The rest of the date went smoothly, but the pings of anxiety returned on the drive home. I knew exactly what was coming, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. He was going to kiss me goodnight, and ask if he could come in. The latter was a definite no. I’d already decided that. I felt far too conflicted to sleep with him. But a goodnight kiss? Would that be so terrible?

I sat in the passenger seat of his car, calm and collected on the outside. On the inside, I was a mess. Distracted and confused. I shouldn’t have followed William today. All the unanswered questions rolling through my mind were making it hard to sort out how I felt about Blake. William’s constant presence in my thoughts was like a recurring interruption.

We got to my house and parked. Blake walked me up to my front door, his hand on the small of my back. We stopped, facing each other. His eyebrow lifted, just a centimeter, and the corner of his mouth hooked. He stepped closer and placed his hand on my waist. Leaned down and—

“Ivy.”

Startled by the voice, I moved back. William was walking up the path toward my door. His hands were in his pockets—his posture completely non-threatening—but I had the strangest feeling that if Blake so much as flinched in my direction, William would lay him out with one punch.

“William?” I glanced between the two men. Blake’s eyebrows were drawn in as he watched William approach. God, how was I going to explain this?

“Ivy, I, um…” Apparently William didn’t know what to say, either.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I’m sorry, who’s this?” Blake asked.

Well, William was kind of stalking me. And then I decided to stalk him back earlier today. You know, no big deal.

“Oh, this is William. He’s…” I fumbled. “He’s my neighbor. Was Edgar barking again? I’m really sorry about that.”

William blinked at me.

Please go along with it.

“Yeah, he…” William paused. “It’s okay.”

“Thanks for letting me know.” I widened my eyes and gave William a tiny nod, gesturing for him to leave, then turned to Blake. “I do need to take Edgar outside. He can’t wait as long as he used to.”

Right on cue, Edgar barked.

“See?” I said with a little shrug.

William was heading toward the street, half turned so he could still watch me and Blake. But at least he was leaving.

“No problem,” Blake said, his expression smoothing over as if the interruption hadn’t occurred. Before I could think about what was happening, he leaned in and placed his lips against mine.

I didn’t close my eyes—not all the way. And I didn’t quite kiss him back—not really. I almost looked to the side to see if William was watching. But I didn’t have to. I knew he was. And I knew I felt bad about it.

Blake’s kiss had an edge of assertiveness that told me if I gave him any encouragement, I’d have a tongue in my mouth in half a second. I gently pulled away, keeping it lips-only.

“I had a nice time,” I said. “Thanks again.”

“I did too.” Blake tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and ran his finger down my cheek.

I could see the unspoken question in his eyes. Could he come in?

“Goodnight, Blake.” I kept my voice firm and stepped back to put space between us.

A flash of frustration—maybe even anger—crossed his features. It was gone almost before I noticed, but I’d seen it. He was not happy with how this date was ending. The question was, would he take no for an answer?

I took out my keys and unlocked the door, watching Blake from the corner of my eye. He seemed on the verge of stepping into my personal space again. My back tightened, and I held my breath.

“Goodnight, Ivy,” he said. “I’ll call you.”

The air whooshed from my lungs as I opened the door. Blake walked back to his car as I slipped inside and shut the it behind me.

Edgar was waiting, his body tense, his ears perked up.

“Hey, buddy,” I said. My stomach felt a little sick. He licked my fingers and I scratched behind his ears. “Do you need to go outside?”

He hesitated, his focus still on the front door. For a second, I wondered if Blake had come back—or maybe William had. But the flash of headlights through the front window and the noise of Blake’s engine told me he was leaving. Once the sound of his car faded down the street, Edgar relaxed and headed toward the back door.

I put my purse and keys down and took him out back. The porch light winked on and Edgar went to his spot to do his business.

Although Edgar wasn’t acting like a stranger was around, I had a feeling William hadn’t gone far. “Are you out here somewhere?”

A slight pause, then William’s voice came from the other side of the fence. “Yes.”

I shook my head. This was getting out of control. I went to the side gate and opened it.

William appeared from around the corner of the fence. His hands were still in his pockets, and at least he had the grace to look guilty.

“What was that about?” I asked.

“I’m not your neighbor,” he said.

“I realize you’re not my neighbor, but I had to tell him something. Would you have preferred I introduce you as my stalker?”

“No.”

Edgar came up and sniffed William’s pants. William absently took his hand out of his pocket and scratched Edgar’s head.

“How do you do that?” I asked.

“Do what?”

I looked down at my dog. I’d never seen him take to another person this quickly before. His dislike of all humans besides his chosen few had started early. “Edgar doesn’t usually let people pet him.”

The corner of William’s mouth turned up and he glanced at Edgar, scratching behind his ears. “You should close the gate. He’d be hard to chase in the dark if he got out.”

“But… he’s…” God, I was so flustered. I was still trying to process everything. My date. Blake’s kiss. William barging in on us.

William stepped into my yard and closed the gate behind him.

My mouth hung open. “I didn’t invite you in.”

“I’m just making sure Edgar doesn’t run away.”

Edgar sat between us, his tail swishing through the grass.

“Edgar’s not the point,” I said. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you, I’m just looking out for you.”

“I don’t need anyone to look out for me.”

“That’s obviously not true,” he said, crossing his arms.

I put my hands on my hips. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“He kissed you.”

The accusation in his tone made me angry. And feel guilty—which made me angrier. “So? He took me on a date. There’s nothing wrong with a goodnight kiss after a date.”

“You didn’t want to kiss him,” he said.

“How would you know?” I asked.

“Because I know you.”

I sighed, shaking my head. “No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do.”

“You know where I have coffee, and you know where I work. You know my address. But you don’t know me.”

“Yes, I do,” he said again, his voice softening. If Edgar hadn’t been taking up the space between us, I think he might have moved in closer. “I know a lot about you, Ivy.”

“How?” I asked. “Have you been researching me, too? What did you find?”

“No, it’s nothing like that,” he said.

“Then why do you think you know me?” I asked.

“It’s not something I can explain.”

“Come on, Edgar,” I said, tapping my thigh. “William, you can’t keep following me around. I should have told you to stop already. This is ridiculous.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said.

“This isn’t normal,” I said. “People don’t pick strangers at random and decide they need to look out for them.”

“No, this isn’t random,” William said. “You’re…”

“I’m what?”

He pressed his lips together and his eyes were so intense. But he didn’t answer.

“I’m Ivy, is that it?” I said, finally. “I’m going inside. Close the gate behind you.”

I tapped my leg again and Edgar followed me to the back door.

“You shouldn’t be with him,” William said.

With my hand on the door, I paused, letting out a sigh. Don’t ask him, Ivy. Don’t encourage him. “Why?”

“Because you don’t want love that comes into your life with pomp and blare,” he said. “That guy is all pomp and blare.”

Pomp and blare? “What?”

“Perhaps, after all, romance did not come into one’s life with pomp and blare, like a gay knight riding down; perhaps it crept to one’s side like an old friend through quiet ways.”

“Did you just quote Anne of Avonlea at me?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I stared at him. Anne of Avonlea was one of my favorite books. And he just quoted one of my favorite passages. “William… I just… you make me so flustered. Look, I’ve only been out with Blake a few times. I’m not with him. But it’s not your business, either. And how many times have you read Anne of Avonlea that you can quote it?”

“I’ve never read it.”

“Then how do you know that passage?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I just do.”

“You make less and less sense every time we talk,” I said.

“Have coffee with me tomorrow,” he said. “I’ll try to explain. I don’t know if I can, but I’ll try.”

“Explain why you’re following me?” I asked. “And why you think you know me?”

“Yes.”

Logical Ivy knew I should say no. I’d been encouraging this insanity by spending time with him, and I needed to stop. But apparently logical Ivy wasn’t in charge tonight. “Okay. I’ll have coffee with you.”

“Good, thank you. Can I…” He trailed off and looked down, like he was suddenly nervous. It was so endearing, it made me want to drag him inside and snuggle with him on the couch. How did he do that to me? “Can I have your number?”

“My number? I’m surprised you don’t have it already.”

“No.” He sounded surprised, almost offended, like he was shocked I would suggest such a thing. “I’ve never asked for your number. How would I have it?”

“You found out where I live,” I said.

“That’s not the same,” he said. “You have to ask a woman for her number.”

I started to say it was exactly the same, but I didn’t want to argue with him. And I had what was more than a small twinge of guilt for knowing where he lived without him being aware of it. I just wanted this conversation—this entire day—to be over.

“Okay,” I said. He pulled out his phone and I gave him my number.

“Thank you,” he said. “I have a few things to do tomorrow, so I’ll call you when I’m done. Then we can get together?”

“Sure,” I said. “I guess I’ll talk to you then.”

He smiled and went to the gate. “Don’t forget to lock your doors.”

“I won’t.”

“Goodnight, Ivy.” With one more glance at me, his eyes gleaming even in the darkness, he left.