Page 22 of Second Chance Husband

We had never been a true cheeseboard and appetizer family, but for some reason, Greer’s husbands were, and suddenly here we were, having a cheese plate instead of a steak and baked potato and bagged salad like we had used to.

Of course, that probably was something stereotypical I didn’t want to lean into, but as the sole single guy of our family, I felt like I needed to hold on to those traditions.

“You guys are just way too nosy,” I said with a sigh, then froze at the sound of a yip.

Luca cursed under his breath and quickly scrambled up, heading toward the large bin in the corner.

“Okay, Sandy, you’re fine. You just woke up from your nap.”

He immediately pulled out the small cocker spaniel, as it woke up fully, licking at Luca’s chin. The dog had a cast on its back foot, and looked pathetically tired, as if no matter how much sleep it got it wasn’t enough.

Well, that sounded about right.

As we were at Heath’s house, not Luca’s, it should have been a little surprising that Luca would bring one of his work pets home, but of course that wasn’t the case.

Luca continually had some form of foster animal with him, or one that needed to be watched throughout the night, or at least not be lonely and he didn’t want to leave at his office underneath the care of some of his team.

“Sandy?” I asked.

Luca sat on the couch, Sandy and her cast on his lap, looking a little stressed.

“That’s what her owners named her. We had to reset a broken leg, and then she had a couple of test issues I wanted to keep apprised of. She should be going home to her parents tomorrow, but I wanted to keep an eye on her tonight. And we’re full up at the office with the rest of the staff. I didn’t want Sandy to get forgotten because she’s usually so quiet.”

In fact, other than that one yip, I hadn’t heard another peep from that dog. Which was odd because usually they barked in love and made little panting sounds when they were in Luca’s arms.

“Is she going to be okay?” Greer asked, concern stamped on her face.

Luca nodded, running his hands down Sandy’s back. She finally began to calm, resting her head on her little paws.

The dog was damn cute. At one point I thought maybe I would get a dog of my own, or even a cat. Luca had a whole nursery at his house, with animals coming in and out daily, as well as animals of his own he and Addison raised alongside their daughter.

At that moment, Luca’s phone buzzed, and he cursed under his breath, looking down at the screen. “It’s the office, I need to take this.” Sandy looked up, worry in her gaze, and Luca sighed before standing up and moving forward.

Without even knowing what was happening, suddenly I had a sad cocker spaniel in my lap, whose eyes gave Luca a look of such betrayal for leaving her, that I knew my face probably echoed the same look.

“Pet her, before she shakes right off your lap,” Greer said, and I looked down at the little dog who stared back up at me, confusion in her gaze.

I didn’t know why those eyes of hers reminded me of Paisley’s just then. Probably because I was losing my damn mind. But here I was, holding a dog and gently petting her. Maybe it was because Paisley had looked that sad before. As if she had been left behind.

Of course, those were the words she had said before, and I was supposed to act as if I knew what I was doing.

With a sigh, Sandy rested her head on her paws again, and finally relaxed, but I didn’t stop petting her. If I did, she could get sad again, and I didn’t want that.

Again, the correlations between her and Paisley worried me, but I didn’t focus on that. I couldn’t.

“You should get a dog.”

I looked up at Greer, frowning. “What?”

“You should get a dog. Or a pet. That way you’re not alone.”

I raised a brow as she cringed. “Thanks for that assessment.”

“Well, Greer’s right,” Heath said with a shrug, and I scoffed at my twin.

“I’m not alone.” I blinked. “I have papers.” The laughter following my statement wasn’t as bright as I’d have liked.

“What about Dakota? Things getting serious there?” Greer asked.

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