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As soon as Sydney got home, she put the loaf of bread from Adam on the counter, then she grabbed her keys and headed out to the garden store she’d found online.

There were no benches she liked, so she just bought two big blue pots and enough flowers to fill them, along with several bags of potting soil. She’d look for a bench online later.

Once she got home and hauled everything out of her car to the side yard, she realized she had nothing to dig with. She thought about asking Adam, but she’d seen nothing like that in his garage. He didn’t actually have a lot of stuff, which was cool in its own way but also a bit odd.

She went inside, found a plastic souvenir cup she didn’t really care about and used it as her spade. It wasn’t the best, but it made adding dirt to the pots and around the plants easier than doing it by hand.

Once the pots were done, she stood back. They looked pretty good. She carried the first one up to the porch and placed it on one side of the door, then brought the other one up. Again, she stood back and had a look.

She smiled. “Nice.” The place was shaping up. She, however, was covered in dirt. She cleaned up the small mess she’d made, put the extra bag of potting soil in the garage, and went to shower.

Mackie was still conked out, no surprise there. He’d had more activity today than in the entire last week, thanks to Sugarbelle.

How funny was it that Adam had adopted her? What exactly had happened at that auction that had caused him to fall in love with that little dog? Clearly, there had been a connection between them.

She thought it was sweet and adorable. It really showed his softer side, which wasn’t something she’d been entirely sure had existed. Now, however, it was on full display.

She kept smiling as she stripped off her dirty clothes and got under the hot spray. She thought about the afternoon and how Adam had kissed her. Hard not to keep thinking about that.

It had been a while since she’d been kissed.

She hadn’t exactly been avoiding men—well, maybe she had been.

None of the ones she’d met in the city had been marriage material.

They’d been all about careers or partying, and most seemed to think a family was something that would happen sometime in the nebulous future.

But was Adam marriage material?

If she had turned down all of those men in the past, shouldn’t she be doing the same with him? She knew he had no plans for a relationship right now, and that was all she wanted. A good man who wanted to get married and have kids.

That wasn’t Adam. Not when he wasn’t interested in a relationship. Even if he did want the same things she did, he didn’t want them now.

So what was her excuse for constantly thinking about him and possibly daydreaming about him just a bit?

Yes, he was attractive. Yes, there was something almost feral about his masculinity.

Yes, he was definitely the protective type, and she loved that.

Then there was his ability to cook, his patience in showing her how to do things, the tenderness he displayed with Sugarbelle … there was so much to like about him.

Could she turn him into a man who wanted to get married sooner rather than later?

She got out of the shower, dried off, and put on leggings and a T-shirt.

She almost got mad at herself for her last thought.

People didn’t change. Not much, anyway. Going into a relationship with the plan to reinvent someone was a path to misery.

He had to want the same things as she did from the start in the same kind of time frame, or nothing good would ever come of it.

That really only left one thing for her to do. Stop thinking of Adam as something more than a friend.

She took a deep breath and blew it out. Friends would have to be good enough. And she would have to stop thinking about him so much.

Easier said than done, especially when he lived next door.

She went out to the living room. She was a little hungry, but it was too early to eat. She grabbed her phone, got a diet soda, and settled in on the couch. She put on a series about homesteading.

Her backyard was big enough for chickens, but she wasn’t sure what the town ordinances allowed for. Not that she was anywhere close to getting chickens. She had a lot to learn before that happened. If that happened.

But having a steady supply of fresh eggs would be nice.

She shopped online for a bench for the front porch, which made her realize she didn’t know the dimensions. Ugh. She was feeling lazy, but she got up, found her tape measure, and went to check.

Once she was armed with those numbers, she went back to the search. She found a pretty white rattan one. That looked cozy and like it might actually be comfortable.

Then she saw a white rattan swing. Wouldn’t that be nice? But she couldn’t install that herself. Could she? That felt a bit out of her realm. It would have to be secure enough to hold weight, and that would mean, what, finding a beam? Or something?

She’d have to hire someone. Not the end of the world but an extra step that a regular bench didn’t require.

A little more searching turned up a rattan glider. Now that seemed perfect. Movement but no extra work. She checked the measurements, picked out the color and cushions she liked, and added it to her cart.

Shipping was not cheap, but she had the money. Even with what she’d spent at the auction.

And just like that, she was thinking about Adam again. This really had to stop.

Shaking her head, she ordered the glider. There. She’d gotten a few things done today. Still hadn’t worked on the guest room. Maybe she should at least take a look at it.

With some reluctance, she went to do just that. She had a mattress and frame with a gray silk headboard and a set of black and white toile sheets with a white comforter and throw pillows in hot pink, silver, and black.

But that was about it. She needed nightstands and some kind of a dresser. Probably some reading lamps. Window treatments. Artwork. A mirror.

She should have had a better look when she’d been in the thrift shop with Adam, but she’d been pretty focused on him.

She dug out her phone and checked the time. They were open until nine. She had all kinds of time. Did she really feel like going back out though?

No, she didn’t. She wanted to make herself something to eat, sit on the couch, and watch one of her guilty pleasure shows, which was currently a Korean drama called Bad Judgment .

She could go out later. And when she got back, she could check on Sugarbelle.

She went into the kitchen. Adam’s loaf of bread was there on the counter. It was so good. She had a pretty well-stocked fridge, but that didn’t mean she had the ability or the interest in whipping up something fancy.

Her gaze returned to the loaf of bread.

Fifteen minutes later, she walked back into the living room with a grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of tomato soup. She wasn’t going to feel guilty about it, either. Not every meal had to be about her adding to her cooking repertoire or practicing some new skill.

Sometimes a girl needed comfort food. Something easy.

She sat down, got her show on, then picked up one half of the sandwich, the toasted bread and gooey cheese making it indulgent in a way nothing else came close to. She dunked one end in her soup and took a bite.

“Mmm … that man knows how to bake bread.”

She crossed her legs, balancing her plate on one knee. Maybe she should get a snack table to eat on. That was kind of sad, though, wasn’t it? Seemed to imply she thought she’d be eating alone in front the television a lot.

Mackie wandered in with a slight case of bedhead. She smiled at him. “Hey, baby. Come to see what Mama’s eating?”

Maybe she would be alone a while. It wasn’t her plan, but no one could plan for love or the sort of future she was hoping for. It had to happen in its own time.

Mackie gave a soft woof, then sat down and gave her a look as if to say that sitting on the couch watching K-dramas wasn’t going to help.

“Yeah, I know. But it’s not like I wasn’t busy today. I was out and about. With Adam.” She had another bite of her sandwich, dipped in the soup again.

Going out with Adam was fine, but any man who might be interested in her would lose that interest when he saw the mountain of a man she was with. He’d instantly assume the two were a couple.

And tomorrow night, she’d be sitting at a table for two with him at a romantic little restaurant in town.

She sighed. Maybe she just needed to not think about this for a while. She picked up her plate and stretched her legs out so she could put her feet on the coffee table. She was going to finish her meal, watch her show, and do just that. Not think about Adam.

She did just that, too, losing herself in the show while she ate. She took her dish into the kitchen and settled on the couch again, feet up once more, doing her best to focus on the television and nothing else.

She woke up with a start to the sound of Mackie’s soft whines. She blinked. A message on the screen asked if she was still watching it, and it was oddly dark in the house.

She looked at the time. It was after ten. “Ten?”

How could that be? Sure, she’d had a busy day, but had she actually been worn out enough to fall asleep on the couch? Well, apparently. She yawned and got up. “Okay, baby, I know, you have to go out.”

Oh, no. If Mackie had to go out, Sugarbelle probably did, too, and Sydney had promised Adam that she’d check on his baby before she went to bed.

She went straight to the back door, Mackie beating her there. She opened it, and he zipped out, finding the first patch of grass that looked good and doing his business. “Good boy,” she told him as he came right back inside. “Mama has to go check on Sugarbelle.”

She grabbed Adam’s key, slipped on some sneakers and went next door.

Sugarbelle let out a very similar whine as Mackie had as soon as Sydney was inside. She flipped on a light. “It’s okay, sweetheart, I’m here now.”

Sydney knew right away something was wrong. Sugarbelle’s head was down, and her tail was between her legs. She hurried to the crate and opened the door, but she caught an acrid whiff as soon as she’d kneeled down. She touched the bed. It was wet.

“It’s okay,” Sydney said softly. “I’ll take care of that. It’s not your fault. You’re just a baby.”

She let Sugarbelle out the back, propped the door open, then went to deal with the soaked bed.

She took it into the laundry room, unzipped the cover, and stuck both it and the foam interior into the washer and set the machine to delicate.

She’d learned the hard way with Mackie’s stuff that foam dog beds didn’t always survive a regular wash.

She pushed the button to get the machine started.

When she went to check on Sugarbelle, the little pup was coming up the steps. “Feel better? I’m sorry.”

She picked the dog up and gave her a hug, petting her head and giving her kisses. The scent of Adam’s cologne wafted from her fur. “You miss your daddy, don’t you?”

Sugarbelle gave Sydney’s cheek a half-hearted lick.

“Maybe I can distract you a bit, huh?” Even the delicate cycle would take some time. “You want to go for a walk?”

It wasn’t something she’d have ever done in the city, but the low crime rate was one of the reasons she’d picked Nocturne Falls. And she was wide awake after her accidental nap.

At the word “walk,” Sugarbelle’s head came up.

“Okay, come on.” She got the little dog’s leash on and locked the house behind them as they left. It was a beautiful night, bright with stars and perfectly temperate. “Listen, I can’t take you and not Mackie, okay?”

She went back to her house and collected him. The dogs seemed happy to be reunited. Sydney got them out to the sidewalk and headed toward town. Main Street was only a few blocks away, and even in a safe area, it was always better to be where people were.