Page 24

Sydney was thrilled that both dogs peed one more time on the way home. She put Mackie in her house before taking Sugarbelle to Adam’s. She unlocked the door and took Sugarbelle’s leash off as soon as they were in.

The light switch by the door turned nothing on. The man really needed a lamp. Thankfully, the light under the microwave in the kitchen gave off enough light to see by.

She went to the laundry room to put the leash back in the cabinet, flipping the switch in there that, thankfully, turned on the ceiling fixture. The washer was done, so she took the bed and cover out and opened the dryer to toss them in.

Except there were clothes in it. She set the bed and cover aside and emptied the dryer into the laundry basket. Once that was done, she put the bed and cover in and turned the machine on.

She glanced down at the basket. Her mother had drilled into her that clothes should never sit in a basket. That’s how they got wrinkled.

With a sigh, she hoisted the basket onto her hip and carried it out to his living room. She sat on the couch, put the basket on the floor, and started folding.

Sugarbelle had some water, then looked at her crate but made the decision to sit by Sydney’s feet instead. Sydney smiled at her. “You want to go back in your crate?”

Sugarbelle looked up at her.

“As soon as your bed is dry, I’ll get it back together and you can go in there. Except I’m not going to shut the door. Probably defeats the whole purpose of a crate, but I think we can all agree that it would be better if you didn’t tinkle on your bed again.”

Sugarbelle lay down and huffed out a sigh.

Adam’s T-shirts were enormous, but then they’d have to be to fit him. He was almost as big as that gargoyle at the fountain. Was that why Sugarbelle had given the creature such an odd look?

Because other than that, there was no further resemblance in that scowling, toothy creature. Well…maybe the scowl wasn’t so different.

Sydney snorted and finished folding half a dozen of his giant T-shirts, a pair of jeans, a pair of sweatpants, two pairs of gym shorts, six pairs of boxer briefs, matched four sets of socks, and lastly, two kitchen towels.

She laughed. Leave it to a man to wash kitchen towels with his clothes. She put the kitchen towels on the kitchen counter, returned the basket to the laundry room, then carried the rest of his clothing into the bedroom and placed it on the bed.

Hopefully, he wouldn’t freak out that she’d done that, but what was she supposed to do? Let everything get wrinkled?

It shouldn’t be a big deal. And if it was, she’d apologize. But he had given her a key.

She went to check on the bed and cover. Almost dry.

She’d give it ten more minutes. She sat on the couch to wait.

She kicked her shoes off and lay down, her head on the throw pillow.

She thought about turning on his TV, but his remote looked complicated, and she didn’t want to push the wrong button.

She’d probably deprogram it or something, and she didn’t want to do that. Instead, she just lay there and thought about the day to come. Mostly, how Adam would react when she showed up as his auction date.

It would be all right, wouldn’t it? They were friends, after all.

What should she wear? Something that said, “I’m happy we’re friends”? Or something that said, “I’d really like to be more than friends”?

She exhaled. A little black dress was never a bad choice, but she did have this great emerald-green lace Dolce & Gabbana dress that was a total knockout. Maybe if she wore that, he’d forget to be mad.

She laughed at the idea. In the other room, the subtle hum of the dryer doing its thing created a nice sort of white noise. She closed her eyes, thinking about Sugarbelle’s strange reaction to the gargoyle statue. What had she thought? That it was Adam?

Dogs were funny. Dogs were…

“Um, Sydney?”

She blinked and looked up at the largest man she’d ever seen standing over her. What was he doing in her house? She shrieked, sitting up with a gasp. It all came rushing back to her then. She was in Adam’s house. She’d fallen asleep on his couch waiting for the dryer to be done.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to— What time is it?”

He stepped back. “A little after 3a.m. Is everything okay? Why are you here?”

She rubbed her eyes. “I was waiting for the dryer.”

He frowned. “Why?”

“Because Sugarbelle’s bed is in there. She had an accident. Accidentally.”

He glanced toward the laundry room, then back at her. “Can you start from the top?”

She yawned. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep here.

When I came over to check on Sugarbelle and take her for a potty break, she’d wet her bed.

I took the cover off and washed it and the foam pad inside.

Then because she seemed upset about what had happened, I took her and Mackie for a walk to distract her.

When I brought her back here, I put the cover and the bed into the dryer.

I was trying to wait for it so I could put it back together. ”

“I see.” He blinked as he seemed to process. “Did you also fold my laundry?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I did. Sorry.”

He snorted. “You don’t have to be sorry. That was really nice of you. Completely unnecessary but really nice.”

She stood up. “Clothes get wrinkled if you leave them in the basket. Or the dryer, really. Anyway, I should go. I’m sure her bed is dry by now.”

He nodded. “I’ll check on it. Thanks. Sorry this turned into such a complicated thing for you.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m glad I was here to take care of you. I mean, her.” Feeling her cheeks heat, she hooked her thumb over her shoulder. “I should go to bed. At my house. I mean, obviously.”

Okay, she needed to go now .

“See ya,” she called out as she made for the door. She slipped out before Adam could comment. She heard his goodbye as the door closed.

She hustled to her place, utterly embarrassed. She obviously hadn’t meant to fall asleep at his place. He’d for sure ask for his key back. He probably thought she was some kind of nutjob now.

What a mess. She went into her house, the door not even locked because she hadn’t planned on being gone that long. Mackie greeted her with his usual enthusiasm.

“Yeah, you wouldn’t be doing that if you knew what I just did. Adam must think I’m crazy.”

Still mortified, she washed her face, brushed her teeth, put on a nightshirt and went to bed, wishing she’d wake up in the morning and find out this whole thing had been a dream.

Except it wasn’t, something she knew very well when she did wake up.

She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering if Adam was still talking to her. She checked her phone. No text asking for his key back. Yet.

She hauled herself out of bed and made a cup of coffee, letting it brew while she opened the back door for Mackie to go out.

She returned to the kitchen, sliced two pieces of Adam’s bread and popped them in the toaster. She got out some blackberry preserves and leaned against the counter as she waited for the coffee and the bread.

Maybe she shouldn’t go tonight. Just have the shelter call him and tell him the date had been canceled. He didn’t need to know that she was the one who’d bid on him. That would only add to what he undoubtedly already thought about her.

Which could be anything. But probably that she was stalker-level weird. She groaned as she closed her eyes. How had things gone so off the rails? Small-town life was supposed to be easy. Simple. Uncomplicated.

This? This was anything but. She had a great guy living next door, which was fantastic. Straight out of a Hallmark movie. But then she had to insert herself into his life and … she did not know how to be normal. That was all there was to it.

The Keurig finished. She grabbed the cup, added sweetener and creamer and took a sip, hoping the caffeine would give her some clarity.

Modeling had ruined her. It had given her such a desire to live a normal life, but the truth was, she didn’t know what that meant. Or how to behave like a normal woman.

No one in a small town bid twenty-five thousand dollars on a man just so no other woman could have him. That was pretty much the definition of not-normal.

The toast popped up. She laid it on a plate, slathered it with butter, then preserves, and took the plate and her coffee out to the steps to keep an eye on Mackie.

He was sniffing at the fence that separated her yard from Adam’s. Probably smelled Sugarbelle. She shook her head. “Not today,” she whispered.

If Adam was out there, she didn’t want him to hear her. She needed him to be less aware of her, not more.

She ate her toast, which was delicious, and drank her coffee. The clarity she’d hoped for didn’t really come, at least not in the way she’d wanted. The light of day and the power of caffeine did nothing to make her situation better.

Adam was well within his rights to think she was batty.

She took another bite of toast. What she needed to do today was occupy herself. There was plenty to do. Plenty she needed for the house. She’d focus on that today.

And maybe, when she was in town, she’d stop by and see Birdie at the sheriff’s department. Get her take on things.

Sydney nodded. That wasn’t a bad plan. Birdie was older and wiser. She might even have an idea about how Sydney could fix all of this.

She just hoped it didn’t involve moving to a different town and starting over.