Page 48 of Always a Bridesmaid
But when she scrolled through the images, warmth flooded her.
She homed in on the puppies’ faces and dangling tongues.
Then she gave in to the temptation to zoom in on Ford’s face.Dammit, maybe I do like dark hair and fair skin on a guy.
When she lowered her camera, Ford asked, “How’s it goin’ over there?”
“Surprisingly well. You?”
“Doin’ just fine.” He lifted a bottle of water, the sunlight making it glitter, and then he tossed it her way.
The camerathunked against her gut as she caught the bottle. Until it hit her palm, she hadn’t even realized how thirsty she was.
As soon as Ford slackened the puppies’ ropes, Trouble came bounding for her.
Violet crouched to greet him. Affection swirled, the soft hair beneath her fingers sending her worries and cares far, far away.
“I have an idea,” Ford said as he, Tank, and Nitro stopped in front of her.
Violet shielded her eyes as she squinted up at him.
“What ifyou’rethe scent pad?”
Much longer and her burning thighs might give out, so Violet stood, ignoring the joint pops. “I’m not sure how to take that, Mr. McGuire. Are you saying I smell?”
“Not me. Trouble thinks so.”
She gaped at the puppy prancing at her feet, ready to go despite being clueless of the destination. “Really? And you decided to tell him instead of me? I thought our bond was stronger than that.”
Ford’s soft laugh ignited a whirl of desire. “I meant I wantyouto go hide, dragging your scent as you make a trail about ten yards away. I’m hoping that’ll get Trouble a first down already.”
“Aww. That’d be so cute if he had a doggy football.” Violet braced her hands on her knees and addressed Trouble. “Would you like a football? Just bark the word. Or say the bark. Not really sure which one best fits, but—”
“Violet, can you focus for a second so I can try to get Trouble to focus for a few minutes?”
She grimaced and returned to her full height. It hadn’t been easy to concentrate with the extra adrenaline and the lake. Plus feeling her camera around her neck, a weight that reminded her she suddenly couldn’t do her job anymore.
Ford cupped her cheek and softened his voice. “Please. I forgot to say that part.”
His touch danced across her nerve endings, and it took her two tries to force out a reply. “Well, in that case, anything for Trouble.”
“Tryin’ not to be jealous of my dog now.”
Violet flashed him a haughty smile to show him that he should be but that she wasn’t mad. She squatted and let Trouble take a big ol’ sniff. “Hey, buddy. Ready to play hide and seek?”
Trouble barked and spun in a circle.
Since Ford was watching, she debated whether or not to kiss Trouble’s adorable furry face, but she’d resisted for long enough. She lifted him and gave him a loud, smacking kiss on the forehead. “Make sure to find me, okay?”
Trouble whimpered when she handed him off, as if he sensed she was about to leave him behind. An irrational ping of guilt bounced through her because she was.
He’ll find me.While dragging her feet, she made a zigzag path. She touched nearby trees and bushes, and once she guesstimated the distance to be about ten yards, she hid behind a boulder.
Before long, she heard the cracking of sticks. She tried to be patient, but an antsy sensation crawled over her skin and had her squirming in place, hope, encouragement, and excitement surging.
She peeked around the boulder.
Right as Trouble rounded it and leaped onto her lap.
