That’s so sweet!
Her words inspired another chest-puffing.Yeah, he was a dog rescuer and sweet. At least in Natalie’s amber eyes,and for as long as it lasted, that was plenty. He ended with Mypleasure.
Glancing at the TV, he realized he’d missed the entire gamefor all the rides up and down the elevator. Damn it.
Before he climbed into bed a while later, he cleaned up morespilled water and discovered how hard kibble is on bare soles. He coaxed Fordinto the very plush, very expensive dog bed—in vain. The dog would have none ofit, whimpering at T.J.’s bedside instead. Short of sleeping in his closet orthe bathroom, T.J. couldn’t escape the beast. Giving in to fatigue, he let thething climb into bed with him to shut him up.
“Do not get used to this,” he told Ford firmlybetween yawns. “Tomorrow, you’re in your own bed.”
He tried not to contemplate how pathetic it was that thefirst warm body he’d slept with in over a month was furry.
.~* * * ~.
Natalie tossed her head side toside, trying to mold her pillow into something comfortable enough to help herblock the numbers marching across the ledger sheets in her mind—the onescontinually jumping into the negative column. If only she could suspend them,she could float off to sleep. God, she needed sleep! The open laptop on her bedflickered with the end credits to Kate and Leopold, a movie that neverfailed to fill her with happy bubbles she could drift away on. Except tonight. And this was the third romcomtonight.
“Hugh Jackman, you’re yummy, butyou’re no Keanu,” she told the TV. Squeezing her eyes tight, she triedconjuring Keanu Reeves’s John Wick into a nineteenth-century duke waltzing heraround an elegant ballroom. She almost had the image. Just as he tightened hisgrip on her dainty waist—it was her fantasy after all—her phone chimedwith a text, popping her eyes wide, kick-starting her heart. It was either Drew, Mom, or Tyler. The first two werepanic-worthy, and she prayed it was neither of them. The third? He’d beflummoxed, reporting the latest Ford antic, which she’d find entertaining, adistraction that could get her back to her bubbly place. Plus, she’damuse herself compiling a list of “services” she could extract—it would be along one.
She snatched the phone from her nightstand and sagged withoption four—she hadn’t considered Kristin. Sorry it’s so late.
Natalie drew in a sharp breath and exhaled all thought ofKeanu. Everything okay? She cringed, hoping Kevin was all right.
Yes. Just wanted to shift tomorrow’s sked.Can you come earlier?
Natalie’s first reaction was all snark,but Grace Guilt demanded she take the high road.
No problem.
Thx. Have a good night.
“Yeah, what’s left of it,” Natalie hmphed.
She mentally rearranged her morning, her heart growing moreleaden as she pondered tomorrow … and the next day … and the next. The doctors saidKevin was getting better, but what did “better” mean? Would he one day be theKevin she’d started falling for or someone entirely different? And when did hishealing end? Two months? Two years?
She’d fallen into Alice’s rabbit hole and was becoming moredistraught trying to make sense of a world that made no sense. As she tried todo the right thing, be the rock Kevin needed, she was losing herself in aquagmire. How could she be there for him when she was unsure where she stood?
Scrolling through her phone, her thumb landed on an earliertext exchange. She laughed aloud at a late message from Tyler: a heavy-lidded selfie with Ford sound asleep on his shoulder. Urbearing witness to the last time this happens. Ever. Ur welcome. She’d haveto educate him on the finer points of crating the dog.
Staring at the sweet image, her heart grew a smidge lighter,airier, as if she’d been dosed with helium. The picture depicted Tyler frommid-chest up, his head on a pillow, the dog cradled in his left arm. He wore ablack tank that revealed parts of a detailed tattoo along a muscular bicep,shoulder, and chest. The colors were vivid: reds, yellows, blues, greens. Tattoos weren’t her thing, but this one piqued hercuriosity because it looked like a gorgeous piece of art. What did the wholething look like?
Her mind began to unwind as it found another focus,wandering back to this afternoon. She’d felt normal for the first time in along while, lost—even happy—in the part she’d played in Buddy Boo-Ford’sadoption. Laughter had come easier today, sparked by Tyler’s brawnypersona brought to his knees by the adorable, cross-eyed dog. No lie, she’dwitnessed moments between the two that had warmed her heart. Tyler’s selfie summed up the man-dog relationship succinctly and wentalong with her perception of him as a cream puff.
If the interaction with the dog hadn’t been enough to outhim, he’d outed himself by giving her name to apotential bookkeeping client—a solid one, based on Natalie’s research. PaigeMiller, owner of Anderson Homes and a finalist for Denver’s Woman Entrepreneurof the Year, held an impressive resume. How did Tyler know her?
Tyler. When he’d started his tank, Roman history hadblared—not X Ambassadors or OneRepublic—and he’d shutit off with an embarrassed smile. Though she’d hidden it, she’d been impressed.Intrigued. The guy was sharp-witted, and she’d enjoyed their easyback-and-forth. She’d sensed a flirtatious undercurrent, and though she refusedto examine it too closely, it had been fun trading banter. Andif he had intended the double meanings? Fun and flattering,but it wouldn’t go any further. She couldn’t do that to Kevin.
As for Ford, if Tyler hadn’t adopted him, she’d beentempted. With personality-plus and a zeal to please inthose crossed eyes, the animal had captivated her heart.
All in all, the afternoon had turned into a bright island ina morass—a refuge of sorts—and she found herself looking forward to Ford’svisit.
.~* * * ~.
Done with his workout in theBlizzard training room, T.J. stopped by Serena’s office to collect Ford. “Hey,thanks again for watching him.”
“No problem.” She smiled sweetly. “I just couldn’t stand tothink of him locked up in your car for hours.”
T.J. had planned to check on him frequently, but Serenahad seen him with Ford during his first check-in and offered
