Alex’s steps were ghost-like as he followed me down the hall to my bedroom, and I had to force myself not to look back over my shoulder. I hated that I worried about the mud and dirt his jeans were dragging across my carpet, but I couldn’t help it. While Alex situated Roxy in the kennel, I dug around in my dresser for the long-sleeved shirt and the extra pair of flannel pants I knew were in the bottom drawer and held them out for him.
I chuckled at Alex’s complete look of shock. “You don’t really want to get back in those wet clothes, do you? Just borrow these until yours are dry. I’ll get a load going while you shower.”
He still didn’t reach for the clothes. “Why are you doing all this?”
It broke my heart the way this man seemed like such a stranger to kindness, and it only validated my decision that this was the right thing to do.
I gestured to the clothes one more time. “Because I think we all deserve a little grace every now and then, don’t you?”
3
After changing, I headed straight for the kitchen to start dinner. I wasn’t much of a cook, and the tomato soup I settled on was nothing more than the canned stuff with a few added seasonings. At least I’d gotten in the habit of buying the nicer five-grain bread at the store lately so the grilled cheese sandwiches would be a little more filling.
I turned on the radio, mostly to ease my own nerves. I rarely invited strangers into my home. In fact, I’d been careful not to, considering how many people were on my property every day for work. There needed to be a firm line between personal and business space.
I hummed along to a few songs as I scraped butter onto the bread and had just begun singing along when Alex cleared his throat behind me. I turned to greet my guest, then quickly did a double take.Holy shit.Alex cleaned up nice.Reallynice. He must have found my second beard trimmer and razor in the medicine cabinet because most of the overgrown shag from before had been trimmed off to a nice short beard. He’d also combed his hair back, which made him look… well, not only younger but wiser somehow.
And a whole hell of a lot sexier.
Fuuuck.
He raised a questioning brow, making me gulp. “Uh, dinner will be ready soon,” I stammered.
Noel nudged Alex with her nose, but I quickly snapped my fingers. “Noel, bed. Now.”
The lab obediently wandered over to the large pink dog bed on the floor by the fireplace, circling twice before lying down.
“Noel already met Roxy, just so you know,” I said. “Barely even gave her more than a sniff.”
Alex furrowed his brows, clearly not liking that bit of news. “You let her meet my dog without me?” he asked in a harsh tone.
Guilt flooded me. “Well, no, not really. She didn’tmeet meether,like stick her head in the kennel or anything.It was more just a sniff test as she came inside.” That didn’t seem to comfort Alex any, so I rushed to explain. “I have a kennel in the garage she stays in during the day because I don’t trust her in the house. She has separation anxiety. So I went to let her outside before getting changed. Then when she came back in through the sliding door in my room, she stopped to check out who was in her kennel.” I paused. “Shit. I’m sorry. She’s literally the most chill dog I’ve ever seen around other dogs, so I didn’t think much of it.”
Alex’s jaw tensed, and he looked over his shoulder at the hall, as if he wanted to run back and check on Roxy. I wouldn’t have blamed him. If what I suspected was true, that he and Roxy had been living on the streets, then that dog was likely the only thing Alex cared about.
I quickly walked across the kitchen, carrying two plates of grilled cheese sandwiches. “I’m truly sorry.”
He gave what was probably meant to be a forgiving smile but came off as more of a grimace before taking a seat at the table across from me. For the first time, I noticed how well the shirt and pants fit him, and I smiled.
“Looks like the clothes fit okay,” I said, heading back into the kitchen. “The first load is in the washer, by the way.” I heard a quietthank youas I spooned the soup into two bowls.
Alex didn’t say anything else as I set the bowls in front of him. He quickly tore off a large chunk of the sandwich and set it in the edge of his plate. Without waiting for me, he dunked the piece he was still holding into the hot soup and took a bite, wincing slightly at the heat. I was tempted to ask him to slow down but decided not to. Instead, I cleared my throat.
“Okay, well, I think this is the part where you need to be honest with me.”
Alex looked up at me, sandwich midway to his mouth. Those stunning blue of his eyes seemed suddenly dark and dangerous.
“Whatever you say will stay between us. Well, unless you’re a criminal or something.” I gave him a pointed look. “Youaren’ta criminal, are you?”
“No,” he said without hesitation.
“You swear by that?”
He nodded. “I’m not. I promise.”
I didn’t see anything in his expression that made me think he was lying, and I let out a breath. “Okay, good.”
Alex took a smaller bite this time before chewing.
