Page 89 of The Billionaire Bodyguard Next Door

Footsteps had me turning my head toward the hallway that connected to the kitchen.

NotLuna.

“Don’t be so disappointed,” my friend said dryly.

I stood and clapped Sebastian on the back. “Jackass. Where were you?”

He shook his head as he dug through the white bag on the table that held the pastries. “The Barnes project is in full swing.”

Faith nodded. “He barely comes out of the Batcave.”

I nodded in Sebastian’s direction. “In his defense, he barely came out of the Batcave before the Barnes deal.”

Sebastian covered his mouth as he chewed. “I’m technically still coming out of my office more than I ever had before Faith.”

Faith pointed at him. “You didn't call it a Batcave.”

“My office is so much more than a Batcave. Besides, I thought I was more Beast than Batman.”

Faith chuckled. “True enough.”

I’d once asked my friend to explain this whole Beauty and the Beast obsession—all the little remarks I’d caught them volleying between each other—and frankly I still didn’t get it. I did, however, understand that my friend smiled more in the presence of Faith than he had with anyone else, so maybe I didn’t need to understand it. I just needed to appreciate that my friend was happy.

My attention lingered at the door until Sebastian clapped me on the back. “You’ve got it bad, bro.”

I didn’t even bother to deny it. Anyone with working eyes could see that I was completely obsessed with the woman upstairs. “You’re late to the party, your girl here already tried to do some digging.”

Sebastian pulled Faith into his lap and pressed a kiss to her neck.

I groaned. “Can we not do that here? There’s a child present.”

Faith and Sebastian laughed in stereo knowing full well Alice was distracted elsewhere.

Then Faith leaned forward, palm planted firmly on the oak table in front of her. “In all seriousness, if you hurt my friend, I’ll hurt you.”

I held up my hands. “Nobody is hurting anybody.” Frankly, it was hard not to be offended that the idea of that ever crossed her mind. “I’d do anything to keep her safe.Anything.”

Just then, Alice burst through the door, stealing everyone’s attention. “Can we go soon? I want to meet the doggies now.”

I pointed toward the sink. “Wash your hands and then finish the ham and cheese breakfast croissant. You need energy if you’re going to keep up with all these dogs today.”

Alice rolled her eyes, then did as she was told.

Sebastian began to explain the process. How we would go and view the dogs eligible for adoption and how we would play with them to see how comfortable they were with us. It wasn’t just about us picking the dog, it was about the dog choosing us in return. Alice nodded, enthralled as her ersatz uncle went into all the details about the current dogs available for adoption. He struck a good balance of explaining the attributes of each dog with an almost scientific precision, eliminating as much bias as he could. That was fine enough for my little girl, but I planned to corner him in the animal shelter to make sure we went home with a good family dog that wouldn’t hurt my daughter.

That was my biggest stipulation. I could deal with shedding, slobber, and dog poop, but I would not tolerate an animal that would harm my kiddo.

Sebastian assured me he’d never let that happen.

* * *

“I want them all,” Alice whisper-shouted as she went from kennel to kennel to look at the rescue pups. We’d been there all of ten seconds when she made the bold declaration.

There were rumbled chuckles from me, Luna, and Sebastian as well as the two people on staff who were there to help today. Saturday’s were big adoption days, and I knew they planned to take a few of the pups to the local farmer’s market since that was a great way to promote the rescue and get folks interested in adoption.

“Let’s start with one, Alice. They are a big responsibility. Remember what we talked about? How you’re going to need to do some chores if we bring home a dog.”

Alice didn’t bother to face me. “I know, Dad, we’ve gone over this. I promise to feed our dog and walk it.”

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