“I wish I could take you home,” Evie said.
She missed having a dog in the house. She hadn’t had one since she and Cameron moved in together, because Cam never wanted a dog. He always said he got his fill at work; he didn’t need any pets in his home.
That should have been her first glaringly red flag. What veterinarian didn’t want to own their own pet?
“There weresomany signs, Waffles,” Evie said. The dog barked.
She laughed. “Look at that, you’re already answering to your name. I told you it would grow on you.”
She really wished she could bring this cutie home with her.
Evie jolted, her head rearing back. “Wait a minute,” she said. “Icantake you home. Who’s there to stop me?”
She snuggled Waffles against her chest and walked to the lobby.
“Odessa?” Evie called. “Draw up the paperwork. I’m taking this one home.”
“Just because you gave him a name? Well, heck, girl, go on and name the rest of them.”
She chuckled. “One is enough for now,” she said, nuzzling Waffles’s neck. “I think this little cutie is exactly what I need.”
Just then, the door to The Sanctuary opened and Evie heard Doc Landry’s jovial laugh coming from just over her shoulder.
“Evie Williams, is that you?” Doc said.
“It is!” Evie turned.
And her heart stopped.
“Well, if this isn’t perfect timing,” Doc said, his cheeryvoice taking on a muted quality as it battled with the sudden chaos that had erupted in her head. “Look who’s in town.”
He pointed to the tall, dark-skinned, outrageously handsome man who’d come in behind him. A man dressed in tailored navy slacks and an expensive-looking powder-blue sweater. A man she had not come face-to-face with in eight years.
“Bryson,” Evie whispered.
Bryson Mitchell.
The other man who’d broken her heart.
CHAPTER THREE
It had been a long time since something had taken Bryson Mitchell’s breath away in such stunning fashion, but that’s exactly what happened the moment he saw Evie Williams standing in front of him. It felt as if someone had reached into both lungs and yanked every bit of air from them.
“Evie,” Bryson said.
He hadn’t spoken her name in years. Just the feel of it on his lips sent an energized tremor catapulting through him. He was coping with an avalanche of emotions at the moment: shock, excitement, longing, regret.
More longing. Even more regret.
“Bryson,” she said, her voice soft, polite. Apathetic. “Hello.”
“Is that the world-famous veterinary surgeon?” Odessa Carter rounded the desk and captured Bryson in a bear hug.
“I don’t know if ‘world famous’ is accurate, but you got the other part right,” Bryson said, pressing a kiss to her temple.
“Oh, don’t you come around here being all humble,” Odessa said, giving him a playful tap on the arm. “Weren’t you just in Rome speaking at some fancy conference?”
Bryson glanced at Evie. That impassive expression was still there.
