“Spanky!” I cry, rushing to the cage, where Ladybird is lying on her pillow with my rascally dog perched right beside her as if he’s on guard.
“What are you doing here?” Dropping to my knees, I reach inside to pet his head. “Don’t you know we’ve been looking everywhere for you?”
He licks the tears off my cheeks, and I laugh, leaningforward to hug him. Still, he shows no signs of leaving his lady-friend’s side.
“I can’t say I blame him.” Owen’s voice is low, and I look over my shoulder to see him watching me, a possessive light in his eyes.
It tightens my core, and I pet my dog once more before standing. “Do you think he followed you home?”
“I didn’t notice if he did, but I was thinking about you the whole way.” He reaches out to slide a finger along the side of my face, moving my hair behind my ear.
My eyes flutter closed, and I almost lean into his touch. I want to reach up and kiss him, but it hasn’t been eight hours yet. I have to be strong. He has to learn he can’t treat me that way and get off so easily… even if my silly dog is weakening my resolve.
Blinking down, I shake my head. “I guess I’d better go and get some dinner myself. It’s late.”
The side of his mouth lifts with the hint of a smile, and I’m pretty sure he’s onto me. “It’s not so late.”
“Still, I’m sure you’d like to visit with Maddie.”
“We had a pretty good visit over dinner. It’s her bedtime now.”
I start to go, but I hesitate. “Is it okay if Spanky spends the night?”
“I’ll bring him home when I walk over in the morning.”
“Well… goodnight, then.”
“Goodnight, Gina.” His voice is low, and when I blink up at him, a sly grin is on his lips.
I swallow the desire in my throat before walking back inside the house where Haddy and the rest of our search party are gathered.
“Don’t tell me,” my cousin says, grabbing my hands.
“Yep, he’s in there with Ladybird.”
“Spanky, you stinker!” she calls over my shoulder, and I laugh, looping my arm in hers.
“At least we know where he is. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
“Spanky’s in the cage with Ladybird!” Maddie skips up and takes my free hand, her voice raised. “We were running all over the place looking for him, and he was here the whole time!”
“Can you believe him?” I bend down to give her a hug. “He’s such a stinker.”
Her nose wrinkles. “It’s like he doesn’t want her to be here without him.”
“It is like that.” And I think of someone else who feels the same way. Someone six-foot-two with ridiculously sexy blue eyes. “We’re going to let them have a sleepover, since they’re missing each other so much.”
Maddie’s eyes widen. “Can dogs get married, Miss Gina?”
“I don’t see why not.” I take a knee, tilting my head to the side. “By the way, I’ve been wondering… why do you call HaddyAunt Haddyand meMiss Gina?”
She puts her hand on my shoulder. “Uncle Gavin plays on the team with Daddy, so she’s like my aunt, but if you were with my Daddy, you wouldn’t be my aunt. You’d be like…”
Her voice trails off, getting quieter, and I bite my bottom lip, glancing up at the adults, who are suddenly acting very distracted by their phones, the piece of paper on the counter, baby Lucy, who is starting to fuss.
“I understand.” Our eyes meet, and I give her a warm smile before pulling her into a hug, whispering in her ear, “I understand completely.”
“Well, we’d better get our little nugget home,” Haddy says brightly. “Glad that mystery had a happy ending!”
