“Unfortunately, yes, along with some important bookkeepingclients.”
“Because?”
“Well,” she cleared her throat, “since Kevin got hurt, I’vebeen spending more time on him and less on my clients. He counts on me beingthere for him, and I don’t want to disappoint him. I hate letting my clientsdown, but his recovery has to come first.”
Bands of guilt cinched T.J.’s chest.
They were approaching the battered red Durango, the sight ofwhich only fueled his remorse. The fault for her struggles fell squarely on hisshoulders. The thought leveled him.
Just like I leveled May.
When he’d hit May, he hadn’t had a thought in his head,especially about unintended consequences. Consequences beyondthe injury itself. Consequences like the one walking beside him.
“And speaking of clients, I should hurry. I need to take a pawsand check on a sick one.” She smiled broadly, that smile transforming herfeatures into something positively breathtaking. “Get it? It’s a little joke.You know, pause and paws?”
Nodding numbly, he ignored the clenching in his stomach thathad annihilated the warm fuzzies floating there onlymoments before.
He scrambled mentally. Could he figure out a way to makethings easier for her? Bookkeeping, dog-sitting, and magazine writing weren’tservices he needed. As for anything financial, he’d hired a damn good planneryears ago who was worth her weight in gold. And whilehe possibly had no right to come to Natalie’s aid—she hadn’t asked for it—anurge to help her pitched inside him.
A scheme flared in his brain, and he shut down theaccompanying murmurs telling him it was a really bad idea. As long asNatalie Amber Eyes didn’t find out who he was, he could help. Yeah, right.This has to top the list of the worst ideas I’ve ever had. The thoughtdidn’t prevent him opening his mouth. “Are you looking for new dog-sitting clients?”
Stopping beside the car, she folded her arms, seeming toappraise him. “Always.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I only ask because I havethis friend who has a dog, and, uh, he left it with me … because …” Another brainwavestruck, and he rushed on. “He’s the one I’ve been visiting in the hospital.I’ve been trying to figure out what to do when I’m, you know, at work. Wouldyou be able to take on one more?” What the actual fuck, dumbass? Thinking onyour feet is not working for you. At all.
She turned her head, a glint in her gorgeous gaze. “Whatkind of dog?”
An air dog because it’s pure fabrication. “Uh, just amutt.” He shrugged, drawing a blank. Shit.
“Big mutt? Little mutt? Red dog?Blue dog?”
“Ha! Go, Dog. Go!”
One of Natalie’s delicate eyebrows dipped, and a tinyvertical crease formed along its front edge.
Right. Moving on. “Nothing as big as Meathead. A Labmix.” Everyone loves Labs, right? “He’s a great dog. I helped trainhim,” he blurted, piling it on the rest of the crap he was vomiting. “Why don’tyou give me your contact info?” he quickly added.
T.J. had abided by the motto “Keep your yap shut, and peoplewon’t know how big an idiot you are” for most of his twenty-seven years. Hell,it had been how he’d survived his childhood. For some reason, his mouth hadrevolted today, gone rogue, and completely abandoned that time-tested maxim.
Chewing the inside of her cheek, she studied him. He waspretty damn sure she could see every single gear grinding behind his façade—notto mention the façade itself—which made him squirm inside.
“Where do you live?”
This threw him. “Why?”
She rolled her eyes, and he was pretty sure she was thinkinghe was a dumb fuck. “So I can figure out if he’d fit into my route.”
“Route?” A hopelessly dumb fuck.
“I make stops several times a day at each dog’s home, and ifyours is close en—”
“Oh shit! I mean, I get it. Ididn’t realize you come to their houses.” Well, fuck me. First visitshe’ll figure out who I am.
His mouth plowed on. “That’s not always doable. What if Idid like your brother and dropped the dog off? I’m willing to pay fortwenty-four-seven service a few months in advance, even if I don’t need itevery day.”
She resumed chewing her cheek.
In for a dime, in for a dollar.“Hey, I don’t bite. Neither does the dog.” He kept his voice as even as hecould, considering he’d never done anything like this in his whole fuckinglife, and he was on ground shakier than the Calaveras Fault running underHollister. “I can always introduce you to the furry rascal. Do you interviewyour dogs?”
Her face lit up with a laugh. There it was again. God, shewas beautiful. Kevin May was one lucky bastard. Excepthe’s lying in a hospital bed.
“I meet them, yes. I have to be sure we’ll get along. As forbringing the dog over, he’d have to pass the Annie-Meathead test.”
He let relief twitch his mouth into a grin. “That works. Sohow do I get a hold of you?”
She opened the driver’s door, leaned in, and began rummagingaround in her vehicle. Which gave him the perfect opportunity to take in herlong, graceful legs and round, shapely ass. His cock jumped to attention as hepictured his hands on said ass. Reason kicked in. Do. Not. Go. There.
A voice inside his head told him to run. Fast. Besides theglaring fact that this girl belonged to someone else—Kevin May, no less—shewasn’t a candidate for casual. No way. She would be somebody’s longgame—exclusivity, commitment, the girl you brought home to meet family, the oneyou showered with I-love-you’s, anniversary gifts,and a white picket fence. The girl you had babies with. Not the girl forhim.
But another voice shouted the first one down. I haveto do this. For her. To seteverything right.
“What’s the dog’s name?” she called over her shoulder.
He coughed. “Uh, Fido.”
She ducked out of the car and skewered him with herexquisite eyes. Oh shit. Did she see me checking her out? “Fido?Seriously?”
He shifted his weight from left to right. And back again. “Iknow. Lame, huh? Actually, that’s his middle name. His first name’s, ah …” Acar rumbled past. “Ford.” He mentally smacked the heel of his hand against histemple. Jesuuus!
“Ford Fido?” She let out a little snort, as if she wereswallowing a full-blown
