Page 23 of Spotted at Lighthouse Bay (Spotted Cottage #4)

Had that hug lingered? Or was Addy imagining things?

It couldn’t be. Rick was her bodyguard . He was contractually obligated to care about her physical safety. He wasn’t hugging her because he liked her. It was polite. He’d even hugged that weird guy who had vodka spewing from his pores.

The fact that Rick had pretty eyes and a gruff smile and that he looked handsome in a simple black t-shirt was beside the point. She wasn’t supposed to notice these things! She was forty-eight years old. She wasn’t supposed to be developing a crush.

She hadn’t had a crush in decades. Had she even found another man attractive in any recent memory?

Addy had to stop to consider. There was the occasional movie with a hot new star, but that wasn’t anything real. Nothing she felt in her chest, the weight that hit her when Rick walked in a room.

Had there ever been anyone at work? No. She’d been, maybe foolishly, quite happy in her marriage. Dealing with a crush was an entirely new problem.

When had this nonsense of a crush started? Was it when he’d sprinted off the dock and rescued Mia like a ninja? After he swooped in during Patty’s ill-arranged blind date? Or was it just hours ago, when she saw him watching Lottie and his eyes misted with tears?

Her heart leapt at the memory.

It didn’t matter. She was too old for crushes, and on top of that, Rick was too young for her to have a crush on!

After the hug, Addy managed to avoid Rick’s gaze, talking to strangers and gushing over the miracle of Lottie’s safe arrival. Sheila, Russell, and Mackenzie rushed off to talk to the team, and Hank volunteered to take them back to the tea shop for the afterparty. Addy gladly accepted.

Eliza and Patty had organized a beautiful spread, made for grazing people to come and go as they pleased. It was a joyous event. Addy talked to researchers, veterinarians and some of Russell’s Hollywood contacts about what a big project this had been.

“I’m impressed by everything,” Rick said, leaning in. He had a plate of finger sandwiches in his hand, and offered it to Addy.

Her stomach flipped and she shook her head. “I’m good, thanks.”

“I don’t mean any offense by this.” He popped a cucumber sandwich into his mouth. “But it’s a lot for a whale.”

“Don’t let anyone hear you say that!” Addy said, looking over her shoulder.

“I didn’t say it wasn’t worth it. It’s the most wholesome thing I’ve ever seen.”

His gaze was fixed on her. He smiled, dimple aglow.

Addy looked down. “I know what you mean. I think it’s about righting a wrong.”

“Oh, I know. Liam told me about it, and I get it now. I do.” He looked up, pausing, his lips slightly parted. “I tried talking to Russell, too, but he started rambling about wolves and I wasn’t able to follow.”

“Ha, yeah. Russell loves wolves. He’s fascinated by their personalities and their pack dynamics.”

“Every wolf matters to the pack, right?”

Addy nodded. She’d heard this more than once, and all about Russell’s love for Wolf 8. “They do.”

Who was Addy’s pack? Would she ever matter to anyone again? She mattered to Riley. Maybe that was all she needed – to realize this, to let the gratitude run through her.

“Righting a wrong, too,” Rick said. “Cody used to say something like that. He loved cats. He was always bringing home boxes of kittens people had abandoned. Feeding them every three hours around the clock.”

“That’s so sweet.”

“It was. He said you can’t change the world, but you can change the world for one kitten.”

Addy sighed. “He’s right.”

“He was a good guy. He had problems, but he had a good heart.”

“It sounds like it.” Before she could stop herself, Addy’s hand was on his arm. “He was very dear to you, wasn’t he?”

He patted her hand and nodded. “Yeah. It was frustrating at times, watching him do what he did. Drink himself into a stupor. Lose jobs. Lose girlfriends, people who really cared about him. But…” Rick looked up, eyes searching.

“He was still Cody. He’d be flat broke, out of work, and he’d send me a picture of a new cat. ”

Addy smiled. She wanted to say something poignant, something kind, but then the front door sprung open and Mackenzie walked in. “We did it!” she yelled.

The room erupted into cheers, and the moment was lost in the chaos.

Not one to spoil her first crush in centuries, Addy found a way to add to the awkwardness the next day.

It was a slow-moving accident she should’ve seen coming, but didn’t. She was too focused on cornering Sheila.

“You said you wanted to do this,” Addy said, wagging a finger in Sheila’s face, “and I booked it! You can’t back out now.”

“Why don’t you take Patty?” Sheila suggested.

“I highly doubt Patty wants to climb in or out of a kayak,” Addy said.

“What are you guys talking about?” Rick asked, tearing his attention away from the coffee pot.

“Nothing,” Addy said.

“Addy is angry at me because I’m too busy to go on her bioluminescence kayak tour tonight.”

Addy sighed. “I booked it a month ago! They said your best chance of seeing the glow is under a dark moon—hence tonight—and I didn’t want to miss out.”

“I didn’t know it would be the day after Lottie got here,” Sheila said. “I’m sorry. I just can’t make it. Maybe Eliza will go.”

Rick was watching with too much interest. This should have been Addy’s first clue, but she was too intent on not seeing it to notice.

“It’s fine,” Addy waved a hand. “I’ll reschedule.”

Sheila narrowed her eyes. “You said there are no refunds, though.”

Addy glared at her. “I can reschedule.”

Sheila blinked, then looked around the room. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

No, no, no. That wasn’t a good look.

“What about…” Sheila said, smiling, “Rick? I bet he’s good at kayaking.”

He took a swig of coffee. “I bet I am.”

Addy glared at her. Sheila pretended not to notice.

“It’s really okay,” Addy said, rushing to wipe crumbs off the counter.

There was no way she was going on a romantic kayak tour with Rick after having all those confusing feelings about him. It wasn’t happening. She would put her foot down. She’d burn the tickets.

“It’s a date!” Sheila said with a grin. She clapped them both on the shoulder. “Have fun, you two!”

Addy shut her eyes.

“Should we get dinner first?” Rick asked, slipping into the spot next to her, mug of coffee in hand. “There’s that fish and chips place we pass all the time but never get to try.”

She let out a weak laugh. “Oh, yeah. I guess we could.”

It was hard to say what was worse. Addy flying into a full panic around her newly minted crush? Or said crush being so uninterested in her that he didn’t even consider the impropriety of a romantic late-night cruise?

“Or we can go somewhere else. Burgers?”

Romantic burgers. Of course.

Clearly, there was nothing there. Only her own whipped up feelings. If she could find a way to ignore the crush, it would certainly go away.

“Let’s try the fish and chips,” she said, turning to look him in the eye. “That’ll be nice.”

She looked back at the counter and collected a stray crumb, her heart pounding as she walked it to the sink.