Boomer returned his attention to the cat and sniffed him again. Fritter still hadn’t moved.
Then Boomer’s big tongue licked the cat’s head, and Fritter blinked. Then he reached up to sniff the dog in return.
Mara sank to the floor in relief. Both that Boomer wasn’t snacking on Fritter, and that she had something to focus on other than that kiss.
Holy wow, the kiss had nearly blown her skull straight off.
Her pulse still raced out of control, and her skin was flushed, but at least she could pretend it was fear for her new buddy.
Amber walked over and scratched Boomer’s head. Fritter continued to sniff at the dog’s face.
Mara smiled. “This is Fritter. We found him on the porch steps this morning. He was hungry, so Seth got him some tuna and water. I was looking up what to do for him because it was too early to text Kimi, and I didn’t think to warn you. I’m just glad Boomer didn’t gulp him down.”
Finally, she managed to clamp her lips shut and stop more babble from escaping. At least she hadn’t mentioned that if Boomer hadn’t barked, she might have been tossing her clothes off in hopes Seth would do the same.
She’d been so lost in the kiss that she might have totally forgotten they were in a place with no privacy at all.
She patted Boomer’s head. “Good boy, Boomer.”
The silence of the humans had her peeking up to find Amber smiling at her with a sparkle in her eyes. “Sounds like you’ve had an interesting morning.”
Oh no, had she let on more than she should? Did they know she’d been up on the island wrapped around Seth like an octopus?
They couldn’t. Even Boomer didn’t have X-ray vision.
She turned her gaze back to the animals, working desperately to keep her emotions and her mouth under control.
It was just a kiss. Well, there was no way that had been a simple kiss. That had been a kiss to bring audiences to their feet, screaming for encores.
She really wanted an encore.
Mara closed her eyes and continued to pat the animals. She needed to act like a normal person, not a lunatic. She doubted Seth would want to kiss a lunatic.
And she really wanted an encore.
Chapter 11
Friend Like Me
Seth had never been so grateful for his army training. He’d been able to react quickly enough that his new bosses didn’t find him stripping their baker on the kitchen island.
The woman could kiss.
He’d never been so lost in a kiss.
If Boomer hadn’t barked, Seth wouldn’t have noticed until they entered the kitchen. He was always conscious of his surroundings. It was a vital skill in a kitchen filled with steaming pots, sharp knives, and cranky chefs.
It had become even more important in the army when surrounded by rifles, IEDs, and insurgents around every tree. That thought helped him yank his body under control.
He finally looked at Mara, sitting on the floor petting the two animals. Her skin was flushed, but that could be attributed to other things, not necessarily to the fact that they’d been devouring each other on the island.
He ripped his imagination from Chaos Machine’s sexy curves and back to the work in front of him. What the hell had he been doing?
He washed his hands to give himself another moment to settle. The ingredients on the counter reminded him he’d been making focaccia. Mara had been absorbed in the cat, and he’d wanted to help her out. The bread would go well with the soups he wanted to throw together for the evening meal.
Soup, bread, antipasto, and veggie side dishes would make for an easy comfort meal, and he’d get an idea of which soups everyone preferred.
Ignoring the bread for the moment, he returned to chopping the vegetables he’d laid out for the minestrone. Vermont hadn’t yet hit hot temperatures, so soups would work. Extras would freeze if Amber wanted to have lunches available for hungry guests.
