I’d bumped into him at the bookstore one day, when I’d been there on a day off last year. We’d both been awkward, and I’d known then that my coworkers still thought I’d gotten the job by sleeping with Anderson. Which I guess I kind of had, but also not.
I rolled my shoulders back and smiled when Anderson got out of the car.
“Anderson Marsh, as I live and breathe,” I said in greeting.
He chuckled and closed the distance between us. He didn’t go for a hug, instead opting to extend his hand. I shook it.
“Nice to see you again, Lake.” He was still handsome and wealthy in that very obvious way. He held out his hand to Sierra. “Anderson Marsh.”
She shook hands with him. “Sierra Jenkins, I’m the office manager here at Twin Star Rescue. Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise, Ms. Jenkins.” Anderson tilted his head and smiled in his slightly rakish manner.
I waited for the old feeling of something clenching in my stomach at the sight, but nothing happened.
“Sierra, please,” she replied, her polite smile still firmly in place.
Kudos to her, really. I’d seen Anderson charm the pants off people of various genders back in the day.
“So,” I said, preventing myself from clapping my hands together like a tour guide. “Now that you’re here, would you like to have coffee first?”
“That sounds lovely, thank you,” Anderson replied.
“I’ll be in the office if and when you need me.” Sierra retreated to her little building.
“Shall we?” I gestured toward the house.
Anderson looked around curiously, then stopped after a few steps when he spotted the stealth dogs.
“Uh, that’s…”
“These are the Golden Girls.” I gestured at them. “Want to meet them?”
A huge smile spread across his lips, his expression like a little boy’s. “Can I?”
My brain reminded me of a long-forgotten tidbit of him growing up without any pets because his mother was allergic.
“Absolutely.” I glanced at each of the dogs, then said, “Come on, girls. Come meet my friend.”
Each of them got to their feet, Sophia with a put-out sigh that made Anderson laugh, and they lumbered towards us from their spots in the shade.
Anderson crouched and waited, keeping his eyes lowered as he held out a hand. “I think this is how you’re supposed to do it?”
“That’s a good start. They’re friendly if you’re friendly.” I pointed out which dog was which, and Anderson ended up sitting on the grass at the start of the path to the front door, with Blanche between his legs, belly up and begging for more scritches.
The Anderson I’d known had been a CEO with family pressures and other shit going on, who chose to hire an escort to help him unwind when things became too much. I’d never seen him relaxed and happy like this, not even after some of our greatest nights together. There had always been a layer to him that he held tight to his chest as if it was his most prized possession. Not once had I seen him this open, without at least one wall between himself and the rest of the world.
Suddenly the dogs perked their ears and Rose let out a softboof. I glanced toward the road and saw Bucky trotting toward us.
“And here comes the Winter Soldier.” I smiled at Anderson. “Bucky’s got no chill, so prepare yourself.”
When Bucky noticed a new human on the ground, he darted to us at hyper speed and avoided colliding with Anderson, but only just.
If Blanche was able to, she would’ve rolled her eyes as she got to her feet and got out of the way.
“He’s Theo’s dog, while the others belong to the rescue,” I explained.
“Ah, well aren’t you a friendly fellow.” Anderson tried his best to dodge most of the kisses, but ended up wiping his face and laughing.
