Sighing, I unlock the door. I’ve never experienced anyone like him before, he’s so swoony and thoughtful. Well, he is when he’s not being so bossy. He’s making it hard for me to resist him.
“You didn’t have to come all this way to walk me to my car.”
“No big deal,” he says, playing it down, but it’s a big deal to me. If he lives anywhere near Grayson, that’s a half-hour drive. “I couldn’t sleep anyway, all I could think about was damn cupcakes.”
I laugh. “You have issues, you know that?”
“I do, big ones. It’s this girl I met. She’s messing with my head, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t stop thinking about her.”
“Really?” I ask as my heart starts to thump in my chest. Is he talking about me? “Anyone I know?”
“Possibly. She’s beautiful… so goddamn beautiful. Inside and out. And her legs… Christ, they go on for days.”
“She sounds very… umm… tall. I mean legs that go on for days. That’s long.”
Ashton chuckles. “Her legs are stunning, and she’s actually the perfect height for me.”
“If you say so.”
“You know what else?
“What?” I ask.
“She’s caring, smart, too, and so incredibly sweet.”
“Sweet, hey?”
“Yeah, she tastes like cupcakes and jelly donuts.”
“She sounds yummy.”
“She is, she’s delicious.”
How he can keep a straight face is beyond me.
As much as I’d like to continue with this conversation, I have to finish getting ready. I’m worried about Duke, he wasn’t himself yesterday when I stopped by to see him, so I’m eager to see how he’s doing this morning.
Stepping back, I allow Ashton to enter. He’s freshly showered and smells so good. As he passes, his arm slides around my waist, drawing me in for a kiss.
“Mmm, minty,” he says when he pulls back and gives me a panty-melting smile.
He’s so damn sexy.
“Good morning,” I say.
“Morning, sunshine.” He takes one of the coffees out of the tray, handing it to me. “Since its Sunday, and Sinful-Saturday is over, I refrained from getting you a double pump caramel macchiato with extra whip and whole milk, opting for a black coffee with no sugar instead.” I arch my eyebrow. How in the hell did he even remember what I ordered yesterday morning? “What? I’m observant.”
I shake my head. “Are you trying to woo me, Barclay?”
“Am I trying to what you?”
“Woo me?”
“Is woo even a word?”
“Of course, it is.”
He smirks. “I’m not sure what it means, but there’s a lot of things I’d like to do to you, Em.”
My thighs clench together as I try to act unaffected by the innuendo laced through his words.
“I have to finish getting ready.” I hear him chuckle as I rush to my bedroom.
“Don’t forget to pack a bikini. We’re going swimming after lunch.”
I poke my head out, peering at him down the short hallway. “What if I don’t want to go swimming?”
“Stop arguing, woman, and just pack one.”
Ugh! I should pack the one piece I have just to spite him—Carla calls it my grandma bathing suit—but instead, I grab the skimpiest bikini I own.
“You okay?” Ashton asks on our drive to the shelter. He said he was going to escort me to my car, but as soon as we got downstairs, he insisted on driving me the entire way saying it was easier since I’d be meeting him for lunch anyway.
He has a point, but still.
“I’m okay,” I answer. “Just a little anxious about seeing Duke. He was off yesterday, so I’m concerned about him.”
“Off?”
“Yeah, he wouldn’t eat… he loves his food, and when I took him for a walk, he was sluggish. I ended up carrying him most of the way.”
“He’s old, right?”
“Yeah, seventeen. That’s like…” I pause for a moment doing the calculations in my head, “… a hundred and nineteen in human years.”
“Fuck, if I were a hundred and nineteen, I’d be feeling sluggish, too.”
“I guess,” I say, releasing a small laugh. “I just worry about him. It upsets me to think he’ll more than likely live out his final years in the shelter. Life’s been pretty shitty for him since he lost his person.”
“His person?”
“Yeah. The old lady who owned him. His only family. She died… hence, why he’s now with us.”
“Oh, I see.”
“She knew she didn’t have long, so she set up a trust for Duke. She bequeathed her estate to the shelter on the condition he be cared for until the end. She wants his ashes to be scattered with hers when his time comes.”
“Right.”
“It’s quite sweet, actually. Duke obviously meant a lot to her. I was there the day they brought him in. He was terrified. His eyes were bugging out of his head with fright, and his little body was trembling. He’d never been around other animals before. He must’ve been so confused being ripped away from everything he knew. I cried myself to sleep that night. I couldn’t get the image of his frightened eyes out of my head or his tiny body cowering in the corner of his kennel. I decided that night I’d be his new person. Not in the way he was familiar with, of course. I would’ve brought him home with me that day if I could’ve. I prayed someone would come into the shelter and adopt him, but nobody wants an old dog, especially not one that doesn’t have a lot of time left. My worst fear is he dies in that place. The shelter’s great, don’t get me wrong, they do a fantastic job there, but it’s not a real home, not like the one he’s used to.”
“Someone may come along.”
I shrug. I think too much time has passed for that to happen.
“Did you know animals can suffer from depression?”
“I’ve never really given it much thought.”
“Duke has it, but with a lot of love, time, and patience, I’m slowly bringing him out of it. We have a special bond.”
He’s like my doggy kindred spirit. I know all too well what depression feels like.
It sucks.
Ashton reaches across the center console, wrapping his hand in mine. “You have a kind heart, Em. Don’t ever change.” I look over at him and smile. “And for your sake, I hope yesterday was just an off day for him.”
“Me, too.” But I’ve spent enough time with him over the past few months to know that’s probably not the case.
Ashton offers to come inside with me when we reach the shelter, but I decline. After leaning across the seats and placing a soft kiss on my cheek, he told me he’d be back at noon to collect me. The car stayed idling at the curb until I was safely inside.
Flipping on the lights, the sounds of the dogs barking fill the room. I walk around the front counter sliding my bag into the bottom drawer before pushing through the door that leads to the animals. My stomach churns. I greet each one as I pass, heading toward Duke’s kennel first.