“Sit,” he says, holding something white between his fingers.
“Is that more cheese?” I say.
“Chicken,” he winks at me, and I can feel the tips of my ears turning bright pink.
Athena doesn’t discriminate. Chicken or cheese, it’s all the same to her, and she practically scales Mason’s body to get to the morsel he’s holding. He pushes her away with a gentle but firm hand, and she just comes back, jumping higher.
“She’s very stubborn,” I say. “And she’ll do anything for food.”
His smile grows as he fends her off again. “That’s a good thing.” Mason hands me the leash. “Let’s see you take her around.”
I hesitate, eyeing the rope he’s offering me. “Don’t you want to go first?”
“I’m not the one who’s going to be training her.”
Then what the hell? “I thought you were a dog trainer?” My cheeks flame with indignation. Is he just here to waste my time?
“Ninety percent of dog behavior is about training their humans.” His voice drops. “Now take the leash.”
My gaze locks with his. Jesus, his eyes really are something. Green and amber and—
I shiver as we make accidental contact. His skin is warm where my fingers brush his palm.
“Now walk her over to that picnic bench and back.”
I have never wanted to do something so much in my entire life. I don’t know how he does that with his words, but it’s like if I don’t do it, I’ll have failed some test I don’t even understand and disapproval will crush me.
“Okay,” I say, a little shaky. “Let’s go, Athena. We’re going to walk over to that bench. Aren’t we? Just to the bench.”
Athena hops excitedly, and we haven’t taken two steps before she’s chomped down on the leash and Mason says, “Stop.”
My feet are suddenly glued to the grass. How does he do that?
“What’s wrong?”
“Does she speak?”
I smile. “She’s got a pretty goodawoogoing when she’s hungry.”
Mason’s still not digging my jokes. “But does she speak English?”
“Well, I…” I’ve tried to teach her to sit and stay, but sometimes I’m not even sure she really knows her own name.
“You’re confusing her,” Mason says. “When you’re walking and talking at the same time, she doesn’t know what you want her to do.”
“I wasn’t talkingthatmuch.”
He raises an eyebrow, and I’d say he’s being a bit of a dick, except somehow, after knowing this guy for all of five minutes, I really want to impress him.
“Do it again,” he says.
I sigh, gripping the leash tight. “Okay. Try again. We can—”
“Charlie.” His tone is a warning, and at least my back is to him now so he can’t see the impact he’s having on me. When Gavin used to say my name like that, my response was always tinged in fear that I was about to let him down. When Mason says it, I want to hear what comes next.
I glance over my shoulder as Athena lunges and leaps. Mason’s watching us with a calculating eye, so I square my shoulders and take a step forward.
“That’s it,” Mason says softly, and I warm under the praise.
