She nodded. “I want that too, Rob. I don’t know where this will go, but I’d like to figure it out.”
His heart leaped at the possibility that she felt the same way he did. Attraction. Warmth. Hope. All tempering the grief they’d both lived with for the past months.
A wet nose intruded between them, as a furry body and heavy paws leaned in. “What do you think, Maverick?” he asked the canine. Almost as if he knew what Rob was asking, the dog gave a sharp bark. He felt the loss of MJ’s hands around him as she turned to stroke the dog.
“I think he likes the idea. Apparently, he wants to be in the middle of our relationship,” she said.
“He definitely is. C’mon. Let’s go take him for a walk.” Rob grabbed her hand and pulled her up, once again drawing her into his embrace. God, he could get used to this.
Chapter Fifteen
Once they were outside, Rob clipped Maverick into his harness and handed her the leash.
“Heel,” she said as they started off. Maverick quickly assumed the position on her left side. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders as Rob had taught her, looking ahead.
“That’s great,” he said. “You’re letting him know what you want. You’re definitely the leader, MJ.”
She smiled at his compliment, even though she didn’t turn around to look at him. Despite what had happened back in her living room, this was business. She and Maverick were training together. There’d be time later for flirting.
As they walked past a neighboring yard, a rabbit darted from under a bush, ran across the sidewalk in front of them, and crossed the street. She felt Maverick tense. “Heel,” she said again, and she felt the tension in the leash relax.
“Nice job. You let him know he’s working, and can’t play ‘catch the bunny.’ That’s one of his favorite games. His instinct is to run after it, but he’s accepting your commands and listening to you.”
“What if he didn’t?”
“Then you would have a struggle on your hands. He’s strong, and he could pull you over trying to go after it. That’s why you never ever wrap the leash around your hand or wrist.”
She nodded. It felt weird to have Rob walking behind them, critiquing her form, and probably watching her ass.
“Get him to stop and sit.”
She immediately stopped, and Maverick followed her non-verbal instruction and stopped. “Sit.” He dropped to his haunches and sat.
Before she could ask, Rob explained, “You don’t have to give all of his commands in Italian. Basic ones, like heel, sit, lie down, he also knows in English. If he’s working, though, you’ll want to use Italian with an East Tennessee accent.”
“What sort of work will he be doing?”
“I don’t know. We’ll figure that out as we go along. I doubt you’ll leave your job as a librarian and become a police officer or TSA agent. Don’t worry. We’ll think of something.”
The streetlights came on, and they continued to walk around the block in the dark. Streetlights lit the corners, but shadows engulfed much of the area between them. After walking around the block twice, they came back to her house. She let Maverick off the lead to do his business in the backyard.
Rob leaned in from behind and captured her in his arms. “You did great, sweetheart. I can’t believe how far you’ve come in a relatively short time.” He planted a kiss below her right ear, and she shivered.
Maverick came and sat at her feet, looking pleased. It was adorable the way he seemed to smile. “C’mon, boy, let’s go in.” She leaned back and grabbed Rob’s hand and laced her fingers with his as the three of them went up the back steps and into the kitchen.
“I’ll do the dishes. Why don’t you go ahead and get ready for bed? You’ve got to work tomorrow.” Rob rolled up his sleeves.
“Okay. Thanks.” Apparently, they weren’t going back to where they’d left off. She sighed as she headed down the hall toward her bedroom. “Goodnight. Thanks for such a wonderful dinner.”
“You’re welcome. It’s the least I can do. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Maverick followed her down the hall and lay on the floor at the foot of her bed. Guess he was sleeping in here tonight. That meant he accepted her, right? After changing, brushing her teeth, washing her face, and applying body lotion, she snuggled under the covers and tried to sleep. Thoughts of Rob ran through her head. Was she ready to move on from Trevor and give this relationship with Rob a chance? She sighed as she thought about his kisses. Yes. She wanted to see where this could go.
She woke with a start in the dark room. She looked at the clock, scrunching her eyes to focus. Two-thirty. She’d been dreaming. Her mind searched to remember. Trevor. She’d been walking hand in hand with him, on the banks of a river in the mountains. “I want you to move on,” he’d said. “I’m no longer around, and I want you to be happy.” In the dream, she’d tried to talk him out of it, tried to talk him into staying with her.
“I love you, Trevor,” she’d said. “Why didn’t you give us a chance? Why did you wait to tell me you loved me?”
She’d reached out to touch him, to stand on tiptoes to kiss
