“I think they’ll have me planting some flowers downtown.”
“Oh yeah?” I smile.
“Yeah. Not nearly as much fun as working here.” My heart flutters again. I might need to get that checked out. Not used to that feeling at all.
“Well, I’ll have to schedule the hot tub with Travis soon.”
He brightens up. “Yeah. Well, you know you don’t have to spend money to see me, but if you’re serious about it, I’ll beg him to start right away.” He winks at me, and I swear I’m a goner.
I want to feel what it’s like to kiss him. I don’t think I’ve ever kissed someone I really liked. Not like this, for certain. But I don’t know if he wants that, and I’m pretty sure Jackson is watching, so I just settle for a shy smile. “I have a lot of money saved up, and I spend a lot of time here. Might as well make it amazing.”
He’s beaming at me now, and is he looking at my mouth?
Does he want to kiss me?
I nearly let out a frustrated groan but keep it together. “Goodnight, Gabe.”
“Goodnight, Dakota. You have my number.” He winks again. “Use it,” he says as he opens the door and climbs inside, giving me a little wave goodbye.
I have a feeling I won’t be able to resist.
14
GABE
“Hello?” I answer my phone, a little frantic without even looking at the caller ID. I was fast asleep in my bed, but I’m wide-awake now.
“Gabe?” The male voice takes me by surprise for a second, and then it clicks who it is.
“Dakota?”
“Yeah,” he breathes and sounds a little panicked, not at all how I pictured him when I thought about him using my number. It’s only been a couple of days since I last saw him. Travis told me yesterday he’s on the schedule for a hot tub but not until later in the week. And that wouldn’t make him call at—I look over at the clock sitting next to my bed—almost midnight.
“What’s the matter?” I ask, already climbing out of bed and grabbing a pair of sweats to pull on. Hellbent to get to him.
“It’s Mavis . . .”
“What’s wrong?” I say as I put him on speaker and pull on some sweats, walking over to my closet to find a T-shirt.
“She was meowing really loudly outside my bedroom window. I don’t know how she knew that was my room—or if she even did.” I smile to myself... kind of loving his rambling. “But Iwent outside to check on her, and she’s lying under my window, and I think she’s in pain. Her stomach is moving and...”
“She’s in labor?”
I tug a shirt over my head and go to my bathroom, trying to smooth out my wild hair, but it’s really no hope. I grab a hoodie and pull it on, finding my keys with my phone back in my hand. “I think so.”
“Okay, I’ll be right there. She’ll be okay, Dakota. Don’t worry.”
“You’re coming here?” He sounds surprised but hopeful, and it makes me smile as I lock my door and head out to my truck.
“Yeah. I’ll be there soon. Hang tight.”
We hang up, and I make the quick drive out to his place, picturing Dakota’s face, all flustered with worry. And goddammit, I know he looks cute as hell right now. When I pull up, he’s sitting outside on the dewy grass, petting Mavis’s head as she lies panting on the ground.
I rush over to them and take a seat right next to Dakota, scratching Mavis’s head. “You doing okay, girl?”
“I think she’s doing better than me,” Dakota says, and he sounds totally serious.Poor guy.
“You know this can take hours, right?” I ask, kind of amused and certainly endeared by the sweet man.How could I ever think he was a grump?
