“Hi, you two,” Ben said.
He spent a long time crouched down at their level, letting them wriggle themselves close as they threw an OMG-I-missed-you-so-much-where-have-you-been party. Once they calmed down some, they moved on to frantically sniffing him.
“They must smell the puppies,” he said, standing.
Our gazes met, and for a second, I forgot why he was here. He wore dark jeans and a white V-neck t-shirt beneath his open jacket. His hair was loose and blowing in the breeze. He was gorgeous. So beautiful it hurt to look at him sometimes. I didn’t think I’d ever get over the initial shock of awareness I felt each time I saw him.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey,” he answered. He stepped close and lifted his fingers to brush a strand of hair from my face. “It’s nice to see you.”
I smiled. “It’s been less than twenty-four hours since I left your place.”
“You shouldn’t have.”
“What?”
“Shouldn’t have left,” he said, thumb sliding over my lips.
Oh my God.
A loud knock sounded from behind us, and I whipped my head around. Jane stood framed in the window of the door. She grinned when our eyes met and mouthed, “Payback.”
I turned to Ben. “I am so sorry in advance for anything my sister is about to say.”
He frowned. “About the article?”
I shook my head. “About us. She owes me from when I first met Dave.”
He grinned so wide that dimples appeared on either side of his mouth. “Us, huh?”
I turned and paced to the door, cheeks heating. “Yup.”
He chuckled and followed me up the stairs.
The dogs raced past us, back inside, nearly knocking Willow over as she ran to meet the newcomer.
“Be nice!” Willow yelled at them. She was one to talk.
I stepped in and made room for Ben in the doorway. His frame filled the entire thing, throwing a shadow over me.
Willow came to a screeching halt, looking up, up, up at him. “You’rebig.”
Ben nodded. “I am.”
“I climb you now,” she said, then charged at him and immediately started to scramble up his leg.
Jane snorted from behind me. “Like aunt, like niece.”
I was going to kill her.
Ben coughed to cover his laugh and leaned down to help Willow. She grabbed onto his forearm and hauled herself up with surprising dexterity. She settled on his back, legs around his waist. Ben hooked his hands beneath her knees to keep her in place, which meant that she didn’t have to hold on that well. She lifted a finger and prodded at his shoulder, his back, and then his arm, as if testing his muscle tone.
“Can you throw people?” she asked him.
“What?” me and Jane chorused.
Ben just looked confused.
