She got it, but that didn’t make it easier. “You said you work from home?”
He nodded. “I gave myself all of May and June off, but July is right around the corner so it’s time to get back to it. I’ll start with thirty hours or so, but eventually that turns into forty plus.”
Ivey reached out and took his hand. Their alone time was extremely limited already, but he usually found a way to kiss her at the end of each visit. He had a lot on his plate and the last thing she wanted to do was add to that.
Hoping to make it easier on him, forcing herself to be stoic, she asked, “Are you trying to tell me we won’t see as much of each other?”
“What? No.” He quickly glanced toward Justin, then lowered his voice again. “Hell no. I was going to offer a different solution.”
Relieved, Ivey smiled. “I’m all ears.”
“What would you think of us taking Daisy and the puppies?”
Not what she’d expected. Take the dogs? But...she’d miss them horribly. “I don’t understand how that would help.”
“Ivey,” he said gently. “You don’t want to give the puppies away, and neither does Justin. Lang has said he’d help with them all. He’s also lending a hand with Justin, but I hate to infringe on him too much since he and Hope are now a thing.”
Yes, they were. Nothing too intimate, and they’d yet to share even a simple kiss. But Hope glowed with daily excitement. Lang made a point of seeing her every single night, usually for a walk around the property, or quiet time on the dock watching the sunset. Hope worried that he’d eventually want more and she wasn’t sure if she could give it.
But for now, her friend was in a fog of happiness. Even pet owners made note of Hope’s lighter mood at the clinic.
“I’ve gotten very attached to the puppies, that’s true.”
“And you trust very few people to treat them the same way you would.”
She considered that and admitted that she trusted Corbin and Justin both. “Wouldn’t that just give you more to deal with?”
He tugged on her hand until she stood, then he drew her around by his chair and urged her onto his thighs. Holding her on his lap, his arms around her waist, he smiled at her. “I was thinking, hoping, that you’d like to join us each night for dinner and maybe a swim.” Leaning forward, he kissed her, but with his son nearby he kept it light. “That would make a nice addition to our routine.”
Overcome with emotion, Ivey sank against him, her face turned into his neck, her arms around him. “I would love that so much.”
His hand went up and down her spine. “But?”
“I can’t leave Maurice each night.”
“Does he travel okay? You could bring him. He likes seeing Daisy anyway.”
Wow, it truly sounded as if they were combining their lives. She hugged him tighter. “Maurice does fine in his carrier for short trips.” Everything seemed to be changing suddenly, but she didn’t mind. She already knew how she felt, how she’d felt almost from the first day she’d met him.
“So what do you think? Yes?”
He smelled so good, and she couldn’t resist opening her mouth against his throat for just a moment. She felt him stir, and that stirred her, too. Sitting back a little, she nodded. “Yes. On one condition.” Not giving him a chance to ask, she said, “Any time it might not be convenient, you only need to let me know.”
“Same from you, okay?” He took her mouth in another brief kiss. “I want to spend time with you, but I don’t want you pressured to fit it in.”
When Justin laughed, they both looked toward him. He held the comic book high while one of the puppies tried to get it. Careful not to disturb Daisy or Maurice, he put the comic on the coffee table and snuggled the pup up close.
Awww. “I love your kid, Corbin. Just absolutely love him.”
“I’m glad.”
The way he said that and the weight in his words surprised her. She immediately got lost in his golden-brown gaze.
Oh, what she wouldn’t give to spend an entire night with him. How that would work, she had no idea, so she didn’t say it out loud. But she wanted it. So very, very much.
Carrying the pup, Justin came into the kitchen. “Is this one a boy or a girl?”
Ivey started to scramble off Corbin’s lap, but he held onto her and Justin didn’t appear to see anything amiss. Taking the puppy from him, Ivey lifted it high to take a peek, then declared, “Boy.” They all had the same coloring without any distinguishing differences yet, other than personality. “There are two boys and one girl.”
Tilting toward her, Justin whispered, “How can you tell?”
Wicked amusement lit Corbin’s eyes. “Yeah, Ivey. How can you?”
But hey, she’d been a veterinarian for a long time, so she whispered right back, “The boys have penises and the girl does not.” Gently, she cradled the pup on her thighs so that his little round belly was up. “You see?”
Very seriously, Justin scrunched up his face and peered at the dog. “Yeah.” Typical of a child, he moved right on from that, his curiosity appeased. “Could I name him Freddy, like Freddy Krueger?”
“You still want that name, huh?” She pretended to consider it. “You know, I think he’d like that.”
Slyly, he asked, “Could I name the other boy dog Jason?”
Ivey barely swallowed her laugh. “Sure.” With a sigh, she added, “And now we’re back to the girl pup and the difficulty of a name for her.”
“How about Lily? In the comic book, Frankenstein’s monster married Lily.”
“Oh, that’s genius! I think Lily sounds perfect.”
Justin edged in closer, hesitated a second, and then his skinny arms went around Ivey’s neck and he gave her a fierce hug. Equally stunned and moved by the unexpected gesture, she drew him closer with one arm and breathed in his little-boy smell of sun-warmed hair and skin.
Since she was still on Corbin’s lap, Corbin easily enclosed them both in his long muscular arms, then kissed each of them on the head.
As Justin wriggled free, he asked, “Got any more pie?”
Ivey wanted to crush him close again, but apparently his tolerance for affection had its limits and the hug he’d just given was generous. “Yes.” Following Corbin’s example, she gave Justin a quick kiss on the forehead and handed him the puppy, then kissed Corbin, too, just for good measure, before standing.
Here she’d started out with the intent of having casual fun, and instead she’d fallen madly in love with the family life.