“You’re a trooper.”
I held up my finger as a warning, trying to maintain a poker face, even though the game was long over.
He nodded. “I forgot. Silence is golden.”
I laughed at the ridiculousness of this beautiful man.
I reached up and finally pressed my lips to his.
All the noise and chanting suddenly disappeared.
I tried to remember why I wanted to fight kissing him so much, when it was my new favorite thing to do in the world.
Kissing Ben Baxter was a dream.
Sweet and wonderful.
Our mouths fit together perfectly.
My heart rate kicked up a notch, just from the feel of his body against mine.
Ben grabbed me by the waist and pulled me against him even harder, deepening the kiss.
This was pure heaven.
Nothing more and nothing less.
He pulled away and smiled. “There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
I was dazed and confused and still needy.
I wanted more.
“Why did you stop?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I didn’t want to take advantage of the situation in front of all these people. The kiss was amazing, you collected your bet, and my needs were met.” He grinned.
I shook my head at him. “Dr. Tough Love, you more than anyone should know that you should put the needs of the woman first. And just between you and me, I’m not even close to finished.”
I reached up and kissed him again.
Chapter Twenty-One
BEN
I pulled up to the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe about twenty-five minutes before our promotion with the radio station was set to begin.
Today, we would promote and educate the public on what the incredible nonprofit organization was doing for our community and share information about their spaying, foster, and adoption programs. We would also be going live on the radio with a couple of call-ins to talk about what we were doing and invite the listeners to come by, say hi, and take a tour of the wonderful facility. Our public appearance would only last two hours and typically the time flew by for these events because we were interacting nonstop with so many people.
After saying hello to Dan and a few of the other radio station promo assistants who were setting up the booth and remote broadcast equipment, I decided to wander around the huge twelve-acre property.
I ended up in the new adoption center where one of the volunteers, Kaitlyn, recognized me and enthusiastically greeted me, saying she was a big fan of the show.
“Where’s Lori?” Kaitlyn asked. “I want to meet her.”
“She’ll be here soon, I would imagine, since we’re starting in about twenty minutes.”
“Let me show you some of the cute dogs up for adoption. You love dogs, right?”
“Of course. I used to have one.”
“Awww.” She rubbed the side of my arm. “He crossed the Rainbow Bridge?”
I shook my head. “He crossed the bridge to my ex’s house. Haven’t seen him since.”
“And you miss him?” Kaitlyn asked.
I nodded. “Every single day.”
“Well, come on. Let me show you some dogs that will take you to your happy place.” Kaitlyn led me around to visit many of the dogs available for adoption. “We care for and adopt out more than three thousand pets a year. The puppies always go the fastest. Sometimes people sleep in the parking lot overnight to have a chance to adopt one.”
“Not a surprise. They’re so darn cute.”
“But older dogs need love, too.” She frowned.
I crossed my arms, trying to keep a straight face. “Was that a dig at me?”
Kaitlyn laughed. “No, silly. I know you don’t have to worry about that since you have wonderful and amazing Lori. By the way, you two are the cutest couple ever.”
“Thanks,” I said, even though Lori and I had never talked about being a couple.
Were we a couple?
Why wouldn’t we be a couple?
I had no interest in seeing anyone else.
She kissed me like she had no problem being exclusive with me.
I guess that was something we needed to talk about, but not before I kissed her first.
Kaitlyn gestured to the medium-size black and tan dog. “Like Bob here. He’s ten years old and needs love, just like the rest of them.”
“He’s a German shepherd?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but a little smaller than normal because he’s got a mix of something else. He’s such a sweet, sweet boy, but on the quiet side.”
“Woof!”
Bob just stared at me, his eyes locked on mine.
“Woof! Woof!”
“Quiet, huh?” I laughed.
Kaitlyn squatted in front of the window and studied Bob. “That’s odd, I don’t think I’ve heard him bark one single time since he got here. It looks like he’s trying to communicate with you.”
I wasn’t so sure.
“Woof! Woof!”
His bark was full and deep and loud.
It wasn’t aggressive barking. It was like he was asking to be let out to run around or hoping someone would just give him a belly rub. Bob’s tail was wagging and his tongue was hanging out, his eyes never leaving mine.
Was Kaitlyn right?
Was Bob trying to communicate with me?
He was a good-looking boy, no doubt about that.
A couple walked by without even looking at Bob, going straight for the puppies.
It was a shame to see that.
“I think he really likes you,” Kaitlyn said.
I wagged my finger at her. “I know what you’re up to. You’re going to tell me that Bob and I have a connection, and then you’re going to try to get me to adopt him.”
“Nah, we don’t force dogs on anyone. We’re very picky about who we let our dogs go home with because we want to make sure they’re going to be happy. It has to be a good fit for both parties.”
Bob moved closer and lifted his paw, holding it against the glass like he wanted me to grab it.
“What a cute boy.”
Kaitlyn laughed, pointing to my face. “You like him. I can see that.”
I shrugged. “What’s not to like? He’s a beautiful dog, and you’re right, he seems very sweet.”
“The owner moved to Europe and he couldn’t take Bob with him. He’s a smart dog and knows a lot of tricks. Let me bring him out, so you can say hello.”
I shook my head. “I need to get back to the booth. Maybe later?”
Kaitlyn nodded. “Sounds good. Can you introduce me to Lori?”
“I’d be happy to. Let’s go.”
We headed to the door, and I glanced back at Bob one more time. He was lying down and had his head resting on his front paws.
He was still watching me, his tail wagging.
Back outside, Kaitlyn and I walked toward the booth in the front parking lot.
“Wow,” I said. “Where did all these people come from?”
There was already a huge crowd forming around the booth. And more cars were pulling into the parking lot, people honking their horns and waving.
I gestured ahead toward Lori standing inside the booth next to Dan. “There she is.”
Kaitlyn smiled. “She’s so beautiful.”