Page 115 of Getting Lucky

“You look like you’re doing a walk of shame,” she teased.

“There’s absolutely not one ounce of shame from sleeping with you,” he said, leaning over to give her another kiss. “I’ll proudly wear this all day long.”

“We should have given this whole morning situation more thought,” she said, her eyes dancing with mischief. “Especially since you volunteered to go to the shelter with me.”

He’d barely had the presence of mind to text Iris to tell her he’d be home late. She’d replied that if she saw him before brunch at the Buchanan house, which Finn and Adalia were optimistically calling the First Annual Christmas Brunch Extravaganza, she’d kick him in the rear end. “The only thing I was capable of thinking about was getting you home so I could strip that sexy dress off your gorgeous body. Promise me you’ll wear it again.”

“It’s not mine. It’s Blue’s.”

“Then I’ll buy it from her.” He kissed her again. “Just tell her what we did in the car while you were still wearing it.” He cocked a brow. “She might not want it back.”

She laughed. “You’re terrible.”

“You love every moment of it.”

“Obviously,” she said. “Now take those dogs out before I drag you back to bed and they pee on the floor.”

Poor Ein looked miserable, so he hurried downstairs and clipped on their leashes to take them out, not that he was worried about them running off. They were so excited he was there, he could barely get them to focus on the task at hand.

“Come on, Ein. I really want to see your mommy naked again. Let’s take that poop already.”

It was another five minutes before they finally finished their business, and while he would have loved nothing more than to race up the stairs, stripping off his clothes as he took the stairs two at a time, he knew how much Maisie loved her morning coffee. He started a pot, then headed up to the bathroom, telling the pouting dogs, “I’ll feed you later. I’ll give you extra if you promise to stop trying to make me feel guilty.”

The water was still running when he opened the door, the dogs sitting in the hall behind him, and he quickly dropped his pants and parted the shower curtain.

Maisie was standing under the shower in all her naked glory. “I was about to send a search party.”

“Turned out Ein wanted time with me too.”

She pulled the curtain to the side and laughed at the sight of Ein wagging his tail in the doorway. “It looks like he still doesn’t feel he’s had enough.”

“Too bad,” he said, picking up a bottle of body wash and squeezing some into his hand. He slid a hand over her shoulder.

“I already washed. Somebody took too long.”

“You can never be too clean,” he said as he glided his hand down to cup her breast.

She sharply inhaled. “I guess theydosay cleanliness is next to godliness.”

“I think that makes you a goddess.”

She laughed. “It’s about time.”

* * *

They got dressed, then headed down to the kitchen, and Maisie kissed him senseless again once she realized he’d made coffee. She poured to-go mugs for both of them while he fed the dogs, and then they took off for the shelter. They took all the dogs out to pee and let them have some playtime before bringing them back in for breakfast. He was surprised when he saw so many empty kennels, and she told him they’d had a surge of adoptions after his Instagram photos.

Ruby was overjoyed to see him and covered him with kisses.

Maisie gave him a pointed look, which made him sigh. “I would…you know I would, but it’s not a good idea right now with Lee staying at the house and everything up in the air. Plus, Jezebel doesn’t like most dogs.”

She huffed a laugh. “No kidding. I know, I just feel bad for her. A family was interested a couple of weeks ago, but they changed their mind.”

“What can we do to find her a home?”

“Honestly, the Instagram posts have made a huge difference.” She gave him an ornery look. “Quite a few women have specifically asked for you. I may need you to make celebrity appearances from time to time.”

“You don’t mind?” he asked.

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