Jace pounded the “For sale” sign into the ground in front of his house. It felt good to be moving on. He’d bought an apartment suite in the center of Denver earlier in the week and couldn’t wait to leave this house behind.

His teammate Frankie stood next to him. “Good riddance to Stacy. I never liked her anyway.”

Of course he had to say that. That was loyalty.

“Yeah.” Jace’s voice didn’t sound as certain as he felt. His eyes flicked across the street. He couldn’t see Addison. He’d remembered her name later that night and wished he could text her or something and apologize for being so rude.

What was wrong with him? It did make him seem like some prima donna not to remember her name.

“Was your mom ticked you’ve been shutting her out?” Frankie asked, looking at his phone.

He sighed. “Man, I know I should have gone over sooner. I just couldn’t. She just texted me and said we should come over for dinner tonight.”

Frankie grinned. “Your mom always goes the extra mile, man.”

Jace smiled. “You always use me for Mom’s cooking—have since college. I think she even cut your crusts off for you last time.”

Giving him a nod, Frankie smiled. “She loves me.”

He was still staring at Addison’s house. It was probably a good thing he was moving. He felt like a fool for trying to sit by her the other day.

He had actually taken her advise and looked up Cooper Harrison. He’d been doing the gratitude affirmations and kind of praying. Surprisingly, he’d started going through the little details in his life he was grateful for. She was right. It did make him feel better, but it was still probably a good thing he was leaving the neighborhood.

“There’s some chick staring at you,” Frankie said.

Turning, Jace saw her through the window. The curtains made it difficult to see, but he knew she was there.

“Kinda creepy. Do you know her?”

Without thinking, Jace took off for her house, stopping on the doorstep.

Frankie didn’t follow.

He rang the doorbell. A couple of seconds later, she swung open the door.

Unlike the other day at Cubbies, she wasn’t dressed up. She wore jeans, no shoes, and a black top that showed off her figure. “H-hey.”

Lifting his brows at her, he gave her a soft smile. “Addison.”

Unsure if she was happy to have him standing on her porch or not, she crossed her arms. “You remembered.”

As if he’d accomplished something like stepping on the moon, his grin widened. “I remembered.”

She quirked her lip, but her gaze drifted past him. “I saw your sign.”

“Yep.” He gestured back to it. “Just got it up.” He didn’t know this woman, but it was odd how he felt like she was the most familiar person. Like she’d been the blurred setting in a picture and now had been brought into extreme focus. She was pretty in that girl-next-door way. Blonde with a smattering of freckles. Her straight hair hung loose down her back, glistening in the sun, and he felt guilty for even noticing. For heaven’s sake, she was married. And he was technically still married, too. This attraction for her had to stop.

“Well, if you came for more cookies, it’s not baking day.”

He caught the teasing in her voice and felt himself relax. This was ridiculous, how much he actually liked the neighbor who had been there the whole time, who he’d hardly noticed or remembered before she brought him cookies. “No. Thank you though. Those were delicious. I came to tell you goodbye and that I looked up Cooper Harrison.”

Her eyes lit up. “You did?”

“I did. I’ve been doing a couple of minutes of gratitude each day. You were right. I do have a lot to be grateful for.” Okay, now his heart had picked up speed, and he felt a bit nervous.

“I’m happy for you.”

“Maybe sometime I’ll get down to your center.”

She shook her finger at him. “You know, I heard about a mysterious furniture order that came in for that family specifically—the one from Somalia with six kids.”

“Hmm. I’m glad that worked out.” He couldn’t stop the half grin on his face. Yeah, he was proud of himself, and it had felt good to help someone, even if it was only buying furniture.

Their eyes held for a few minutes. Then she nodded. “Well, good luck to you, Jace Harding.” She winked at him. “Just remember to catch that winning touchdown, okay? Go Storm.” She said the last part with weak enthusiasm.

There was something about her that made him not want to walk away. After all, he was just getting to know her. His world had exploded, and they weren’t going to be neighbors anymore. It was stupid and pointless. She had a life already—one that was still perfectly intact. Giving her a mock salute, he turned away. “Goodbye, Addison.”

She laughed, and the sound followed him as he walked over to his teammate’s cocked eyebrow.

“The neighbor’s hot,” Frankie said when he got to him.

Jace rolled his eyes. “She’s married.” He thought of how good she was. How she had spoken of those refugees with such passion. Then he thought of how selfish he was. How Addison had been right. He had a lot to be grateful for. “Plus, that kind of woman is totally out of our league.”