Page 51 of Driven to Love

Barking came from the other room. A strangled meow followed.

Addison pushed past Nash and sprinted toward the sound of confrontation.

At the entrance to the living room, she slammed on the brakes.

Nash skidded to a stop behind her. “You don’t see that every day.”

“What the hell did you do to my cat?” She blinked at the sight before her. Lu sat on the couch, pawing at Max’s head. Neither of the animals seemed in distress. “First, he actually let you pet him. Now, he is playing with your dog. Do you have some sort of cat-wrangling powers? Is it piped through your vents?”

Nash leaned against the doorframe and shoved his hands into his front pockets. “I was at your house the first time I met Lu.”

“Whatever.” She shook her head as she watched Max bounce at Lu. The prince of darkness himself batted back at him playfully. Not even one claw slipped out. Amazing.

“I’ll go get your things.” Nash straightened.

Addison almost missed the soft brush of his lips on her hair before he left the room. Almost. The whole situation was surreal, and it all started with a rock through her window.

No. If she were honest, it started a long time ago. Months. But when he kissed her in the shop the other night, that lit the spark to… whatever this was. A friendship?

Ha! Not even in her stubborn mind could she believe what she and Nash had was just friendship. Once his lips touched hers, her body demanded more.

She couldn’t say if he was the one, but… She glanced around the room. It had a bit of a bachelor vibe, but it was miles from a frat house.

In the last two days, her image of Nash as a charming player had shattered. But something in her looked at the gorgeous man currently lugging in her cat’s litter box and still questioned if he was a one-woman man. Her man, to be specific.

Chapter 15

If Nash believed in signs from God, Addison standing in his living room watching their pets play was as big a sign as the neon sign above the Sip and Slurp. By the way she was biting her lip, he didn’t think she was seeing the same giant flashing arrow he was.

He set the litter box and cat food in the laundry room and filled a bowl of water for Lu before joining Addison in the other room.

“Is this Cade?” She pointed to a picture on the shelf.

Nash grinned. The boys in that picture were barely old enough to shave. “Yeah. That was right before we left for basic training.”

“Did you serve together?”

“No. We ended up in different squads.” He picked up Max and sat on the couch next to Lu.

He watched Addison move from item to item around his room. Her presence in his house sent shivers down his spine. Excitement? Nerves? What if she didn’t like his place?

“Oh, Davey was so cute as a baby.” She picked up the framed photograph.

Nash’s gut tightened. Davey. Yeah, he invited Addison, Nash’s coworker, to his game, but would he like them dating? Hell, would Addison? Because Nash sure saw this heading that way.

Yes, he’d kissed her, and she hadn’t decked him. If the night went well, he’d do it again, and more, but anything above a casual relationship and he’d need to factor his son into the equation.

That thought chilled the heat brewing in his pants.

She wrapped her arms around her waist and glanced around the room. Her eyes seemed vacant. Hollow. Her strength was waning, and Nash couldn’t stand seeing it. Addison had a shit-ton of self-confidence, but right now, the situation must be sinking in.

Nash put Max in his crate for the night and then crossed to the woman struggling to hold herself together. She’d deny it. He’d bet his torque wrench she would, but body language didn’t lie.

Stepping up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her.

“It’s been a long day.” He inhaled her scent, and every muscle in his body relaxed. With everything in him, he wanted to whisk her up and carry her to his bed, but no. She’d had a tough day. They both had.

The tension that held her taut slipped from her shoulders. She settled into the security of his arms, and his frame curled around her.