Page 28 of Always a Bridesmaid
Then Distracto shocked them both with a growl.
She assumed, anyway, since Ford’s jaw dropped, too.
He peered down at the fur baby, and Violet winced, afraid Distracto was about to get in trouble.
Instead, pride and a hint of delight shone through Ford’s features. “I’ll be damned. You must be more motivating than I thought if he’s ready to take me on to defend you.”
Only with the puppy still growling, his brother and sister came to join the fray. They circled and jumped, barking and carrying on, and, at some point, they began chasing one another instead of defending her honor.
Guess that was the problem with relying on an easily distracted guard dog.
Ford and Violet spun, attempting to get the puppies to calm down, but the lead ropes began winding around their legs, and Violet gripped onto Ford’s arms as she was the one suddenly fighting—gravity. “Whoa.”
“You guys,” Ford started, but the biggest of the puppies took off one way as the female shot in the opposite direction. “Stay! Sit!”
Violet swayed backward, bracing for a fall.
Lightning quick, Ford wrapped his arms around her and pivoted, taking the brunt of the fall. They hit the ground hard, Ford landing on his butt with Violet sprawled on top of him.
A giggle started low in her throat, until she was laughing full-out. “You’re right. Your training methods are clearly better than mine.”
Ford chuckled, too. “It’s a work in progress. One that needs more work.”
“Maybe you should try the half-a-treat-up-front, half-once-the-job’s-done method. All the gangsters use it, and it works very well for them.”
“Oh, and you know a lot of gangsters?”
“What? I don’t strike you as the mob-boss type?” she asked as if offended.
“I’m not sayin’ that, but I did watch your method fail to yield the desired results.”
“That’s because you”—she poked a finger to his chest, accidentally noticing how very firm it was—“didn’t let me finish.”
Distracto chose that moment to charge over and eat the other half of the treat, which had fallen on the ground, along with the two others she’d dropped.
His personal mission accomplished, the puppy bounded away to join his brother and sister. The dogs’ movements jerked her and Ford’s entwined feet back and forth. She got the giggles again, especially since she kept going to push herself up, only for her legs to be twisted in the other direction.
Ford sat up, bringing their noses mere inches apart.
The shift also had her straddling his hips, and heat she hadn’t meant to stoke flared to life. It’d been a long time since she’d been this close to a man, and she’d never been this close to one this…manly.
And big.
Holy shit.If she felt what she thought she might be feeling, there was no overcompensating necessary.
“I…uh…” Her words came out way too breathless.
Ford swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. His long fingers wrapped around her hips, and—was he going to kiss her?
More, was she going to let him?
“Sorry, I just need to…” Using his grip, he lifted her up and off him. Then he reached past her for the ropes still secured around their ankles.
This is why I can’t be trusted around handsome men. I was sitting there with my head in the clouds, halfway leaning in for a kiss, while he was simply trying to untangle us.
Cheeks aflame, Violet attacked the section of rope around their calves, sliding her legs free the instant she could.
A minute or so later, the lead ropes were separated into three, and the puppies were lying down for a nap, maximum destruction accomplished for the day.
