“Yes. And it’s enough to terrify anyone. Did he tell you about the woman who snuck into his place and waited to ‘surprise’ him when he got home? She was dressed up like Cupid and tried to shoot him with a real bow and arrow. Broke his TV. They’d split up weeks before and she clearly didn’t take it well.”
She stared in horror. “I hadn’t even heard about that one! I heard about the one who threw eggs at his window at three in the morning and called him a dickless wonder, which really pales in comparison to a bow and arrow.”
Nash snorted, shaking his head slightly. “No kidding. He actually had to call the cops on her. So are you dating anyone?” he asked as he took a right-hand turn—and she noticed the way his knuckles paled as he gripped it tighter.
Um, what? Did he…actually care? She shifted slightly against the leather seat as she contemplated that question. “No. No one wants to date a woman who travels as much as I do. What about you?” They talked about a lot of things—movies they’d seen, restaurants they’d tried, books they’d read, family stuff, politics. But either intentionally or not, they never, ever talked about their dating lives.
Or in her case, her lack of one. She just liked to pretend that he wasn’t dating either. But someone as sexy and nice as him? He had to be dating and…more. Ugh. Yeah, she never went down that mental road. That way lay insanity.
“Same. I can’t remember the last date I’ve been on. It’s been…like two years. Since before I started at Red Stone Security.” He said it all casually, as if he hadn’t just dropped a bomb, then tossed accelerant onto the fire.
Two. Years.
How was he not dating? Her brain short-circuited and she couldn’t even think of a response or a new subject. Luckily he pulled into the parking lot of the pet shelter she now owned, so she didn’t have to try to talk. She couldn’t help but wonder why he’d asked her though. Was he fishing because he…wanted to ask her out?
Unfortunately, now that they were in the parking lot, some of her earlier tension ratcheted back up and she started thinking about the thing she didn’t want to think about. She desperately needed to buy out her deceased aunt’s business partner. And the clock was ticking—which was why she needed to do this new retrieval job right.
If she could get enough money from her finder’s fee, she would be able to buy out Howard West and pay him the retail value for his half of the building, and pay off the rest of the back fees and mortgage. Unbeknownst to Ivy, they’d fallen behind on their mortgage payments right as her aunt had become ill. The bank was being shockingly understanding because of that, but soon it would fall into the process of foreclosure if they didn’t pay the back payments. Luckily that process took a while, but she also knew there was a developer sniffing around who wanted the property.
No way was she letting some corporate jackass have it. She’d talked to Howard and the bank, and they’d agreed to let her come up with the money by the end of the month before going forward with anything. So the clock was quite literally ticking.
“How long has it been since you were last here?” Nash asked as they headed across the gravelly parking lot.
“A month.” Too long. She’d come here as a teen, had spent countless weekends with her aunt volunteering at pet fairs. At one point she’d considered becoming a vet, but had quickly realized she didn’t have the fortitude for that—blood tended to squick her out. Not a good trait for a vet.
As he opened the door, the scent of the peppermint oil diffuser mixed with animals washed over her and brought up far too many memories of the years she’d spent here. She would save this shelter no matter what it took.
* * *
Ivy mentally kept her ovaries in check as she watched Nash on the ground playing with Bud, the grumpiest-looking dog she’d ever met. The little pug with the scrunched, wrinkly face seemed to have a perpetual scowl, though he was a cuddle bug. She’d been in the office with Sally, the woman who ran the place, going over some paperwork, and had come out to find Nash basically rolling around in the grass like a twelve-year-old with the older pug. And it was adorable to watch such a big guy being so silly and caring with a small animal.
She leaned against the open gate where they let the dogs out to run in the fenced yard. “So are you taking him home with you?”
Nash looked up at her and smiled—and she felt it like a sucker punch. The early morning sun was glinting off the sunglasses on top of his head and his green eyes were startling in the light. She wished things between them could be different, that he wasn’t her brother’s best friend. Wishing, however, was stupid.
She quickly locked up those thoughts and buried them down deep in a place she rarely acknowledged.
“Maybe. Has anyone been looking at adopting him?”
“Are you serious?” She straightened in surprise.
“Yeah,” he said, scratching behind Bud’s ear. Bud leaned into it, sounding more like a purring kitten than a snuffling dog.
“He’s been here a while. He’s more or less the place’s mascot. He got close a couple times, but then it never worked out. People always want younger dogs.” She crouched down next to both of them and scratched behind Bud’s ears. His head tilted to the side, his big human-like eyes staring at her as if he could see through to her soul. She knew that some cultures believed in animal and human reincarnation, and looking into Bud’s dark, soulful eyes, she could believe it.
“I need to figure some things out with my dad first,” Nash said. “But can you ask Sally to let me know if she gets interest in him in the next week? I really like him and I want this guy.”
As if to say, “I like you too,” Bud scooted closer and rubbed his head up against Nash’s chest.
“Of course.” She stayed crouched, rubbing behind Bud’s ears. He scooted up to her then, begging for pets, and yeah, she melted inside. Scooping him against her chest, she let him nuzzle under her neck.
“If I could, I’d take you home this instant,” Nash murmured to the dog.
All right, her ovaries basically exploded at that. What was he trying to do to her?
One of the many things she’d missed over her years traveling was this right here. She’d always planned to get a dog after college, but then her job had taken over her life. And there had been no way she could responsibly get one when she traveled so much.
“How do you not have to go into work this week, seriously?” She knew what he’d told her, but it was hard to believe he’d been able to just drop everything and was now hanging out with her on a random Wednesday.
“I told you I had the time off.”
“Don’t you have stuff you need to get done?”
His look turned speculative. “You already trying to get rid of me, Ivy?”
Heat rushed to her cheeks, partially at his question and partially at the way he said her name. “No. Of course not. I just don’t want you to feel like…” She started to say obligated, but that felt all wrong. And she didn’t know what she wanted to express anyway. She just knew that being with him got her worked up and turned on.
She started to say more, then she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. When she saw Leo’s name pop up, her heart rate accelerated and she quickly read the message as Bud curled up in her lap. “Leo just texted me. The meeting time has been moved up. I’ve gotta get home and change now.” She couldn’t very well wear her silly chicken sweater and scrubby jeans.