What I absolutely did not expect when I pulled the door open was the blur of dark brown that launched itself at me. I barely had time to react before I was knocked backward, my foot slipping on the hardwood when something solid and enthusiastic collided with my body, throwing me completely off-balance.
The next thing I knew, I was on the floor, flat on my back, being licked on my face, my neck, and even my hair.
“Oh my God.” I choked out the words, laughing as I tried and failed to push the dog away from my face. “Stop. Just wait.”
A familiar bark rang out and my hands immediately stilled, no longer trying to push him away. My heart stuttered. I blinked hard, trying to focus on the face in front of me rather than the shock.
“Hubert?”
He barked again like he’d been waiting for me to catch up. I was laughing and crying at the same time, sitting up to wrap my arms around him. Naturally, he continued his full assault on my face, his tail wagging so hard, his entire body shook with the force of it.
“Oh my God,” I gasped again. “It’s you. It’s really you.”
I buried my face in his fur, a sob tearing out of me as I held him. All the tears I hadn’t let myself cry before suddenly came streaming out, all the hurt I’d shoved down rising to the surface. Everything I’d felt since that evening I’d walked into my London flat and found him gone came crashing into me at once.
“I missed you,” I whispered into his fur. “I missed you so much, boy.”
He whined softly, pressing closer like he’d missed me too. I wasn’t sure how long I stayed on the floor like that, cryinginto his neck while he licked whatever tears he could reach, but eventually, a shadow fell over us.
My vision was blurry when I finally lifted my head and looked up, seeing Jesse standing in the doorway. He was looking down at us, his eyes brighter than I’d ever seen them, but not in that joking, teasing way I was used to.
Instead, those blue eyes were rich with something deeper and warmer. Happiness, if I had to venture a guess. Real, unguarded happiness.
“What did you do?” I asked, my voice still shaky. I pushed myself up but kept one hand buried in Hubert’s fur.
I couldn’t risk losing contact with him. Jesse, on the other hand, didn’t seem emotional or shaken at all. He just shrugged, like delivering my dog back to me out of nowhere was a perfectly everyday occurrence.
“I might have a warrant out for my arrest in France. Dognapping,” he said casually. “If there is one, though, my lawyers are already on it, so don’t worry.”
“You might have awhat?”
“Don’t sweat it. I doubt he’ll go that far.” He smiled. “Seriously, I wasn’t planning on going back there anytime soon anyway. If you liked escargot, we might’ve had a problem, but you don’t, so there’s really no reason for me to ever go there again.”
I let out a breath that was half laugh, half disbelief. “I don’t think I even want to know.”
“That’s probably for the best.”
“It’s definitely for the best.” I finally let go of Hubert to wipe my eyes. “I can’t believe you did this. Whatever it was you had to do.”
Hubert moved with me when I took a step, pressing against my side like he had no intention of leaving. I wrapped my fingersinto his fur once more, still trying to process the fact that he was actually here.
He was here, with me, finally home. Except…
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath. “What time do the pet stores close around here? I don’t have anything for him. No food. No bowls. No anything.”
Jesse jerked his head toward the door. “You can go tomorrow. Hell, you could probably even leave it until next week. Check the duffel bag.”
My gaze snapped to where he’d pointed and my jaw dropped. Sitting neatly by the entrance was a bag I definitely hadn’t owned five minutes ago.
When I glanced back at him, he smiled. “I told you not to worry. I’ve got you covered.”
Of course. Obviously, he even thought of that. God, all the planning that must’ve gone into this. For me.
The reality of the past few weeks apart settled over me, all the missed calls and the distance I’d put between us. The assumptions I’d made that might’ve been incorrect.
A lump formed in my throat as I looked back up at him. “What are we doing, Jesse? You flew across an ocean to steal my dog back, but you haven’t taken my calls. I jumped to conclusions about your family, but I’m still not convinced I was wrong. We’re a mess.”
“Yeah.” He slid his hands into his pockets, but those eyes never left mine. “Well, I don’t know what youweredoing before we arrived, but I am hoping, since I’m already here, that maybe we could talk for a minute?”
