He didn’t like having his home invaded by so many people who ignored him or refused to pass him food. “You will be good, won’t you, boy?”
“If you insist on wearing that dress, I can’t promise a thing.”
Rina turned. Colin stood in the doorway, staring at her hungrily from across the expanse of the small kitchen. “For a minute there, I thought Norton was answering me.”
He laughed, stepping toward her. “You look incredible.”
Heat flooded her cheeks but she was glad he’d noticed. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“Now, there’s a compliment,” he said wryly. “Are you really worried about Norton? I can walk him if you are.”
She shrugged. “I’m just being cautious. He’s not too happy with so many people invading his space. Except for you. He adores you. And so do I.” She brushed a kiss on his clean-shaven cheek, inhaling his seductive, purely masculine scent. Delicious, she thought.
She couldn’t get enough of him. No matter how dangerous the thought, she had no choice but to accept what he gave and put the notion of him moving on out of her mind. It would happen soon enough, especially if things with Joe didn’t go well.
Forcing herself to think about the party and the guests, instead of making love with Colin, wasn’t easy. “You can walk him in about an hour. Right now he’s just sulking.”
Colin cocked his head to the side, taking in the morose dog. “How can you tell?”
“Because he’s not jumping and begging for attention. He wants these people to come to him. He went through a period like this after his stint as a hero dog. He saved Brianne from a drug dealer who wanted revenge on my brother. He got so spoiled afterward it took awhile until he started acting like a dog again.”
Colin raised an eyebrow in surprise. “I didn’t think he had a vicious bone in his wrinkled body.”
She laughed. “He doesn’t. He didn’t even have to bare his teeth. All he had to do was pee on the guy’s leg. The bad guy lost his focus, giving Jake a chance to step in.”
Colin grinned. “Way to use your bodily functions, man.”
Norton thumped his tail in reply.
“Hey, I thought I was the hero who rescued Brianne.” Jake entered the kitchen.
“Only after Norton provided the opportunity, and don’t you forget it. You owe him.”
“I paid in advance by watching him that entire summer,” he muttered.
“I’m sure it wasn’t that much of a hardship.” She folded her arms over her chest. “And I didn’t realize you were standing there.”
He folded his arms over his chest, too, a gesture very much like Rina’s, Colin thought.
“I’m just observing,” Jake said, his gaze on Colin.
Observing him, Colin realized. Rina hadn’t said anything, but it was obvious his decision not to return yesterday had impacted not just Rina, but her brother. Jake’s attitude had been decidedly chillier than yesterday. Colin respected that.
“So what can I get you guys? Colin?” she asked first, obviously attempting to change the subject.
“Do you have any
bottled water? Emma’s getting tipsy and Logan wants to dilute her wine.”
Rina furrowed her eyebrows. “Emma doesn’t drink. She’s up to something, so you’d better keep an eye on her. Better yet, keep an eye on poor Stan. The man has his hands full.” She turned to her brother. “And you? Isn’t your wife waiting inside?”
“As a matter of fact, she wants to know if you have any celery.”
Rina crinkled her nose. “Cat’s hot appetizers are so good. Why would Brianne want celery?”
Jake rolled his eyes skyward. “As if I have a clue what women think.”
“Hmm. That might be a good subject for my next series of articles. How to get inside a woman’s head.” She grinned. “I like that.”