Holden stopped beside them. “Hey.”
Indie grinned, while Clara seemed to struggle for words.
“Hey,” she finally said, the word far too quiet.
“Clara.” There was a softness to Holden’s voice when he said her name.
Had they dated? And if not, why not? They definitely seemed interested in each other.
Sky cleared her throat. “Hey, Holden. Thank you so much for coming.”
“Happy to help.” He smiled at Sky before shifting his gaze back to Clara. “Maybe you could show me the ropes.”
Clara nodded. She was definitely nervous, and Indie now seemed to be biting back a laugh.
“Sure, I can help you,” she finally said.
One side of Holden’s mouth lifted. “I’d like that.”
Sky grinned too. Then, without her permission, her attention once again returned to Becket. Immediately, his eyes locked with hers.
Her smile dropped, and something hot slipped over her skin.
She was so screwed.
* * *
Becket leanedback as Bella shook her furry head, getting him even wetter than he already was.
How he’d ended up with the little Chinese Crested, he had no idea. Bella had made it damn clear she didn’t like him by the number of times she’d growled at him from the moment he got his hands on her.
As if she’d heard his thoughts, she looked up and growled again as he began shampooing her fur.
“Yeah, well, guess what? I’m not your biggest fan either,” Becket muttered. And not just because Bella was a dog. Also because her owner had given him a million instructions on the way Bella liked to be washed.
She was adog, for Christ’s sake. He’d damn well wash her the same way he’d washed the last ten.
Someone chuckled behind him, and he turned to see his brother standing there with a wide grin on his face.
“What?” Yeah, Becket growled it, but he didn’t care.
“She doesn’t seem to be your biggest fan. I don’t know why. You’re a pleasure to be around.”
Becket barely held off the eye roll. “Sky gave her to me on purpose. She knows Bella doesn’t like me.”
Humor danced in Jesse’s eyes. “So she did it to torture you.”
“Hell yes, she did.”
“Maybe she’s testing you. Seeing how far you’ll go for her.”
He glanced behind Jesse toward Sky, who was now standing with Aspen as she washed a terrier. Sky was watching him too, but the second their gazes met, she looked away. Because she didn’t want him to know she was watching?
He could have laughed.
“All the way, my brother,” Becket finally said. “I would go all the way for her.”
One side of Jesse’s mouth lifted. “Well, she’ll find that out then, won’t she?”
