Page 46 of Housebroke

So why did she say no? Was she afraid of going away with Linc, or was she afraid if she let go of the dogs she might not get them back? Or that possibly Sandy would find someone to adopt them all while she was gone?

Wasn’t that the objective, though? Didn’t she want her babies to find happy, fulfilling lives—with other families?

Now she felt more conflicted than ever. But she couldn’t stop herself from living her life. Or letting her pups live theirs, no matter where that road might lead. She took out her phone and sent a text message to Sandy, who replied almost right away, saying she’d be happy to take care of the dogs for as long as Hazel needed. And then she’d assured her that the pups would be fine while she was gone, which she was absolutely right about.

Okay, that part was done. Now to talk to Linc. She went into the house and found Linc working on the living room floor.

“So... about that trip.”

He looked up at her. “Yeah?”

“Can I change my mind?”

He stood. “Always. Have you?”

“I have. I’d really like to go with you.”

“Then it’s done. I’ll make the arrangements.” He took out his phone, then looked over at her. “We can stay at my condo. It’s a two-bedroom if you’d like your own room.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Why would I want that?”

“I mean, I know we’ve been together, but I didn’t want to assume.”

She appreciated that he would do that. But when he suggested she take this trip with him, the only thing she could think about was sharing a bed with him. Unless...

“Do you want to have your own room?” she asked.

He walked toward her and leaned over, brushing his lips across hers. “Hell no.”

“Then it’s settled. I can’t wait to see your place.”

“It’s not fancy.”

“Perfect. Neither am I.”

Suddenly, she was really looking forward to this trip with Linc.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The last thing Linc wanted to do in the middle of a renovation project was fly home, but he had some client and staff meetings to take care of that couldn’t be put off any longer, so he’d had no choice.

The benefit of doing so was bringing Hazel with him. He was happy she’d agreed, and he hoped like hell he could show her a good time. That she relaxed, had fun, and didn’t think about anything back home. At least not all the time, anyway.

And now they were on a plane, making their approach to San Francisco International Airport.

“How much work do you have to do while you’re here?” she asked as she looked out the window, watching the plane’s descent.

“Probably just a day’s worth.”

“Not too bad.”

“I can arrange for you to have a tour of the city.”

She pulled her attention from the window and onto him. “I have a phone and a map and I’ve already looked up places to go—and to eat at. I’ll be fine. But thanks.”

“Sure.”

He’d called his mom to let her know he was going to be in town, and of course she’d insisted he stay with her. Bringing Hazel with him would have made that incredibly awkward, so he’d told his mom he had a lot of meetings in the city, some going late at night, so that wasn’t going to be possible. He hated lying, but there were just some things he wasn’t ready to do, and pushing his family onto Hazel was one of them. His mother was heaven on earth, and she would welcome Hazel with open arms, no problem. But if he stayed at the house, his brothers would invariably show up, and then Hazel would be bombarded with an inquisition, so, no way was he going to expose her to his family.

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