“He’s sooooo cute!” came another cry.
Nate turned around to see Bianca and Janie scurrying out the back door. They practically knocked him over in their rush to get to the puppy.
“He’s my brother’s new dog,” Lanie said. “Isn’t he adorable?”
“Can I hold him?” Bianca asked. Without waiting for permission she whisked the puppy away from Lanie. She turned to Nate. “Are you going to keep him in the office? Can I walk him?”
“Isn’t that a bit, um, unsanitary?” Nate asked.
“A cute little thing like this?” Janie said. “Absolutely not. You can get one those crates and put it right next to your desk. She’ll love it!”
“It’s a he,” Nate said. “His name is Hector.” He glanced over to see Lanie looking extremely pleased with herself. Two more members of the office staff came out to the parking lot to “see the new puppy.” They all fought over who was going to hold him next. Hector in turn, had that drugged puppy look in his eyes, tail wagging furiously, like he knew he was nectar and none of the bees could resist him.
Nate leaned back against his sister’s car, crossed his arms over his chest and watched the show in progress. The office staff barely tolerated him. If he turned away this puppy, they’d think he was Hannibal Lector.
“Oh, you’re good,” he said to Lanie.
His sister smiled. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Can I have a dog?” Henry asked. He was sitting at the kitchen table doing his homework while Lauren was making dinner and daydreaming about the dress that had popped into her head this afternoon. It was a simple design, a straight shift dress with a slightly flared skirt. She’d run into Kitty Pappas today at the Piggly Wiggly, and now that the news was out about Kitty’s pregnancy, she was happily flaunting it to the entire world by wearing her first maternity top.
Kitty had complained about the lack of “cute original” styles for pregnant women. That’s when the seed for the dress had begun to grow in Lauren’s mind. She’d already sketched out a pattern. The trick was finding the right fabric…
“Cameron says his dad is getting him a dog.”
Ha. Lauren wondered if Mimi knew about that. She tossed some fresh basil into the spaghetti sauce and stirred. “Oh, hon, dogs are a lot of work. Why don’t we get a cat?”
Henry made a face. “Cats are no fun.”
“I had a cat when I was growing up and she was a lot of fun. Her name was Dinah, you know, after the cat in Alice in Wonderland. I used to dress her up and make her play dolls with me.”
Henry didn’t look impressed. Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned the dolls. “My birthday’s next week. It could be my present,” he added hopefully.
Lauren had already gotten Henry’s gift—a new X-Box. It was wrapped and hidden away in her bedroom closet. It had cost more than what she wanted to spend, but Henry was turning twelve, and he was such a good kid. She sighed. “I’ll think about the dog, okay?”
“That always means no.” He bent his head and went back to his pre-algebra.
Lauren was about to protest when her front bell rang. It was almost seven and she wasn’t expecting anyone. She opened the door to find Nate Miller standing on her front porch. “Sorry to bother you, but I was walking Hector and we found ourselves on your street and I forgot to bring a baggy.” Nate motioned to the sidewalk in front of the house. “He did his business and I need to scoop it up. Neighborhood rules.”
Lauren glanced down to see a puppy on a leash. “Hector?”
“My new dog. Courtesy of my sister.” He raised the puppy off the ground—it was small and brown and completely adorable, its tiny paws clawing the air.
“Oh my God…that’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“That’s what all the women at the office said, too.”
Lauren laughed. Then she realized Nate Miller was standing at her front door and it was the longest conversation they’d had since The Kiss. He was dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt and he looked slightly embarrassed, like he wasn’t quite sure how he ended up at her house. He also looked completely sexy with those glasses and his tousled hair and just the barest beginning of a five o’clock shadow.
“Do you want to come in? I’m making spaghetti.” Ack! Had she just invited him to dinner? What if he said no? What if he said he was back with Jessica? What if—
“Is that what smells so good?” He smiled and those dimples came popping out like weapons of mass destruction aimed straight for her girl parts.
Oh God. It was official. She had a crush on Nate Miller. How on earth had that happened? She was thirty years old. Way too old to have a crush on anybody. More than likely it was simply that he was the last person to have carnal knowledge of her. Or rather, her lips, that is. The girls were right. She was a grown woman with needs. It was only natural that she would feel this…tingly thing in her stomach.
“It’s the garlic. It makes everything better. Or at least, smell better. Hector can come, too,” she added.
“Are you sure?” But he was already inside the house. He set the puppy down on the living room floor. Hector took a few wobbly steps then picked up momentum and began doing a jig in and around Nate’s legs before settling down to chew the hem of his jeans. “He’s pretty good inside. So far.” Nate bent down and shooed Hector away from making a meal out of his pants. The action made them both seem unbearably adorable. A good looking man with a puppy. It was a killer combo. So. Not. Fair.