I couldn’t have asked for a more peaceful or serene afternoon; it was just what I needed. Except, I couldn’t stop thinking about the tiny object in my pocket, and my gaze constantly drifted upstream to the mysterious man who’d given it to me. Who was this guy to have such a heart of gold, and why didn’t he have a place to call home? The two pieces didn’t seem to fit together in my mind, and the more I thought about it, the more my heart ached. I worried someone had hurt him, and it made me a little angry to even think about that possibility. All I could do now, though, was try to be his friend and remind him that he didn’t need to be alone anymore if he didn’t want to be.
8
After only three weeks, it became impossible not to feel Alex’s presence everywhere in the clinic. Not only did I seem to run into him at every corner, but his handiwork was noticeable all throughout the property, both inside and out. Some of the things had been small, like the extra shelf he’d installed in the storage room or how he’d fixed the loose panel on one of the kennels. But a few of them made me stop in my tracks. Like the bench he’d built for the hallway to provide more seating for our patients. He’d even painted it to match the interior colors of the clinic and added small black-and-white paw prints across the seat, as if a cat had walked across it after stepping in paint. That tiny detail made his gesture that much more meaningful.
The exterior of the building had changed dramatically too. Alex had pulled up the dead bushes on the side of the building, installed weed-blocking fabric in each of the flower beds, and covered them all with fresh bark. When he’d found a nice-sized pile of terra cotta bricks in the shed, he’d used it to form barriers around two of the larger flowerbeds, giving them the completed look they’d been missing. I would never have thought that something so small could change the appearance of the front so much.
In all honesty, it wasstaggeringthe amount of work he’d put into the place in such a short amount of time. It had completely changed the feel of the building and we were already starting to see an influx of calls because of it. The well-maintained condition of the property established trust in the new clients as they drove by, and that was something I owed to Alex.
It wasn’t just the property that had changed, though. I’d seen changes in Alex too. Ever since he’d given me that lure, he’d started to become more relaxed around me. I saw it in the way he stopped second-guessing himself. At the beginning, he’d ask a dozen different questions before starting on a job to be sure it was done to my liking, but since then, he’d started to gain the confidence to just do things the way he thought would work best, and that freedom seemed to mean the world to Alex. He relaxed into the work and seemed to truly enjoy himself. I’d even caught him humming once or twice.
It was becoming hard not to want to seemoreof that relaxed side of Alex. He was absolutely breathtaking when he showed me his real smile, the one that crinkled his eyes and tugged harder on one side of his mouth, making it a little lopsided. He was just so beautiful and sexy and… did I mention breathtaking?
I’d caught him givingmethat smile a few times, and not only because of something I was doing but because he seemed to appreciate the view. More than once, he’d given me a complete once-over when he thought he could get away with it, and every time, it ended with a sexy grin. I was starting to crave more of that grin and had tried different things just to get his attention so I could see it again, but he was always careful not to let our gazes linger. It was as though he felt more comfortable staying at arm’s length, and it was making it a little difficult to know how to proceed.
So I didn’t bother hiding anything. I wanted Alex to know I was interested. Okay, maybe a littlemorethan interested. Ever since he’d given me that lure, my curiosity about the mysterious man had become an overwhelming obsession. I longed to know how his lips would taste or what the rest of that tattoo would look like under his clothes.
God, I wanted him.And not just in a jump-into-bed kind of way, but in the I-craved-spending-time-with-him-every-moment-of-the-day kind of way. We’d spent every evening together since we’d gone fishing, sharing dinner or enjoying a movie, and I loved it. Loved talking to him and hearing him laugh. I wanted more of it. I knew it was stupid to fall this hard and fast for someone, especially if I still barely knew them, but my heart had gone and planted roots to a serious crush anyway.
On the third Friday after Alex’s arrival, I decided to surprise him with a trip into the city. Melanie had planted a bug in my ear about the colors changing in one of my favorite parks, and I’d been looking forward to going there but didn’t want to go alone. Inviting Alex for a nice evening out had felt like the most natural thing in the world.
When Alex came out of the shower shortly before dinner—hair artfully styled and beard neatly trimmed—I’d once again been powerless to look away.
“You can stop staring,” Alex said, a small smirk on his face. “I’m notthatgood looking.”
“Um, yeah, you kind of are,” I said good-naturedly. “I mean, have youseenyourself lately? You look nothing like the guy I picked up on the road that night.”
His smile faded, and he looked away.
“Shit, sorry. That was a rude thing to say.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s true. I am different.”
I sensed there was more behind those words than what he’d intended to say, and I immediately saw it as an opportunity to let him know I saw thosechanges too. “Yeah, you are. And I like it. Which is why I want you to come with me.”
“Where?”
“You’ll see.”
He glanced over at Roxy, who was happily gnawing on one of the rope toys in the dog bed next to Noel. “I kind of needed some time with Roxy tonight,” he said.
I smiled because I understood that all too well. There was nothing as soothing as the companionship of our dogs after a long day.
“I just want to take you to dinner, that’s all. Well, and a quick walk through a park, but we won’t be gone long, I promise.”
“You don’t need—”
I’d put a finger up to shush him, already expecting him to try to get out of it. “This isn’t for you. It’s for me. I really need to get out of this house, but I want you to come.”
His expression was blank as he asked, “Why?”
I chuckled. “Why do you think? I enjoy your company, Alex, and I think it’d be pretty boring without you.”
He seemed baffled and slightly miffed that I wanted to spend time with him, and I wondered if I’d somehow ruined his plans for the evening. But after a few seconds, a slow, unsure grin spread over his face again, and he nodded. “Okay.”
He didn’t say much as we drove to the small restaurant on the river, but I could feel him glancing over at me every few minutes, as if he suspected this was more than just my desire to get out of the house. Each time his eyes landed on me, it made my stomach do a little flip-flop, especially when the corner of his mouth hitched into a shy smile or when his gaze lingered just a little longer than necessary. God, Ireallyliked it when he looked at me like that.
“So, the place I’m taking you to, it’s one of my favorite places in Coeur d’Alene. It’s a little deli buffet, where you can add your own meats and toppings and stuff. They price it by weight instead of what kind of sandwich it is.”
