Until Talon (Until Him 4)

“I should have called into work to let them know I wouldn’t be there before I went back to bed this morning. I doubt my boss will be impressed with my sister calling in for me.” Thinking about it now, I probably should have called him when I got up, but finding Talon in my sister’s kitchen threw me off my game. I’ll send him a text when we get back to the house.

He laughs, and I frown. “Sorry, babe, but you’re not going to get fired. I watched your ass strut toward me and saw the men in the room watching you, hoping you’d be their salesperson. Your boss is not going to want to lose you.”

My nose scrunches. “That’s a lot sexist, and Ken doesn’t care about that. We get clients on rotation, so it doesn’t even matter if someone wants to work with you—unless you’ve worked with them in the past or they’ve had a problem with the person they are working with.”

“All right, so how many cars have you sold since you opened back up after the tornado?”

I think about it for a minute then shrug. “I think twelve.”

“Again, you’re not getting fired.”

“Whatever,” I mumble. He’s probably right, but not because I’ve gotten a ton of sales or whatever, but because Ken likes me. “I think we should probably turn back for the house,” I say when Retro falls to her rump on the sidewalk and Mercury sprawls out on someone’s lawn. “Unless you’re up to lugging two forty-pound dogs a few blocks.”

“Are they always like this?”

“Are you asking if they are always this lazy?”

“I was going to say ‘chill,’ but yeah.” He smiles as we head back toward the house.

“When they were puppies, they would rather sleep than do anything else. I got lucky with them. They were easy to train and always okay with just cuddling and hanging out rather than being into any and everything and all over the place.”

“You did get lucky. My parents have two dogs that are constantly running around yapping and hard to control when strangers come over.”

“What kind of dogs do they have?”

“A Yorkie and a Chihuahua.”

I laugh, knowing he’s not exaggerating. “My mom has a Yorkie too, and he acts the same way. His personality is huge, and he thinks he’s bigger than he is. The only good thing about him is that when he’s getting out of hand, he’s small enough that you can just pick him up and hold him.”

“You got a point there.” His thumb smooths across my wrist, and I shiver. When we get back to the house Cece’s minivan is in the driveway, so I stop near Talon’s truck. “So are we still on for Saturday?”

“Yeah, I’m working until two then watching the girls, since Cece is working that night. But their dad is supposed to pick them up around four.”

“All right, I’ll be here at five, if that still works for you?”

“It should. Can I ask where we’re going, so I know what to wear?”

“My place.” I raise a brow, and he grins. “I’ll be on my best behavior, promise. I just know I want to spend time with you without interruption and figured I’d barbeque. And since the weather’s nice, we can hang on the deck and take a walk down by the water behind my house. You can bring Retro and Mercury if you want.”

“That actually sounds really nice,” I admit. I mean, I like going out to a nice restaurant as much as the next girl, but I prefer jeans and sneakers to dresses and heels, and I doubt after working all day then taking care of the girls that I’ll be up to putting in the effort to go out someplace nice.

“Good.” He leans down, and I brace as his face gets closer to mine. “I’ll see you Saturday, Mia.” My eyes slide closed, and I grasp his arm when his woodsy scent wraps around me then brace as he brushes his warm lips against my cheek.

When he pulls back, I open my eyes, finding him looking at me with an expression I can’t decipher. All I know is it makes me feel warm and safe and important. “I’ll see you Saturday,” I echo.

He steps back and releases the hold he has on my hand only to fill it with the two leashes he’d been gripping. “Also, call me. I’d like to hear your voice, and if you can’t do that, send me a text.” He opens the door to his truck and slides in behind the wheel.

“You’re very demanding.”

His look turns wicked as his eyes roam over me, making my spine tingle. “Oh, you have no idea, sweetheart.” He slams his door, starts the engine, and rolls down the window. “Call me.”

“I’ll think about it,” I sass.