Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
For a second, a thought flashed through her mind about saying that exact thing to Jay, but then she forced it away. Yes, they were getting closer, but they were far from belonging to one another.
Besides, the two of them could never be.
Jay motioned for Erin to catch up and she joined them as they crossed the road, then took their first steps together on the white sand. There were quite a few other dog owners on the beach, catching the last of the light. Jay was hypervigilant, sweetly protective, keeping the dog on the leash and poised at the ready with the poop bags he’d bought at the store. The dog was utterly delighted, trotting alongside Jay and yipping at the water. Those two were going to get on just fine, she thought. She definitely liked this softer side of Jay a lot better than the brash hustler.
They stayed silent, taking in the beauty of the beach and watching the dog absorb it all. But as they were walking, Jay suddenly stopped and banged his fist against his forehead.
“What is it?” she asked him.
“I’m going to LA for two days. I’ve just adopted a dog and I have to leave. What am I going to do?”
Erin tried to look reassuring. She knew what it was like to get carried away falling in love with a dog and forget all about practicalities. It was easily done. But maybe not for Jay, who was used to being the one pulling the puppet strings in Hollywood and keeping track of every deal and detail with his clients. He must be kicking himself.
She put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. Calm down. We’ll figure it out. When do you have to leave?”
“Tomorrow!” he groaned. “I never do stuff like this. I wasn’t thinking. I’m going to have to take him back to the shelter.”
“You’re just panicking,” she said in as soothing a voice she could muster. “You’ve taken on a big responsibility, but you’re ready for it. I can help you.”
He said, “Obviously, if I had more time I’d hire the best dog-sitter in town, but I don’t have the time to vet somebody. And besides, it’s such short notice.”
The dog looked up at them with those large, brown eyes as if he understood everything they were saying and was worried he was heading straight back to the rescue center. It was heartbreaking. Nor did it require any more thought. “I’ll do it,” she said.
He blinked twice, clearly astonished. “Really? I mean, would you stay in the house for a couple of days while I’m gone?”
She had to bite back her smile. Did he really think it was a hardship to stay in the house of her dreams for a couple of days with two of the sweetest dogs in the world? “I’d be happy to.”
Two seconds later, she found herself in his arms as he hugged her tight. “You’re a life saver,” he said into her ear. Her lobe tingled where she felt his warm breath. He squeezed her tighter then, and as he did, she felt the strength in him, the heat coming off his body. The sea air whispered through her hair, telling her naughty secrets.
The hug lasted just a moment too long. And then he pulled back as though one of the dogs running around had just bitten his ankle. All business again, he said, “Great. That’s great. Come on back and I’ll get you a key and the codes to the security system.”
Chapter Twelve
To keep the conversation light as they walked back to Jay’s house, Erin asked, “Any more thoughts on what you’re going to name him?”
He seemed to puzzle over the question and then smiled. “I don’t know. I’m not asking you, or you’ll come up with something literary and obscure.” His smile turned into a mischievous grin. “It should probably start with a B to keep it in the family. Since we already have Buzzy and Buster, why don’t we add more confusion? I could call him Baxter.”
Erin nodded, the phrase keep it in the family ringing in her ears—because Jay was an old friend of the family. In fact, he was family to the Davenports.
Experimentally, Jay called, “Baxter,” but the dog didn’t even look at him, just kept running.
“Not Baxter,” she said, laughing. She thought over some other names beginning with B and then suggested Bullseye.
He bellowed, “Bullseye!” The dog kept running. “Bartholomew!”
Not to be outdone, Erin yelled, “Blacktop.”
He turned and looked at her with a raised brow. “Blacktop?”
She shrugged. “Like the cab. I thought maybe he would stop if you called.”
They both looked at the dog. Nope.
By the time they’d got to Brigadier and Bullfrog, they accepted that they were running out of names and the dog seemed uninterested in all of them. He said, “I need to give this some serious thought. As you know, names are important. I don’t want to yell out something that’s going to embarrass both of us.”