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The woman turned, smiling as she leaned down and patted Bebe, who ate it up with excitement. Once she straightened, she finally noticed me.
“Oh, hello,” she said, giving me a polite smile. Her make-up was lightly done to accentuate her beautiful, dark features. Confident. Mature.
I looked at her, at the car, and back at the house that she obviously just locked. Seth gave me a key a long time ago, so it wasn’t an issue for me, but it left me wondering who she was to have a copy of the key too.
Something dark tightened in my stomach and almost made me ache. Nausea settled heavily and my chest hurt as I watched her.
“Hi,” I finally said, remembering that she had spoken to me. “Who are you? Why are you at Seth’s house?”
“Oh. You know Seth?” Her smile widened as she came closer.
Bebe was now looking between the two of us, his head swiveling back and forth every time we talked. Poor boy looked confused.
Me too, little guy. Me too.
Who was this woman and why was she here? What was she to Seth?
Chapter Seven
“I’m Seth’s friend.” I pointed at my house. “And neighbor. I’ve never seen you before.” There was no hiding the suspicious attitude the longer I looked at her. She was so beautiful. Definitely more mature. Older. Made me wonder who else was in his life.
Seth had expressed interest in dating me, but looking at her, I felt so small. So insignificant. I felt like a child. And I hated that. Absolutely hated it.
I had to work to keep my jaw relaxed as I waited for her response.
And of course she did the adult thing and only smiled wider, not seeming bothered by my attitude at all. She came over and held out her hand. “Peyton Eames. So you’re Cadence. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“No offense,” I said carefully. “I still don’t know who you are.”
Her eyes widened, and she let out a small bark of laughter. She coughed and shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I guess I should start with ‘Hello, I’m Seth’s aunt.’”
“His aunt?”
She flashed her teeth. “Yes. Through his stepdad.”
“Oh.” That made more sense.
My cheeks heated with embarrassment as I realized that dark icky feeling had been jealousy. I saw a pretty woman Seth knew and the jealousy nearly consumed me.
I released a breath and finally returned her smile. “Nice to meet you. Seth is still at work today.”
She waved her hand, the bracelets on her wrist tingling. “It’s fine. I already dropped off what he left behind and decided to check on Bebe before I headed back home.”
Once he heard his name, Bebe gave off a sharp bark and bumped into my hand, finally ready to receive my attention since Peyton wasn’t giving him any.
I rubbed the top of his head, letting his soft familiarness keep me focused and relaxed.
“Is everything okay with him?” I checked Bebe’s body quickly. He looked healthy to me, even felt it. I was pretty sure the guy weighed more than I did, but he wore it well on his frame. His reddish-brown coat looked shiny, and felt soft and smooth. He moved around with all the energy in the world. More than enough for the both of us. I kind of wished I could draw on his energy to help keep me going.
“He’s healthy and well cared for. I’d beat Seth’s ass into the ground if he ever did anything to hurt Bebe. I was about to check his training and make sure Seth hadn’t been slacking. Want to join? He looks like he’s in good form today.”
“Uh, sure.”
Peyton grinned. “Great. And while we do that, you can tell me more about yourself. Seth has told me a little bit, but I’d like to know more about the girl who stole my nephew’s heart.”
My face burned with embarrassment as she talked. Stole Seth’s heart? I wasn’t so sure about that one.
Peyton dug in her jacket pocket and pulled out a small plastic bag. Bebe went nuts as soon as he saw it, jumping around.
