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avoid looking like the creepy stalker type who looked up exes online and searched their family’s social media accounts. Throughout their conversation, Audrey remained skeptical that he’d changed very much in the past eight or nine years since she’d seen him last.    
     
    “I’m surprised you’re not settled down,” she commented.  
     
    “Me? I thought for sure you’d be married by now,” he said, turning the tables on her.  
     
    “Yeah right. I’ve been through a lot. I don’t think I’m ready for that chapter in my life yet, but it might be nice to find someone one of these days.” She glanced at him, trying to gauge his reaction.  
     
    “I’ve been busy myself, not a lot of time for a love life,” he lied. He could do whatever he wanted, the problem was that he compared everyone to Audrey. No one ever measured up.  
     
    “You know what I do for a living. How about you?” she asked, wiping her mouth with her napkin.  
     
    “When I graduated, I developed software designed for large companies to do specialized invoicing based on their particular platform.”  
     
    “Wow, that’s quite impressive! How do you sell it or whatever you just said?”  
     
    “Initially, I sought out companies and let them try it out. It became one of the most well-known invoicing systems in history. I primarily sell it to Fortune 500 companies.”  
     
    “Where do you work?” she asked, amazed by his great success.  
     
    “I work for myself. I own Wetzel Software Design. Have you heard of it?”  
     
    “No, it doesn’t ring a bell.” She bit her lip and thought for a moment, “Actually, I believe I’ve seen it in the paper. Do you publicly trade it on the stock market? I kind of recall seeing something about the shares splitting since the company was experiencing rapid growth.”  
     
    He nodded, “You’d be correct.” Feeling as though they’d talked enough about him, he wanted out of the spotlight for a moment. “You want to get out of here? Go get some ice cream or something?”  
     
    “I’d love to,” Audrey smiled.  
     
    “Come on, let’s get out of here.”  
     

Chapter Four  
     
    When Chad dropped Audrey off, she was in a daze. She wasn’t sure what to believe. Part of her wanted to believe that he was sincere and had changed his ways, but she didn’t accept that to be true. Like his usual self, he knew all the right things to say and when to say them. I guess that’s why he was always such a ladies man, she thought. Maybe I should just chalk it up to a nice dinner with an old friend. I would kind of like it to be more than that, though. A companion would be nice, someone I could come home to and talk about my day with, someone to cuddle with. Oh, I don’t know what to think. How do I always get sucked into the most ridiculous thoughts and ideas?  
     
    The next morning, she rose out of bed and began to get ready for work. Thoughts of Chad and their dinner date from the previous evening plagued her mind as she battled her heart. Pulling her hair into a messy ponytail, she stared at herself in the mirror wondering whether he had any romantic intentions or if he was just polite. Around lunch time that afternoon, she received a text message from him that seemed to confirm her thoughts.  
     
    Had a great time last night. Can’t wait to do it again. Are you free this weekend?  
     
    So, he does have some romantic intentions, she smiled. That must have been why he brought the roses; I should’ve known. I had a great time, too! Probably more than I’d like to admit, honestly. Being the type of person that he was in college—when I used to know him—doesn’t give me much hope now. Right now, I’m at a critical point in my life. I need stability. Someone who will be there for me, understand me and not judge me. What would he think if he found out that I’m a recovering heroin addict? He’s definitely made a name for himself, and I doubt that he’d want