When she spots me, her smile brightens, as does mine. We don’t exchange pleasantries; we don’t need to. She’s happy as a pig in shit and doesn’t seem surprised to see me here. She knows I’ve been talking about getting a dog for the last few of years, but the timing is never right.
Once I’m on the ground next to her, the yellow pup crawls over her to get to me. She wastes no time picking up what could be its twin, only for it to rest its head on her shoulder, leaving her to pet the one asleep in her lap with her free hand.
“Oh, I wish I could bring one of you sweet babies home. I’d spoil you rotten, and you could sleep with me every night.” She nuzzles the blonde fluff ball against her cheek.
What I wouldn’t give to be your puppy.
Pushing aside the ridiculous thoughts dancing in my head, I focus on the now-sleeping baby in my lap. “What’s stopping you?”
“In reality, it wouldn’t be safe to take a puppy to my work sites, and I would hate to leave her home alone every day.” Daisy kisses the head of the sleeping lab in her arms.
“I didn’t know you were color blind.”
She looks around confused. “Who are you talking to?”
“Clover, the string is blue. You said you didn’t wantherto be home alone all the time.”
She covers the ears of the puppy asleep on her shoulder, then nods at the pink-stringed chocolate pup in her lap. “If I could, I’d take this one home.”
Without thinking, I blurt out, “We could co-parent.”
Her eyes widen for a heartbeat before she rolls them. “Yea, okay. Swift. That would go over great with my big brother.”
“I didn’t ask you to have my child. You want a puppy. I want a puppy. We both have busy schedules. It’s the perfect solution.”
She rests the back of her hand against my forehead. “I’m worried about you. Are you feeling okay?”
“Do I feel okay?”
“Actually, a little hot.”
Must be you.
“Must be the puppies,” I say instead.
“Josh said that somebody called in this morning and reserved the yellow boy you’re holding. Bet you an ice cream from The Shack, Knox reserved him for Ryan.”
“I’m not usually a betting man, but win or lose, I get an ice cream with you, so you’ve got yourself a bet.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“And you didn’t say no to my proposal.”
“Because you’re crazy.”
“How many weeks are they?” I ask the guys.
“We’re thinking six,” Tony replies.
“They won’t be ready for adoption until they hit eight weeks,” Josh confirms.
“Perfect, we have two weeks to prepare. We’ll have to have dinner so we can compare our schedules. How about tomorrow night?”
“Swift, you’re nuts. You know that, right?”
“Come on, Dais. You know you want to say yes. Besides, you have to pick up your birthday gift. Why not dinner before?”
She doesn’t reply, but the sparkle in her golden eyes gives her away. She’s thinking about it. And that’s all I can ask for.
