As Aidan crossed the green, he glanced toward Pet Style, blinked and looked again. Yep, no question about it. That was his dog sitting just inside the door barking his fool head off.
Even as he stared, Liz opened the door and Archie made a dash across the thankfully deserted street and straight for him. Aidan barely managed to get the bucket with the fish out of the dog’s path before Archie jumped up to lick his face, then caught wind of the fish and tried to investigate.
“Get your nose out of there,” Aidan commanded. “That’s my dinner and I worked very hard for it. Now sit!”
To his shock, Archie obeyed the command. That was a first, but definitely a welcome one. More shocking, though, was the fact that his dog—the one he’d left in his locked apartment—had been with Liz. How on earth had that happened? Did he have some sort of O’Brien gene in his blood, too, the kind that had him meddling to straighten out Aidan’s love life? Was he an escape artist on top of that?
There was only one way to solve that particular mystery. He headed for Pet Style, uncertain of his welcome.
Liz was waiting for him just inside the door. Clearly she’d anticipated his arrival, but the way she was nervously clenching her hands together suggested she was as uncertain as he was. One glance told him she’d slept no better than he had, but he was wise enough not to mention it.
“This is unexpected,” he said, nodding in the direction of the dog, who was now sitting docilely at his feet with a rawhide bone in his mouth. That was new, too. “You taking in boarders again? Giving them treats they probably don’t deserve, because you’re a soft touch?”
A blush tinted her cheeks. “Not exactly. I may have made an error in judgment, but when you hear the whole story, I think you’ll thank me. I hope so, anyway.”
Aidan listened as she described hearing Archie’s barks, her rescue mission and the discovery that he’d only wanted to go outside to pee. He bit back a laugh at her chagrined expression. “Thanks for saving the floor.”
“Susie appreciated that, too,” she said, a smile tugging at her lips. “I promise I won’t go into your apartment on a regular basis. We didn’t snoop around or anything.”
It bothered him that she felt the need to defend herself in that way. “I’m sure you didn’t.”
“But I wouldn’t blame you for not wanting strangers just busting in whenever the mood strikes. And given how many questions you know I have about you, it wouldn’t surprise me if you thought I might get answers however I can.”
“First of all, you’re hardly a stranger. Second, that’s not who you are, Liz. I know that. You may not like waiting for those answers until they come from me, but you will.”
She nodded vigorously. “Yes, I will.” She paused, then added, “And, just so you understand, none of this was Susie’s fault. I begged her to let me in, so please don’t get her in any trouble.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. I probably should just give you a key in case something like this comes up again. Now that Archie knows he can get your attention by barking, who knows how often he’ll pull the same stunt. And I’ve been known to lock myself out from time to time. Sure, Susie’s close by, but it’ll be good to have a backup place to get a spare key in case she’s out of the office.” He realized he was fighting hard to convince her to accept a spare key, which should have been nothing more than a matter of convenience. He seemed to be viewing it as more than that, a first step to a new level of intimacy, perhaps.
So, it seemed, did she. In fact, she looked genuinely startled by the gesture. “Aidan, are you sure about that? Things between us are kind of up in the air right now. Do you really want me to have a key?”
He heard the genuine worry in her voice. He looked her directly in the eyes and held her gaze. “I trust you, Liz. I know you have your doubts about me, but I have absolutely none about you or your motives.”
“Well, if you’re really sure, maybe it would be a good idea, just in case of another emergency, or at least what passes for an emergency in Archie’s world.”
“I’ll bring a spare key by later,” he promised. “I have a couple upstairs. Susie gave me a slew of them. I’m not sure how much entertaining she thought I’d be doing, but having them looks as if it’ll come in handy, after all.”
She peered toward the bucket he’d set down just inside the front door. “What’s in there?”
“A rockfish,” he boasted. “The first one I ever caught.” He decided to take a risk, since the past few minutes seemed to have gone well enough. “It’s more than enough for dinner for two. Would you like to join me? Just as a friend and as a thank-you for rescuing Archie today. We can make it an early dinner. You can still be home before dark. I won’t consider it impolite if you decide to eat and run.”
When he actually met her gaze, she was fighting a smile.
“That’s quite an extensive and persuasive argument,” she said.
He grinned. “I was trying to hit all the right notes. You know, light, casual, no expectations.”
“Aidan, I don’t know. We just decided—”
“You decided,” he corrected. “And won’t it be easier to overcome your distrust if we keep the lines of communication
