Page 37 of Without Judgment

He let out a low chuckle.

The effect hit me square in the chest. Since when should a chuckle turn me on?

“No.”

Now, instead of being relieved, I dramatically swung to the other side. Indignant. “Why not? She’s pretty and nice, not to mention she does charity as her life-goal. Did you look at all those amazing dogs?”

“I would agree with you, but she’s the type to be looking for a relationship.”

We’d pulled up in front of the burger place where he’d taken me a couple days ago. “And you’re not?”

“Definitely not.”

“I know what you mean,” I stated, feeling full agreement. The last thing I wanted was to get back into a relationship of any sort. But his laughter caught me off guard. “What?”

“Princess, you’re practically the mascot for relationships. Now then, do you want the same as the other day with the jalapeno cheese burger or something different? The bacon bleu cheese is good, too.”

His remark made me have to fight my temper. “Just because I had one relationship doesn’t make me the mascot.”

He opened his door and stepped out. “It was eight years long. And you’re only twenty-two. You’re a relationship girl, Avery. Now, the burger. What do you want?”

“I’ll try the bacon bleu cheese thing, please. And for the record, I used to be a relationship girl. Now I’m anti-relationship.”

His expression said it all. Yeah, right.

***

Mason drove us to a park I’d never been to a few miles from the burger place. The smell of the takeout was making my mouth water. But the conversation had me contemplating. Yes, I’d spent eight years in a relationship. Probably why it felt so hard for me that I was no longer half of one now. But I knew without a doubt the last thing I wanted for this next chapter of my life was another relationship. Instead, I hoped to focus on myself and what it was I wanted. I needed to do this without the influence of anyone else. Even if it could sometimes be lonely that way.

“This place has a fence. So I figured if there are no other dogs around, we could throw the ball some for him.”

“He’d like that.”

Once I was out of the truck with Koda and his leash, I noticed Mason move to the back, where he took out a picnic blanket and a small cooler. I suddenly found myself overwhelmed by gratitude. He’d gone to so much trouble to ensure I wasn’t in my room moping around. It was tempting to hug him, but given he’d already rejected me once today, I shoved my hands in my pockets instead.

“Thank you. Truly. For planning this with Koda. For not letting me mope in my room.”

His eyes locked on mine. In a thick and husky voice, he said, “You’re welcome. I think Koda is anxious to run.”

“I’m sure he is.” Time to turn my focus to things other than the man in front of me.

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