Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Nate turned and looked at me. I could tell he wanted to say something, but he pressed his mouth into a tight line.
“Right. Well, thank you again, Hank. How are the roads?”
“Minor flooding on some roads, but you won’t have any issues getting home. The sun is out and drying things up as we speak. I’m just glad we didn’t get ice or snow.”
I wrapped my arms around my body. “The temperature has dropped, that’s for sure.”
Hank looked up. “Winter is right around the corner, so it’s no surprise we are getting this crazy weather.”
When he looked at Nate and me, he smiled. “I’ll be heading off. Let me know when you want to get the other tires replaced.”
“Thanks, Hank!” I called after him as he headed down the porch steps and to his tow truck.
After he got in and pulled off, Nate shut the front door and started for the kitchen again.
I followed and helped him clean up, even though he had told me not to. We worked in silence, and I couldn’t help but notice something had shifted with us over the last day. What it was, though, I couldn’t say.
“Thank you for picking me up and letting me stay here.”
Nate tossed the dish towel over his shoulder and flashed me that drop-dead gorgeous smile of his.
“No problem at all. I’m glad you got your tire fixed. Are you taking any dogs out today?”
“No, it’s too wet. Sophia told me she had sent out a text to let the dog owners know.”
Slipping his hands into his jeans pockets, Nate looked around the kitchen. “Thanks for helping me clean up, and for the delicious pancakes.”
“Sure,” I said with a smile. “I should get going.”
“Do you have everything?” Nate asked as he followed me into the living room.
“Yep.” I picked up my small bag and purse. “Thanks again.”
He walked me to the front door and out to my car. Right as I was about to get in, Nate spoke.
“Haven, um, wait a second. There’s something I needed to say; I mean, I wanted to talk to you about.” He cleared his throat. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Pausing, I looked into his silver-blue eyes and tried to ignore how my heart sped up. His eyes were dancing with something I had only ever seen once before from him, and it was a long time ago.
He tore his gaze away from mine and kicked at something on the ground. “Last night…something–”
The sound of a vehicle pulling up the driveway caused us both to turn and see who it was.
“Ted?” I said in complete shock.
Ted pulled up behind my car and got out, a smile on his face. “You have your car!”
I looked at Nate, my car, then back to Ted. “Yes, Hank brought it over just a little bit ago.”
Ted walked up and leaned down to kiss me on the cheek. “I was worried and saw you were still at this location, so I thought I would come to see if you still needed a ride home.”
“Are you tracking her?” Nate asked, a tone of bitterness in his voice.
Ted looked at Nate and held out his hand. “Ted Reynolds.”
At first, I didn’t think Nate was going to shake Ted’s hand, but his good manners won out. He reached out and pumped once before dropping his hand.
“Nate Shaw.”
Ted smiled as he said, “Nice to meet you, Nate.”
Confused, I looked at Ted. “How did you know I was still here?”
He held up his phone. “Find my friends app on your phone.”
“I shared my location with you last night; I didn’t think it would still track me.”
“It did. It looks like you don’t need me after all.”
Rocking back and forth on his feet, Ted looked between me and Nate before he settled his gaze on me. “I’ll follow you back to your place unless you need to go walk the dogs.”
“No,” I said with a shake of my head. “Today’s appointments were canceled.”
“Great! I don’t have any clients today, so we can spend the day together.” Facing Nate, Ted said, “Thank you for coming to my girl’s rescue last night.”
My head drew back some, and I stared at Ted. My girl? What in the world was up with that? We’d gone out on a few dates, and I was suddenly his girl when I knew he dated other women.
Nate forced a smile, and I could see a tic in his jaw. “Sure thing.”
If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought Nate was jealous.
Impossible.
“Ready to leave?” Ted asked as he reached for my hand. I quickly pulled it back. I wasn’t sure why, but it seemed like the right thing to do at that moment.
With a forced smile, I said, “Why don’t you head out, and I’ll meet you at my apartment.”
Ted’s smile faltered slightly, but he quickly recovered. “Sounds like a plan. It was nice to meet you, Nate.”