Page 4 of Call It Unexpected

Shit.Why did I choose today to pick easily the most hyper pup in the kennel?

I came to an abrupt halt as I rounded the same turn, nearly tripping myself in the process. The little devil had finally stopped, and I didn’t want to spook him. However, my relief was short-lived. To my horror, Milo was attacking a woman who had the misfortune to be sitting on the grass in the middle of his path. I saw her fall on her back and heard her shrieks as she batted at the frisky pup, who licked her like a rare piece of steak.

“Great, Milo,” I grumbled to myself. “Now we’re probably going to face a fine for you being off your leash, not to mention some kind of lawsuit.” The girls at this school weren’t known for their understanding if anything messed with their pristine appearance.

By the time I caught up to the melee, the woman had managed to sit up. Bracing for a verbal dressing down, my hand stopped mid-reach for Milo’s collar as I realized the woman was laughing and praising the little devil.

“Aren’t you a cutie?” she cooed in between face licks. “Are you lost?” Gaining control, she sat up and held him at arm’s length, snapped her fingers, and pointed to his butt. “Sit,” she commanded.

To my utter astonishment, the little furry terror did.

“Good boy.” She cupped his head in her hands and scratched his ears, turning her cheek to receive a wet kiss.

“Wow,” I said. “How’d you do that?”

Brown eyes almost dancing with laughter looked at me over a sun-kissed shoulder. “Is he yours? He’s so adorable!”

“Humph.” I held up the leash with an empty collar attached to the end. “He’s a little escape artist, is what he is.”

And a pain in the ass, but I could tell the tiny beast enamored her, so I counted my blessings and kept my opinion to myself. I didn’t want to offend her. Besides catching my runaway, she’d caught my interest as well.

She turned her attention back to the pain in my ass dog. “Did you run away from your daddy?” She laughed as Milo rolled over on his back and wagged his stumpy tail as if he were the most docile creature in the world.

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t let him fool you. I’m not sure what magic you worked, but thanks for catching him.”

I noticed a couple of muddy paw prints on her shorts. “I’m so sorry,” I said, appreciating how tan and smooth her legs were. Long, toned legs that made her shorts look even shorter.

I jerked my gaze from them before she thought I was some kind of perv. I kneeled and slipped the collar back around Milo’s neck while she continued to rub his belly. I swore the look Milo gave me was a smug one.

“It’s fine. He’s a sweetie.” She nuzzled her face in his. “Aren’t you?”

“Hmm.” After our little chase, I wasn’t willing to agree, but I didn’t want to seem like an asshole either.

Milo flipped back over and nuzzled her hand. Sighing as she continued to smooth her hand down his back, he rested his head on her leg and closed his eyes.

Lucky dog.I should scoop him up and take him back to the kennel. He didn’t deserve such a reward after his shenanigans. But I didn’t have any reservations about using him. “His name is Milo,” I offered shamelessly.

“Cute name.”

“My name’s Zach,” I added, kneeling on the edge of her blanket, hoping to distract her attention from the dog long enough to get her to look at me again.

It worked. She tipped her head and peered at me through long lashes. Her lips curled upward, but not as far as they had when Milo had made her laugh. Her cheeks were pink, but whether from the sun or the shyness I sensed from her, I wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter.

She was attractive as hell, despite—maybe even more so—wearing cutoff shorts and a T-shirt with a strawberry that readJam with your friends. None of the girls I knew would be caught dead in it washing cars, much less hanging around campus. Not that they’d had experience washing cars for that matter.

If I wasn’t mistaken, her sparkling eyes seemed to be checking me out in return. It was hard not to be envious of the dog as he lay there, legs splayed, while her hands wandered all over him. Nor could I believe she was laughing off the entire matter. Most of the girls who attended Edonton would demand money for their dry-cleaning bill and call the local animal control.

“Also a good name.” She kept her attention on the pup, but her shy smile did more to warm me than the sunny area we sat in.

“Do you go to school here?”

She glanced around, her ears turning a little pink. “Um, no. My cousin is a student here. But it’s such a pretty campus. Sometimes I come over and join her on a run.”

I decided to push my luck. “So, you live around here then?”

She ducked her head and picked at her shorts. “For now. I’m in the culinary program at Johnson and Wales.”

“Ah. A chef in the making. That’s a tough program to get into.” I wondered if her lips tasted as sweet as the pastries I heard the students there made.

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