Only minutes before, Addison had walked into her house confident Joanna meant nothing to her, but it seems distance has a way of skewing perspective. Addison couldn’t help but breathe deeply the scent of the woman’s perfume, and the sight of Joanna in tight-fitting jeans, her eyes smoldering with defiance, was like a match to Addison’s flame, turning her single-mindedness into cinders instantly.

Addison was torn. She was bothered her backbone had weakened so easily, but after spending eight days hardly talking to anyone, she found herself enjoying the conversation no matter how heated. She already knew Joanna was going to get her way, but Addison couldn’t make herself give in just yet. Squaring her shoulders, she said, “I don’t like dogs.”

“Why not?”

“They shed.”

Joanna smiled. “He’s a Yorkie mix. He shouldn’t shed that much.”

“They bark.”

“I’ll do my best to keep him quiet.”

“He’ll pee in the house.”

“He’s been here a week, and he’s almost housetrained.”

“Almost?”

Joanna nodded. “Yes, almost, but it should only take another few days.”

Having refused to give the puppy even a cursory glance, Addison finally lowered her eyes and stared at the ball of fur barely filling Joanna’s hand. “He’s too small. He’ll get stepped on.”

“My problem, not yours.”

Standing off to the side, Evelyn had remained quiet throughout the contest of wills, but seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, she stepped forward. “And I’ll help,” she said. “I’m not a stranger to dogs. Between Joanna and me, Chauncey will be walking the straight and narrow in no time. I promise he won’t get in your way.”

Addison looked at Evelyn and then back at Joanna before letting out a sigh and heading toward her study. “Fine,” she said, turning around as she reached the door. “But I don’t want to hear him, and I don’t want to see him. He gets in my way, and he’s gone.”

***

Addison climbed the spiral stairs slowly. For the fourth night in a row, she had exercised until her muscles could take no more, but her exhaustion only added to her loneliness. Joanna had yet to say another word to her, and each time Addison had offered a “good evening” when Joanna appeared in the dining room, Joanna had ignored her, just as Addison had done to her so many times before.

The missing candelabra had gone unmentioned, and the scrumptious meals Noah prepared hadn’t caused Joanna to comment, and Addison was at a loss. Stalemate was a place she’d never been before.