Search and Seduce

Eloise nodded. “Sounds like a good plan.”

“But he’s only here a few more days. “ Amy closed her eyes. “See, I’m being selfish again, wanting him, even though I know it will be harder on both of us when he leaves.”

“I bet Mark likes this selfish side of you. In my experience, a man does not follow a woman into an exam room and strip off her stockings out of the goodness of his heart.” Eloise reached for another file folder. “This might sound like a silly question because you have obviously thought this through, but have you even asked him if he wants more?”

“I... You’re right.” She stood, setting Daisy on the floor. “I need to go back and talk to him.”

“Take some gluten-free dog treats with you,” Eloise called after her as she headed down the hall. “So you can at least

pretend you didn’t come here only for my relationship advice.”

Amy grabbed a bag from the reception area display shelf and headed for her truck, pausing when she opened the door. Was she making a mistake taking advice from a woman who spent her Sunday doing paperwork instead of dealing with her own feelings? Would talking to Mark change anything?

Probably not. But she owed him a conversation even if it ended with goodbye.

19

“DON’T LOOK AT ME like that.”

Jango sat on his bed in the corner of Amy’s kitchen, watching as Mark searched for a pad of paper and a pen. Finding what he needed, Mark wrote a quick note for Amy and set it on the table.

“I’ll be back in a few hours,” he said to the suspicious dog. “It’s your job to make sure she sees that note. I don’t want her thinking I got spooked after this morning and ran away.”

He was running, but it wasn’t away from her. He was barreling headfirst past the barrier erected by her rules, bypassing words like fun, and rushing straight for a word he had shied away from for as long as he could remember—commitment.

Mark tapped the piece of paper on the table. Jango lay down on his bed, his gaze fixed on the note. If there was one thing this dog loved, it was a mission.

“Sometimes I think you understand everything we say,” Mark muttered as he went to the front door.

Outside, T.J. stood beside his mother’s compact sedan. Mark headed over, wondering if this was a bad idea. Maybe he should wait here and talk to Amy when she returned. To hell with the grand gestures.

“Thanks for coming,” Mark said when he reached the passenger-side door. “I’d go myself, but I need your wheels and your expertise.”

“No hard feelings, man.” T.J. slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “Not from me. Luke? Well, he’s another matter.”

Mark nodded. Luke’s feelings didn’t concern him. Right now, Amy was all that mattered.

They drove in silence past Heart’s Landing’s familiar landmarks, including The Last Stop Diner. Beyond the town limits, the landscape turned to trees and farms.

“Mind telling me why you’re hell-bent on making this trip today?” T.J. asked.

“I want to do something for Amy.” Mark focused on the tall pines outside the window. “Show her that I care.”

T.J. steered the car onto the four-lane highway. “Most women like flowers, chocolate, a night out at a place where they charge you five times what the food is worth.”

Shit, he didn’t know the first thing about flowers and chocolate. He doubted Amy wanted to leave her dogs behind for a night out in Portland, where the restaurants fit T.J.’s description. “Amy’s not most women.”

T.J. nodded. “She’s special. I’ll give you that, but I still think flowers might be the way to go.”

Doubt hung over his head. Was he making a mistake dragging T.J. out for a three-hour round-trip shopping adventure when Amy would rather have a dozen roses?

“I want to leave her with something she can use,” Mark said. “Something that will keep her safe.”

“You’re the one who’s trying to win the girl.” T.J. took an exit. “Check the directions. I haven’t been to this place in years, and I want to make sure we don’t get lost on back roads in the middle of nowhere.”

“I’m not trying to win her. Amy is not a prize. I just want her to know she means something to me.” Mark scrolled through the directions on his phone. “Turn right at the next light.”

A while later, they pulled up to the store. Mark had called ahead to make sure it would be open on a Sunday afternoon. The lights were on, and two cars were parked in the lot.