Page 25 of Always a Bridesmaid
“Say you’re sorry,” she demanded.
Ford shook his head, but the corners of his mouth quivered with a smile. “Just to clarify, I didn’t call you dramatic. I implied it using sarcasm.”
“Oh, pardon the hell out of me.”
A chuckle escaped as Ford crouched to the puppy’s level. He petted her furry head and then his eyes—decidedly more green than hazel, although on the olive side—lifted to Violet’s face. “I can see you’re all about the fun and games, but the reason I conned you into helping me is for the working part.”
“Hmm. You failed to mention that while luring me into your windowless van.”
One eyebrow arched, a villainous curve that had her contemplating how to become one of his minions, and evidently her common sense had gone on vacation. “I let you have a window in my big, badasstruck, but let this be a lesson to ya. This is what happens when you let yourself be baited by puppies.”
Violet rotated the puppy and brushed her nose against its wet one. “I guess if this is the way I go, so be it.”
The puppy who’d untied her shoelaces had moved on to chasing a grasshopper, and now she felt bad for not snuggling him when she had the chance. “What are their names?”
“They don’t have ’em yet,” Ford said, still squatting, and she wondered if his thighs hurt. Then she was examining his muscular thighs, and she absolutely shouldn’t do that becausedayumn.
“That’s just sad.”
“I’ll make you a deal—”
Violet sighed, nice and loud. “Oh no, not another deal.”
“It’s called quid pro quo.”
“I really should’ve asked for the quo—or is it the quid?—before agreeing to the rescue mission.”
The third puppy flounced over, and Violet lay back in the grass and reached for him. She placed him on her chest so she had all three doggies crawling over her. Pyro tracked her and the puppies’ movements with his eyes, and she patted the spot next to her.
He flopped down at her side so he could get in on the cuddling action, too.
“Trust me,” Ford said. “You’re gonna want to take this deal.”
“I find that any time someone starts a sentence with ‘trust me,’ it’s a good indicator I should run. There’s this thing called male-pattern falseness and—”
“My God, woman, do you ever stop prattling on and on?” he asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. If he hadn’t cracked open an eye and added a smile to the sentence that came out more on the teasing side, she’d be out of here. But now she wanted to hear the proposal.
Securing the wiggliest puppy to her chest, she sat up and blew her bangs out of her face. “Why don’t you give me this offer I can’t refuse, and we’ll see?” She added an over-the-top zipping motion across her mouth.
“Assist me with an hour of training, and I’ll let you help name them.”
Violet should pass. Head back to the bakery. But Larry and Cheryl might still be there, if not in near proximity with a high chance of an uncomfortable run-in. She retrieved her phone and sent a text to Maisy explaining why she’d split and informing her that she was with Ford.
She pivoted the screen to him. “There. Now my sister knows I’m with you, so you’d best behave yourself.”
Of course she added a quick selfie of her with the puppies to the text, becausepuppies.Bonus, she could send it to the Bridesmaid Crew chat, too. “All right, Mr. Firefighter. You have a deal.”
Ford extended his hand, and when she placed her palm in his, her skin hummed. “Deal. But full disclosure? I have no intention of behaving.”
…
In order to train the puppies to find an object or person by scent, there were these things called scent pads. According to Ford, as the dogs improved and got the hang of tracking, they’d place the pads farther and farther away.
After Ford gave her a rundown of how it worked, they left a pouty Pyro at the house, since he had to stay behind for this mission. They put harnesses and long lead ropes on the puppies and headed behind Ford’s house, which backed to a forested area with a path that led to the lake.
“I don’t want to confuse the puppies with too many scents, so we should split up.” Ford studied the three fur babies. “Although, now I’m wondering which one would be the easiest for you to handle.”
Violet scooped up the male puppy that’d undone her shoelaces, and her heart nearly imploded as he cocked his head and studied her. “I want this one.”
