I scoffed and frowned. The misters weren’t turned on and it was going to be a scorcher. I walked toward the line where the hoses connected and almost hit my forehead with a louddoh. It wasn’t turned on. Problem solved.
“Um, this looks incredible,” Fiona, Brigham’s beautiful blonde friend, said. “Sarah, this kicks ass.”
“Thank you.” My ears warmed and I was glad the misters started working. “Glad you could join us.”
She put her hands on her hips, looked around the set up and nodded a few times. “Very impressed, that’s for sure.”
I wiped the moisture on my black tank top. The event wasn’t opening for another thirty minutes and everything seemed to be in place. My heart about burst in my chest at how happy and proud I was. This was me doing it. Yes, the fear lingered, but Brigham’s advice meant a lot. I had to try. If I failed, I’d make a new plan, but I couldn’t stop trying. With a big exhale, I took a couple of pictures of the event on my phone before putting it in my pocket. Brigham arrived with his teammates. He wore a black hat, a Soles T-shirt and shorts, and my heart skipped a beat when he looked over at me and smiled.
How this guy could like me…it didn’t make sense, but I didn’t care. I started walking toward him, and his grin grew. “Blue Bell. Holy shit. This looks amazing.” He bent down and put a hand on my shoulder, leaning in for a long kiss. “And you were worried.”
“Still am, a bit,” I admitted, blushing when he rubbed my neck. Waking up next to him that morning had been a special sort of torture, because I didn’t have time to enjoy his body. “Why are you smirking like that?”
“Because I am proud of you.” He scrunched his nose and pulled something out of his back pocket. “I did something.”
“Uh, what?”
“It’s not great, but I stole the logo you had and got it printed on a T-shirt. It’s not fancy, but I figured you should rep your business here, you know?” He held out a small black shirt withBlue Bells Boardingwritten on it with the logo of a paw and heart mixed together. “What do you think?”
My throat got real tight and I launched myself onto him, wrapping my arms around his neck, not caring that people could see us. “I love it. Oh my god.”
“Yeah?” He held me tight against him and slid me down his hard body. “I wasn’t expecting that reaction.”
“I didn’t even think to get T-shirts. Damn. I wish I had more!” I put it on over my tank, maneuvered in a way so that I could take off the tank top without flashing anyone. “How does it look?”
“A bit big.”
I tied the shirt to one side on my hip, exposing a little skin, and Brigham’s grin widened. “Better?”
“Yes.” He scrunched his nose and laid his hand over the back of his neck. “Is it okay if me and the guys wear one too? You can say no if you’re not comfortable.”
“Wait! You have more of these?” I asked, my voice rising.
“Yup.”
“Hell yeah. Pass them out like candy. Wear them. Wear the shit out of them!” I jumped up and down a bit, and Gideon and Bummy smiled in our direction. “Take off your shirts now,” I yelled, causing them to raise their eyebrows. My face blushed. “Shit, I meant, wear the logo! I love them!”
They laughed and Brigham tossed them each a matching shirt to mine. Seeing them wearing the logo to my business sent a thrill I couldn’t even name through me. I had never experienced so much joy in my life and it was intoxicating. My brain spun, partially because of the shirts and lack of sleep, but also because I was so happy. My parents had made it sound like not going to school meant my life would be hard and an uphill battle, but…this was beyond any expectation I’d had. My eyes watered and Brigham frowned, leaning closer to me. “What’s wrong? What can I do?”
“Ugh, you’re too much.” I sniffed and wiped my eyes. “I’m overwhelmed withgoodfeelings. I’m not programmed to enjoy it—I question them and for the first time… I’m not. It’s a lot.”
“You deserve all the good feelings.” He narrowed his eyes and waited until I looked up at him. “Make sure you take a moment to enjoy this day, okay? I know we have our assignments and locations, but I will find you and force your ass to sit and enjoy.”
“You sound a little sexy when you get bossy,” I replied, loving how he took care of me. “Dating you is kinda nice.”
“Kinda?”
“Yup. Just kinda,” I teased, drunk on giddiness. Ethan called me over to the table and I held up one finger to him. “I cannot thank you enough for your help with this, Brigham. Seriously.”
“You’re welcome, BB.” He bent down, pressed a soft kiss on my mouth and pointed toward Ethan. “Go get to work.”
I squeezed his butt before taking off toward the tent. Ethan and I went over all the different forms and ways people could donate, and soon enough, it started.
* * * *
Three hours later, there wasn’t a single puppy left and my feet hurt so much from walking that I had to sit when my parents strode toward me. “Uh, hi?”
“Sarah, this is incredible.” My dad looked around and had a hint of a smile on his face. “Did we miss most of it?”
