I shoved her away. “Oh my gosh! Go jump off a bridge. I hate you.”
She came up behind me and wrestled me into a hug. “You know I’m kidding.” She pressed a kiss to my cheek. “But seriously, you are in danger of turning into an old lonely weird woman who stalks strangers. Be nice to this vet. Maybe he could be the one.” She whispered the final words as if they were dusted in sparkly gold.
“I’m nice to everyone,” I informed her, prying her hands off me. “Case in point, me taking your two demons to the park.”
“We aren’t demons.” Paige bounced into the room. “We are humans.”
“No!” Caleb interjected, following his big sister into the room. “I’m a ninja.” He twirled and came to a stop, hands extended as if he was karate chopping someone.
“Yeah,” I deadpanned. “Demons.” I pocketed my phone and grabbed my purse. “Now, come on. Let’s go let Mommy and Daddy have some happy time. After the park, we’re going to pick up Mr. Oinks!”
The kids cheered and Ansley glared at me. “You’re welcome,” I mouthed.
She rolled her eyes and tossed me her keys. “Shut up and take the minivan.”
13
On their way back into the neighborhood, he swore he saw her behind the wheel of a minivan, a child bouncing in the backseat. It wasn’t her, of course. He knew that minivan, it was the cute mom from a few houses down, the one who overdid it each year with Christmas decorations and had a husband who looked like the type who irons his underwear.
“She’s getting under your skin.” Nate shifted gears, his to-go cup gripped in his left hand while he steered with his forearm. “You’re seeing her everywhere.”
It was true. It was getting hard to know when she was actually following him and when he was being paranoid. He’d scared the hell out of a woman in Target the other day, turning around and yelling at her to “go follow someone else” before he realized it wasn’t her.
“I know the perfect thing to get your mind off it.” Nate slowed, making the sharp turn into his driveway. Declan peered up at the security cameras, reassured when his phone hummed, a notification popping up. “Tinder.”
MOTION DETECTED!
Press here to see the live video!
Declan pressed on the screen and watched as a clear image popped up, showing Nate getting out of the Jeep. Declan followed suit and caught up to his partner, holding out the phone. “Look.”
The man examined it, then glanced up, waving at the camera. “Pretty cool. It capture anything while we were gone?”
“No.” He shut down the feed and put the phone in his pocket, pulling out his keys and approaching the front door. It was stupid to feel disappointed that she hadn’t returned. He should be happy. Maybe his Facebook invite hadn’t been an entirely bad thing. Maybe it had scared her off.
“So, you in?”
“In for what?” He worked the key in the lock.
“Trying Tinder. To get your mind off Autumn.”
It irritated him that they now knew her name, a new level of intimacy slapped on the relationship. “I’m not getting on Tinder.”
“Come on.” He followed Declan inside. “I found this chick on there last week who sucked my balls like that vacuum at the car place. And then she left. Straight walked out the door and got in her car. No cuddles, no talking, nothing.”
“That sounds terrible.”
“No, the ball sucking was good. Unexpectedly good.” He settled into the couch as if he planned on staying there. “I was surprised too, because normally I’m not really into that—”
“Please stop talking.” Declan hung his keys on the hook. “And go home.”
His best friend had the audacity to look hurt. “What the fuck, dude?”
“I’m pissed off and visions of your balls getting sucked—believe it or not—isn’t helping me.”
“You know I only sent her that friend invite because I was drunk.” Nate offered the explanation like it solved everything, like that action hadn’t opened a possible line of communication with her, or ruined any advantage that Declan might have had, knowing her identity.
Declan rubbed his forehead. “I’ll see you at the office tomorrow. I just need to work out and burn off some steam.”
“Exactly.” Nate didn’t move from his spot on the couch. “Tinder. I’m telling you, it’s magic.”
“You act like you’ve never met me before. Do I seem like a fucking Tinder guy?”
“Every guy is a Tinder guy. Trust me.” He set his cup on the coffee table and Declan automatically reached for a coaster, the replacement prompting a chuckle from Nate. “I should stay.” Nate leaned forward. “What if psycho bitch comes tonight? You’ll need backup.”
“I won’t need backup.” Declan gestured to the door. “Get out of here.”
“Fine.” He stood. “But if you’re not getting on Tinder, then call that woman from the other night. The one you went on a date with. You need some love in your life, man.”