Page 29 of Devoted Enough

Ted walked up and leaned down to kiss me on the cheek. “I was worried and saw you were still at this location, so I thought I would come to see if you still needed a ride home.”

“Are you tracking her?” Nate asked, a tone of bitterness in his voice.

Ted looked at Nate and held out his hand. “Ted Reynolds.”

At first, I didn’t think Nate was going to shake Ted’s hand, but his good manners won out. He reached out and pumped once before dropping his hand.

“Nate Shaw.”

Ted smiled as he said, “Nice to meet you, Nate.”

Confused, I looked at Ted. “How did you know I was still here?”

He held up his phone. “Find my friends app on your phone.”

“I shared my location with you last night; I didn’t think it would still track me.”

“It did. It looks like you don’t need me after all.”

Rocking back and forth on his feet, Ted looked between me and Nate before he settled his gaze on me. “I’ll follow you back to your place unless you need to go walk the dogs.”

“No,” I said with a shake of my head. “Today’s appointments were canceled.”

“Great! I don’t have any clients today, so we can spend the day together.” Facing Nate, Ted said, “Thank you for coming to my girl’s rescue last night.”

My head drew back some, and I stared at Ted.My girl?What in the world was up with that? We’d gone out on a few dates, and I was suddenly his girl when I knew he dated other women.

Nate forced a smile, and I could see a tic in his jaw. “Sure thing.”

If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought Nate was jealous.

Impossible.

“Ready to leave?” Ted asked as he reached for my hand. I quickly pulled it back. I wasn’t sure why, but it seemed like the right thing to do at that moment.

With a forced smile, I said, “Why don’t you head out, and I’ll meet you at my apartment.”

Ted’s smile faltered slightly, but he quickly recovered. “Sounds like a plan. It was nice to meet you, Nate.”

With a single head bob, Nate replied, “You too.”

Once Ted was back in his truck and turning around to head down the long drive, I asked, “How did he get through your gate?”

“It was open for Hank.”

Nodding, I faced Nate. I smiled and asked, “What were you going to say before Ted showed up?”

Nate’s eyes suddenly changed. They looked void of emotion, unlike only minutes before when he looked at me, and they seemed to sparkle.

His hands returned to his pockets, and he stepped away from me. “Nothing. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Are you sure? You seemed serious about something that happened last night.”

He shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

I chewed nervously on my lower lip. “You’re sure?”

His face lifted, and his gaze met mine. For a second, I thought he would step closer and kiss me. Instead, he took another step back.

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