Bryson cocked one brow. “You sure you want to go there?”
She glanced away, then back to him. “We made more memories in this room than… you know what.”
“Funny. I can barely remember anything but‘you know what’while in this room,” he said.
When they’d volunteered here, he’d taken advantage of every chance he could get to taste Evie’s mouth. But it was that one time in this very room, toward the end of the summer, when things had gone further than they’d ever taken them. Those memories had lingered at the periphery of his brain for months after he left. His mouth on her neck. One hand on her breast, the other inside the waistband of her scrubs. Then moving lower.
If he closed his eyes, he could still feel her hot, slick flesh constricting around his fingers. That sensation had obliterated all other memories from this place.
Bryson cleared his throat. “But I guess you’re right. Therewere also the endless hours of cleaning up dog poop. Who could forget about that?”
She laughed, just as he knew she would. Meanwhile, he was fighting like hell to rein in the need those erotic memories had evoked. He still wasn’t sure how this should all play out. He could continue to go along with pretending that all they’d shared eight years ago was a casual flirtation between friends that had gotten out of hand, but it didn’t sit right with him. It belittled what they’d truly shared.
He’d fallen in love with her that summer, and Bryson was certain she’d felt something for him.
Even more unnerving, the pretending left little space for something more to develop between them. And the more time he spent with Evie, the more he was determined to make her see that the spark was still there.
Whether or not she’d only used him as a summer fling to get over Cameron back when they’d volunteered at The Sanctuary, which is what Cameron claimed, no longer mattered. Bryson was certain his ex-lab partner was out of the picture for good this time.
He just had to remember not to push. He needed to go slow.
But that was getting harder to do by the second.
“I need to get back to the first steps in my Operation Rescue the Rescue plan,” Evie said. She held up her cell phone. “I took a few pictures and videos of the animals and the current state of the building. I’m hoping we can harness the power of Instagram and TikTok to bring attention to it in the same way Ashanti did with Barkingham Palace. It’s amazing what one viral video can do.”
“Yeah, that video of those two dogs was everywhere.”
“And Ashanti used it to grow her business in ways you wouldn’t believe. I’m heading to the daycare after I leave here,” Evie said. “She’s been planning a canine carnival as one of the lead-up events to the grand opening of Barkingham Palace’s newest location, but now she wants to turn it into a fundraiser for The Sanctuary.”
“No shit? That’s so cool, Ev.”
“That’s Shanti,” she said. “We’re going to brainstorm carnival ideas this afternoon.”
“You didn’t tell me you were talking strategy today,” Bryson said. “I thought we were doing this together?”
Her mouth dropped opened. “I—”
“I’m not just a pretty face.” He tapped the side of his head. “I’ve got ideas up here.”
She burst out laughing again. “I’m sorry I left you out. Would you like to join me at Barkingham Palace?”
Her smile was genuine and sweet and made him question just what in the hell he was thinking when he told this woman that he was okay with keeping their relationship friends-only. There was no way he could keep this pretend thing going.
“I just need to check in with the hospital,” Bryson said. “I’m on call today, but it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Perfect,” Evie answered. She hooked her thumb at the door. “I’ll take a few more pictures, then meet you in the reception area.”
He finished clearing the wound and carried the sedated dog to his crate.
Bryson walked out toward Odessa’s desk. “Hey, Odessa, are there cones that will fit the stray I just worked on?” He stopped short at the sight of his mentor standing near the receptiondesk. “Doc, I thought you said you wouldn’t be able to make it in today?”
Doc looked up at him and the hair on the back of Bryson’s neck immediately stood on end.
“What’s wrong?” Bryson asked.
“Someone has finally decided it’s time to tell the truth, thewholetruth, and nothing but the truth,” Odessa said. “Where’s Evie? She needs to hear this.”
Bryson’s stomach bottomed out. He’d known there was something Doc wasn’t telling. He’d felt it in his gut.
