She started walking, and Doodle—that was her name, damn it—followed right at her heels. “What a smart pupper you are. Let’s get you some food and water, and then we’ll give you a nice warm bath.” She glanced at Jas in time to catch what looked like utter softness in his eyes.
But it must have been a trick of the light, because he blinked and it was gone. “Before you get preoccupied with the dog, there’s something I need to tell you.”
He’d known she was eavesdropping.
He’d seen Jia’s text.
He knew she wanted to stroke his eyebrows.
He was going to tell her not to hug him anymore.
She stopped, braced for the worst. “Go on.”
“It’s about—” he hesitated.
The hug. My hotness. How little I like you likethat.
“The CafeBae thing.”
Oh right. The whole reason they were out here. “Oh.”
He grimaced. “They’re going to be on TV tomorrow.”
“On TV?” Her voice rose on the second word.
“Yeah.Good Morning Live.”
“What the fuck?” Not the most elegant response, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“That was my reaction.”
“What is newsworthy about this? Is there nothing else going on in the news cycle? No one’s won the Super Bowl? Or the National Spelling Bee?”
“The first one is in February and the second one’s in June, so no.” He shrugged when she squinted at him. “I follow football and the bee. They’re both on ESPN, they’re both sports.”
She made a frustrated noise. “I guess we just watch tomorrow to see what happens,” she said. As if sensing her worry, the dog leaned against her leg.
Unfortunately, the dog was big, and Katrina wasn’t expecting the weight, so she almost toppled over.
“Whoa, there.” Jas steadied Katrina by grabbing her arm. “Can you handle this dog?”
“Oh yes. She doesn’t know her own strength, but she’ll learn.” Katrina petted her new companion. “Look, she loves me already.”
“How could she not?”
The kind, too-personal words almost brought a tear to her eye, especially on the heels of learning what she had learned.How couldyounot?
“Do you need any help? She’s going to be a handful to bathe.”
“Oh no. We’re fine.” The last thing she wanted was Jasbeing charming and sexy, especially near a bathtub. Let her be in love with one creature at a time. “Go on and finish doing whatever you’re doing.”
Jas looked away. “Oh yes. I’m very busy.”
“Cool, cool. Me too.” She forced a smile.
Handy trick her father had taught her, smiling even while she hurt, but it didn’t fool her new dog. Doodle stuck close by her side all the way back to the house.
Chapter Twelve
