Maybe it was a sign she should turn around and go home. Tell Mom Conner wasn’t home or just stop somewhere and stuff her face so she could bring back an empty casserole dish. Instead, her feet shuffled toward her original destination. Tempting fate. Sadie walked slower as she got closer, watching diligently for Marc’s truck in case he decided to return. She could explain away the leftovers, but not the video equipment.
She caught a glimpse of Boomer in the front window and instantly her tension left her body as he perked at spotting her. One ear popped to attention while the other remained limp. He let out a deep bark that fit his name. She hardly rang the doorbell before the front door opened.
“Sadie, hi.”
At the sight of Conner, she forgot how to speak. Words? What were words? Nothing important when you were faced with six foot two or three of delicious man. Conner was missing a shirt, which answered her question about washboard abs—yes, he had six. Maybe eight. Count later, Sadie—and his hair was tousled as if he’d just woken from a nap. Though with Marc having just left, it might’ve been a workout that caused the chaos. Then there was that beard of his, a day past needing a trim, practically calling her fingers to comb through it. Would it tickle her skin if they kissed?
“That smells great!”
She let out a sigh of relief that he spoke again during her stupor, easing her embarrassment away.Focus, Sadie. Stop drooling!“Mom wanted to make sure you were fed.” No way was Sadie admitting this was her idea. She was smarter than that. “Ed nearly ran me over for it, so I hope you appreciate every last bite.”
“Ed?” He shook his head as Boomer wedged his ways around Conner’s legs and stared up at Sadie. “Let me take that before someone causes a catastrophe.” The brush of his fingers as Conner pilfered the casserole dish caused Sadie’s bones to melt. Every single one. At this embarrassing rate, she’d never survive a kiss. Not that she had any intentions of kissing him during her year of being single. But she wouldn’t exactly fight one off if Conner Michaelson wanted to offer one up. “Come in,” he said. “Please.”
Sadie had two options: head to the store to work on her marketing plan she was due to present to her siblings tomorrow night, or accept his invitation, knowing her heart might not make it out in one piece. Or least, not entirely belonging to her anymore.
She stepped inside.
“You didn’t tell me Boomer was an Instagram sensation,” she said as she closed the door behind her, officially sealing her escape route.
“I didn’t mention that?” he asked, feigning innocence.
“You also didn’t mention that you don’t know how to make reels.”
“What makes you think that?”
She followed him into the kitchen, desperately trying not to stare at his shirtless torso as he proceeded to scoop a large portion of pasta into a bowl. He didn’t bother heating it, and stuck a fork in the lukewarm meal. “Because your fans—or should I sayBoomer’sfans—basically beg for video clips every time you post a new photo.” She let the backpack fall from her shoulders. “I thought I could help.”
“Help?”
“Make videos. Reels. You know, those pictures that move and have sound?”
Boomer looked back and forth between Conner with his dinner and Sadie with the mysteries she was extracting from her bag and placing on the island counter. She could sense Conner’s hesitation. At any moment he could shut this down and send her on her way. It shouldn’t bother her, but for reasons she was beyond trying to understand, she wanted his buy-in. Not approval. She was done searching for approval from anyone, especially a man.
“You know how to do all that?”
“Of course.”
She wasn’t active on her own accounts anymore because she didn’t want Aaron to know anything about her life. But she made videos and reels for her friends in Anchorage to help them grow their small businesses. Well, the friends she hadn’t lost during her embarrassing throw-herself-at-the-boss disaster.
“I think it’s a great idea—”
Before Conner could get thebutout, they heard a knock at the door.
Sadie froze, terrified Marc was back for a forgotten wallet or because his Spidey sense warned him she was deliberately ignoring his warning to steer clear of Conner. With a counter full of video equipment, it wouldn’t be so easy to get out of this one. Conner pulled on a shirt—too bad—and went to answer the door.
“Edith, are you ready for our walk?”
Sadie’s sigh of relief was loud enough to alert Boomer. He licked her wrist before he trotted over to greet their newest visitor. “Sadie, nice to see you,” the elderly woman said, sounding as if she meant it.
“Hi, Mrs. Banks.”
“Oh, Edith, please.” She rubbed Boomer gently behind the ears. “Conner, I hope you won’t mind. I think I’m going to skip our evening walk. I thought I was up to it, but my hip is cranky. I think there’s more rain on the way.”
Sadie did a discreet once-over, noticing the older woman’s sneakers and light jacket. She was clearly interrupting a routine.
“Are you sure? We were just about to invite Sadie to join us.”
Why was she fighting this crush again? Oh, yeah. The threat of certain death. “I love walks,” Sadie chimed in.
