagine that at twenty-five years old her final moments would be spent drenched in sweat, dehydrated out of her mind, on a crowded New York City subway train without AC during rush hour on one of the hottest days of the year. Because this was an event that she might not survive.
 Lily gripped the subway pole and tried her best to avoid touching the five other hands that were wrapped around the pole as well. With her free hand, she dug through her tote bag and pulled out her empty water canister, as if liquid would magically appear inside. Usually, she was smart about filling it before she left the office, but today, her boss, Edith, vice president and publisher of Edith Pearson Books at the esteemed Mitchell & Milton Inc., had been in a particularly terrible mood after mistakenly falling for an email phishing scam, which meant IT had taken hold of Edith’s computer and she couldn’t sit in her own office, which meant she’d stood over Lily’s shoulder in Lily’s tiny cubicle, repeatedly proclaiming that she was an “innocent victim” of a “malicious scammer.” All the while, Lily wondered if when someone emailed you, claiming to be the long-lost grandson of John F. Kennedy, and said person then claimed you could read a draft of their memoir for publishing consideration by clicking an unsecure, highly suspicious link, could you really blame anyone but yourself for clicking said link and therefore unleashing a virus onto your computer?
 Either way, for the rest of the afternoon, Lily suffered through Edith’s complaining and micromanaging. She survived by drinking one too many cups of coffee, zero cups of water, and inhaling half a sleeve of crackers at her desk once Edith stepped away for lunch. Now Lily was hungry, dehydrated and very close to melting into a puddle right there on the downtown B train, which suddenly came to a halt. The conductor made a garbled announcement no one could understand, and a chorus of groans rang throughout the train. A man who’d already taken the liberty of removing his shirt banged on the subway doors as if the conductor could hear him. “Jesus fucking Christ, fix the AC! We’re dying in here!”
 A few others began to shout and complain, growing angrier as the train remained motionless. Lily grimaced. Nothing good ever happened when a bunch of people were pissed, hot and immobile. At least they’d stopped on the Manhattan Bridge, so she had cell service.
 “What the fuck?” someone yelled. “Why is it so hot?”
 “Global warming,” a woman standing beside Lily grumbled. She was short and blonde, with flushed cheeks and a sweaty forehead. Lily could only imagine how she looked herself. It was only May, but