Page 16

Sydney woke up earlier than expected, considering she’d had quite the evening. Still in her PJs, she let Mackie into the backyard, then went to make a cup of coffee. While the Keurig was doing its thing, she went to change.

She might be retired from modeling, but that didn’t mean she was letting herself go. She pulled on some running gear, knotted her hair up to keep it out of her way, and tied on her sneakers.

The sputtering from the kitchen announced her coffee was done. She went to get it, added a splash of cream and some sweetener, then she took it onto the porch to check on Mackie.

He was, once again, rolling around on the lawn as though it was a moral imperative that he get as much grass and dirt on his fur as possible.

She sighed. “Mackie, do you really want another bath so soon? You have five minutes. Then I’m hauling you in. I need to pound some pavement.”

She drank her coffee standing up. If she sat, she’d get comfortable, and leaving to run would be even harder.

Mackie wandered closer to inspect a leaf.

“Are you ready for breakfast?”

His ears perked up, and she smiled. It was good to have a dog that understood a few words of English.

She opened the door. “Come on, then.”

He scampered up the steps and followed her into the kitchen. She set her cup on the counter and got one of his small cans of dog food, emptying it into a new bowl. He went to work on it as soon as she set it down at his feeding station. “Good boy. I’ll be back in a bit.”

One more sip of coffee, then she stuck her earbuds in, started up her usual running mix and hit the street.

Since she wasn’t that familiar with her new neighborhood yet, she figured she’d use her morning runs to get to know it better.

She’d looked at a map online and had a rough idea of where she was going.

Three blocks straight ahead and she’d take a right, going a few blocks past a park, then she’d take another right and go down five blocks before turning to come back, forming a big rectangular loop.

Based on her best guess, that should be about a mile. If she felt up to it, she’d run it twice. Or maybe go around the park twice.

She fell into a rhythm, but she could tell it had been a few days since she’d done anything more than unpack boxes. She needed this. Not just for her body but for her mental well-being, too.

She thought about last night and how Birdie had stepped up for her. It was silly, really, but something in Sydney’s gut told her Adam would not have wanted her there. Even more so, he probably wasn’t going to be happy when he found out what she’d done.

Had she been wrong to bid on him? It was all for charity. Nothing wrong in that. A good deed was a good deed, right?

Then why did thinking about telling him the truth cause a pit to open up in her stomach?

Was she afraid of him? No. That wasn’t it. But she was afraid of upsetting him. Or having him be upset with her.

She wanted him to like her. To be honest, she wanted everyone to like her. It was something she was working on.

Something she’d taken a big step toward dealing with by quitting modeling.

In fairness, she was getting a little old for the business.

People might say older models were getting more work these days, but the truth was, fashion favored the young.

And there was always a fresher, newer face just around the corner.

Mostly, she was fine with that. It hurt a little to think that the industry that had once loved and adored her could be so fickle just because she’d had a few birthdays, but it was the truth.

The soles of her sneakers slapped the pavement, putting distance between herself and her house. She checked out the neighbors’ yards, admiring their flowers. She should plant some herself. Not just pots for by the front door but maybe a nice bed to accent the porch.

Or a flowering tree. Wouldn’t that be pretty? Oh, she definitely needed a flowering tree. Something pink. She loved trees, but the kinds with flowers were something special.

Thinking about what to plant was just avoiding the real issue, of course. How to tell Adam she was the one who’d actually bid on him.

The more she thought about it—what she’d done, not the telling him part—she realized that what she was most worried about was that he would think she’d done it to have some kind of sway over him. So that he would owe her in some way.

He’d had a bad experience with his ex, something he was obviously still getting over. She didn’t want to be another bad experience.

How could she explain what she’d done without him feeling like she was trying to get the upper hand? She really wasn’t. Not in the slightest. It bothered her that he might think that.

And she certainly couldn’t tell him that she hadn’t wanted another woman to end up with him. Then he’d think she was a stalker.

She groaned. She’d unintentionally made a mess of things. There was nothing to do but face it and hope for the best.

Maybe she’d take Mackie with her when she went to talk to him. Adam liked Mackie. It might be harder for him to get mad at her while looking at that cute face.

Not much of a plan but the only one she had. She picked up the pace a little, matching the beat of the music she was listening to. She went by the park, checking to see if there were any signs about dogs not being allowed. No signs that she could find.

She made a big loop around it to really check it out.

Could be nice to walk Mackie up here and give him something new to sniff. After the loop, she turned right and headed in the opposite direction of her house, sticking to the route she’d mapped out.

Her attention shifted to the day ahead of her. After breakfast, she’d do some laundry, then possibly set up one of the guest rooms. A friend of hers, another former model, had made it plain she wanted to visit as soon as she could and see what Sydney’s new life was like.

Sydney had a feeling that Tyrissa wanted out of the rat race just as much as Sydney had.

Getting the guest room in shape would knock something off her to-do list, too. Although seeing everyone’s flowers was really filling her with the urge to hit the nearest garden center. They were so pretty.

At the very least, she could get some pots done for the front porch. It needed the pop of color. And she still wanted a bench, which the garden center might also have.

All right, that was her day. She’d eat breakfast, shower, and find the closest garden center. Once the pots were done, the bench assembled, and all of that cleaned up, she’d probably need to shower again. And eat lunch.

But after that, she was tackling the guest room. Rearranging the furniture and making a list of what she needed to buy.

Then, if she had enough energy left to sit on the couch, she’d online shop and make the necessary purchases.

That put a smile on her face as she turned right again, starting her last leg until she hit her street.

So when did she talk to Adam? When did she ’fess up? Did she seek him out or let him come to her?

Or maybe she should talk to Birdie first and see when their date was. That would at least tell Sydney if she needed to speak to him immediately or she had a few days to let it happen naturally.

A few days would be nice. She might come up with the right words in a few days. Or Adam might get some distance from the event and not care about it so much.

She frowned. She really had no idea what his take on the event was. If he’d had a good time or hated it. And she had no way to ask him without revealing she’d been there.

Why was life so complicated? Wasn’t life in a small town supposed to be simple and easy?

She snorted.

In an effort to distract herself, she ran harder, making herself sprint until she reached her street. She slowed down as she made the turn for home and?—

Adam was a couple of blocks ahead of her, coming toward her. And he was walking Sugarbelle.

This was going to be interesting. Sydney had to play dumb. Or did she? No, she did, or she’d also have to launch into how she knew the dog’s name.

This was crazy. Was she secretly on some kind of hidden camera show? Because it was starting to feel like it.

She decided that if he came clean about the auction, she would, too. She slowed to a walk as she approached him, hands on her hips, letting herself cool down. His new haircut really did his jawline justice. “Hey, there.”

“Hi.” Nothing about his demeanor said he was happy to see her.

Great. Regardless, she kept her smile in place. “Who’s your friend?”

“Um, this is Sugarbelle.”

At her name, the little dog wagged her tail, looking pleased. Nice to know one of them was happy to see Sydney.

“Hi, Sugarbelle. You are the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.” She looked up at Adam. “Don’t tell Mackie I said that, but she is just a doll baby. Who’s is she?”

Adam’s frown deepened, nearly making Sydney laugh. Did he look slightly embarrassed? “Uh, mine.”

She’d be lying if she didn’t admit she was enjoying this just a little. “You adopted a dog?”

“Yeah.”

“Were they out of full-size ones?”

He made a face at her. “Very funny.” He stared at Sugarbelle. “She just seemed like she needed me.”

“That’s very sweet. Where did you get her?”

“The, uh, local animal shelter.”

He obviously wasn’t going to tell Sydney the whole story. Fine. Then she wasn’t going to confess what she’d done either.

That would just have to wait.

Sydney straightened. “Do you have everything you need for her?”

“No, but I plan on going to the pet store as soon as I wear her out a little. You think she’ll be okay in the house alone while I’m gone?”

“Hard to say. She’s still young, right? No telling how much, if any, training she’s had. Do you have a crate to put her in?”

“No.” He looked worried.

“Could you take her with you?”

“I guess.”

Sydney’s plans for the day no longer mattered. “Would you like me to come with you? I could keep an eye on her and help you pick out the best stuff.”

He exhaled and nodded. “Actually, that would be great.”