Page 37 of Here Comes Santa Paws

I shook my head. “I’ll text him and let him know what’s going on. They might be able to get us in this weekend. If you can’t take her, I can.”

He shook his head. “I can join anytime this weekend, but if they’re not available until Monday, it would be easier to go if it was before ten. I start patient appointments after that.”

I wanted to wrap Roman in my arms and kiss his worries away, and Ikindawanted to drop to my knees to show him how hot it was seeing how much he cared. I’d been thinking of getting my hands on him nearly non-stop since he kissed me in my kitchen. Instead, I walked to the door. Roman reached around me to pull it open. When I turned back to him, he stood close, almost trapping me there like he’d done yesterday.

This thing between us felt like playing with fire, but I didn’t mind a little heat.

I reached out and squeezed his arm. “What you did today, how you comforted her, proves you’d make a great pet parent.”

Roman stared into my eyes with his usual intense stare, but that time, I could’ve sworn there was more to it. More than gratitude. More than the heat from the handful of kisses we’d swapped. Instinctively, I pulled him into a tight hug, then shifted my head back enough to give him a brief kiss for comfort. Roman’s arms tightened around me, deepening the kiss.

Until Carol barked. Furry cockblock.

Roman’s eyes fell closed as he backed away.

“Sorry. I’d better check on her. Text me about the vet appointment?”

“Of course. Don’t hesitate to call or come over if you need anything.Anythingat all.”

“I need to get her back on her dog bed. That thing cost over a hundred bucks. My mattress doesn’t even have memory foam.”

I grinned. “But her bed doesn’t have a bearded space heater.” I gently tugged on the beard in question and dropped another chaste kiss on his lips before going home to spend evenmoretime fantasizing about getting Roman naked.

Chapter 17

Roman

Carol whinedfrom where she was sprawled out across the back seat of Elias’s SUV. I shifted in the passenger seat to look at her.

“I don’t want to go in there either, but it’ll be over soon. We’ll get through this.”

Elias stifled laughter from the driver’s seat as he turned off the engine.

My attention snapped to him. “What?”

“You two are adorable. Do you hate going to the doctor too?”

I glared at the veterinary office through the windshield. “It’s not my favorite. What? Doyoulove going to the doctor?”

“No, but I don’t need to give myself a pep talk in the parking lot about it.” He patted my arm and gave me a soft smile. “I get it. It doesn’t help when the animal is anxious. How about you keep her company while I check her in to minimize how much time she has to spend in there? They’ve got a side door they can bring us through.”

My shoulders relaxed. I knew asking him for help was a good idea. “Okay.”

“Back in a jiff, Mama.” He kissed the air in her direction before climbing out of the car. Carol watched him go. She seemed to be softening toward him. That made two of us.

“He means well.”

She let out a low rumble.

“I know he’s overly cheerful and a pain in the ass, but he’s not so bad.” A damn good kisser too. I didn’t mind his hugs either. I appreciated the comfort he’d given me last night. I wasn’t used to someone else coming to my aid like that, but it was…nice.

She huffed and stood, circling. I awkwardly reached up and patted the top of her head when she dropped her face onto my shoulder. I wrinkled my nose at her gnarly breath.

Elias returned a few minutes later with a middle-aged woman with long dark hair pulled into a ponytail. She laughed at something he said, and Elias’s hands moved expressively while he spoke. I exited the car when they came around to the passenger side.

“Roman, this is Maria. She’s going to take us through the side door.”

I shook her hand and thanked her. After politely returning the handshake, she turned her attention to Carol as I clipped the leash to her harness and led her out of the car.

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