Nick knitted his brows together. “Of course you can.”
“Is he going to be all right?” Miles asked, looking to his dad for reassurance. Nick didn’t answer but sent Harlow a questioning expression. For the first time since she’d met him, Nick seemed uncertain. Harlow knew he wanted to make sure Miles wasn’t going to get his heart shattered if something happened to Zeus. This little boy had already been through so much.
“We need to make sure it’s not anything problematic, but that’s standard procedure. This is a great way to take care of Zeus and make sure he stays healthy for a very long time. Okay?” she asked, placing her hand on his shoulder. “I’m really impressed with how you pointed out his lump. It shows that you’re a wonderful owner and friend.”
Miles was beaming after hearing her praise. “So just a few shots and the needle aspiration before you guys can get out of here. I’m sure you have a list of exciting things on tap for today.”
As Harlow gave Zeus his shots, Miles talked a mile a minute about everything under the sun—school, soccer, pizza, and the upcoming fall festival to be held in Mistletoe.
“Slow down, buddy,” Nick said, chuckling. “I know you’re excited about pumpkin fest, but Doc Harlow is new in town, so she needs to understand all the nuances.”
Miles scrunched up his face. “Nuances. What’s that?”
“The special touches,” Nick answered. “What makes it one of a kind.”
“Oh, I get it,” the little boy said before continuing to speak. His features and hand gestures were animated as he spoke. “So, it’s this amazing event with contests and games and lots of great food, like fried dough and cider doughnuts and lobster bites.”
“Lobster bites? Where can I sign up for that?” Harlow asked, eager to sample her very first Maine lobster. Just the thought of devouring lobster dipped in butter made her stomach grumble in appreciation. The delicious crustacean was an item she’d often treated herself to in Seattle.
“And there’s a contest for biggest pumpkin and smallest pumpkin,” Miles rambled on. “There’s also a cutest dog Halloween costume contest that we’re entering this year. And we’re definitely going to win. Right, Zeus?” A noise came from Zeus that almost sounded as if the dog was responding to Miles. Harlow let out a laugh at the same time as Miles. She wasn’t surprised that Miles was wild about his pet. Zeus had an oversized personality that was endearing.
“Zeus is all done and he was a rock star. He didn’t even flinch when he got his shots,” Harlow said as Nick stepped forward to lift Zeus up off the table before placing him on the floor.
“Didn’t I tell you he was the best dog ever?” Miles asked as he got down on the floor and lavished Zeus with affection.
“There’re goody bags at the front desk for all of my patients,” Harlow said. “If you ask nicely, Tina might even give you a lollipop for the road.” The doggy treat bags had been a big hit at Paws, not only with the dogs but with the owners as well.
“Let’s go get one, boy,” Miles said, zooming off before Harlow could even say goodbye.
“Well, thanks for everything, Harlow,” Nick said, before turning toward the door. She knew that she needed to catch him before he left, to say something before too much time went by. Apologies were meant to be given sooner rather than later.
She cleared her throat. “Nick, can you wait a second?” Harlow asked, reaching for his arm. Holy smokes! This man had muscles for days. His arm was rock solid. Awareness flooded her. There was no way in the world she could ever deny Nick’s raw sex appeal. He was in a league of his own.
The look he gave her was skeptical. “Sure. What is it?” He frowned. “Is it something about Zeus that you didn’t want to say in front of Miles?”
“No, this is about the other day at the Coffee Bean,” Harlow said, shifting from one foot to the other and wringing her hands. Why did this feel like she was facing the guillotine? Maybe it had something to do with the dour expression stamped on Nick’s face. He certainly wasn’t making it easy for her to eat crow.
She took a deep breath. “I didn’t handle things well when we talked the other day. I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve forgotten all about it,” Nick said, his expression shuttered.
“Have you? Because I think that I might have hurt your feelings with my clumsy wording. What can I say? I’m not very smooth.” She took a deep breath. “The truth is that I do want to go out with you. Very much.”
“You do?” Nick asked, his tone showcasing his surprise.
“I’ve been thinking about it since the moment you rescued me. Confession. I tried to hunt you down that day at the crash site, but you’d already left,” Harlow admitted. She was going for broke here, essentially admitting she was crushing on him, despite how uncomfortable it made her feel. But it was too late to turn back now. She had dipped her big toe into chilly Maine waters.
“Really?” Nick asked. “I made that good of an impression, huh?” He was smirking, seemingly very pleased with himself.
“I wanted to thank you for saving me, but I also thought you were pretty cool.”
Nick smiled at her, a full-fledged, megawatt smile that let her know she’d smoothed things over between them. “You liked me.”
“Okay, don’t get a big head about it. You had your Superman cape on that day, for sure. And every time we’ve run into each other it seems that the universe is trying to tell us something.”
“Maybe giving us a little nudge.”
A nudge? For Harlow, it sometimes seemed like a huge push into the deep end of the pool. The way he was smiling at her caused butterflies to swirl around in her stomach. He exuded a masculine swagger that made her a little weak in the knees. The fact that Nick was acknowledging their connection emboldened her. At this point she had nothing to lose but a part of her dignity if he turned her down.
