Page 16 of Driven to Love

She turned at the park and followed the trail through the trees down by the river. Ah, shade. It was only a couple of degrees, but she’d take it. Addison eyed the river. The temptation to jump in tugged her closer to the cold, rushing water. It wasn’t just the hot day that had her body inflamed. Her inner temp had spiked at the glimpse of Nash working on that vehicle earlier and hadn’t come down.

Seeing him today solidified her need to find a man. One who wasn’t a hot, muscle-bound player. A nice guy… a stable guy. One who wanted a future with a white picket fence and two-point-three kids.

Addison had dated the hot guys. Musicians. Artists. Models. Personal trainers. Sure, the profession didn’t make the man, but she had a type, and they never stuck around. Except for a couple of world-class moochers. No way she’d be a man’s sugar mama. She was all for equal partnership, and not just the money.

That was it. Time to date against her type. She thought she had with Mark, but now she could see he was more of the same.

She came to the end of the trail and slowed to jog in place as she waited for a car on the corner to go by. Nice car. A pearl-colored Audi sedan. Just like… No, it couldn’t be.

She slid her sunglasses down her nose, trying to see into the car. Not him. She couldn’t get a good look with the tint on the windows, but the driver was too short to be Mark.

Shaking it off, she crossed the intersection and headed down Main Street. As she passed Rumor’s Café, the door opened.

“Addison.”

She pulled out an earbud and smiled at Laney’s brother coming out of the restaurant with another guy.

“Hey, Sawyer. What’s new?” She rested her hand on her side and walked in place to cool down. She still had another mile to go.

“Not much. Just grabbing some lunch with Ted. He’s back in town.” Sawyer slapped the man on the back. “Ted, you remember Addison Benedict.”

Ted scanned Addison from her sweaty head down to her running shoes. “The skinny kid who was always at your house? Laney’s friend? Wow. It’s been a minute. Good to see you.” He smiled and extended a hand.

She shook it but was still trying to place him. Ted? Ted? Then, like lightning, an image of Laney’s chubby neighbor popped into her head. That Ted was nothing like the lean man, with soft brown eyes and a long, straight nose, standing in front of her.

“Teddy the Turd?” She slapped a hand over her mouth. A muffled “sorry” came out from behind her fingers before she composed herself. “That wasn’t nice of me.”

“It’s okay. I was a turd back then.” He shrugged. “Well, it was nice to see you again. Maybe we can grab a coffee and catch up sometime?”

From the way he threw out the casual comment, it was clear he didn’t expect Addison to take him up on his offer.

She took a long look at the man in front of her. Tall. Nice smile. Kind eyes. No hint of a six-pack. Nothing about him screamed player. If she wanted to change her type, here was her chance.

“Does Tuesday work? We can grab a pizza at Merc’s and talk about the old days.” Addison didn’t know who was more surprised, her or Ted… or Sawyer, who stood with his mouth slightly agape.

“Yeah. I’ll see you at seven.”

“It’s a date.” Addison put in her earbuds and waved as she continued her jog. A smile curved her lips. One step closer to finding the right guy. Even if Ted wasn’t the one, she was changing her type. The goofy grin stayed on her face the whole last mile.

At her house, she did a cool-down lap around the yard before grabbing the hose. “See, I didn’t forget about you.”

Addison leaned behind the bush to turn on the water, but stopped. She slid her sunglasses down and stared at the marks in the soil. Footprints. Right outside her window. They were too big to be hers… and they were fresh. “What the hell?”

Straightening, she scanned the street. Peepers had never been a problem before. She couldn’t think of a single person who would spy on her. Addison placed a foot next to the print. Definitely bigger.

“It’s probably the meter reader.” Except her power meter was around back. She turned on the water, gave her plants a drink, then walked around the house, checking for more prints. There was nothing, unless she counted bunny tracks.

“Paranoid much?” There had to be a logical explanation for the footprints. One that didn’t include an axe murderer.

She wiped her hands on her shorts. Obviously, Laney’s attack last winter affected Addison more than she thought. Shaking off the feeling, she went inside.

Her heart rate dropped with the click of the lock. She toed off her shoes and leaned against the door.

Furious meows echoed through the room. Her little prince of darkness stood by his empty bowl, complaining.

“Don’t be so dramatic. I fed you this morning.” Addison rolled her eyes at her demanding pet.

His green eyes pierced her. Another loud meow filled the room.