Page 37 of Promise Yule Be Mine
I fake-gasped.
"What? If you're going to call me a creep—twice, might I add—I have a right to call you anything."
"Fair," I put my hands up and watched him make my coffee.
There he was. Such a handsome, loveable guy, available as far as I knew and yet I couldn't even flirt with the idea of…flirting with him. Or of asking him out. No. I was still obsessed with the only unavailable guy in my orbit.
I was hopeless.
"Here you go," Rocco said two minutes later and handed me my coffee and a greaseproof paper bag.
"I didn't order that," I pointed to the bag.
He shrugged. "Yeah, I know. It's on the house. Both of them."
I took the bag from him suspiciously and the scent of cinnamon sweetness hit me before I even saw the cinnamon roll inside. "Oh my God!" I moaned. "That smells delicious."
"Thanks. It tastes better," he said.
I wasn't usually a breakfast person but when it smelled so good, I could be swayed. "Fine. But I'm paying you."
He shook his head. "Nah. We're good. See you tomorrow."
I raised an eyebrow. "You can't be serious." He was. "Do you do that with everyone who calls you a creep? Because I can keep doing it."
"Hey, if it keeps bringing you back, be my guest."
I thanked him with a chuckle and went on my way. I wasn't sure if he was flirting with me or if he was just that good at customer service but for, like, the hundredth time I wondered why people didn't like the guy when he was clearly very good at what he did.
The streets were white with snow, but also slippery so I had to be extra careful on my way to Kody's but when I got thereand knocked on the door I was immediately enveloped in toasty warmth and doggy cuddles.
"Oh my God. Are these your dogs?" I asked and went down on my knees to pet the white and ginger poms fighting for my attention.
Despite our conversation at the museum the other day, I still hadn't had the opportunity to meet them, which was a crime in and of itself.
"No, I borrowed them for the day," Kody said.
I took pause to look up at him and glare. "Ooh, Mr. Campbell. Was that sarcasm? Are you okay? Are you coming down with something?"
Kody laughed and knelt down too and watched me play with his dogs. "So…I'm guessing this is Milk." I pointed at the white fluffball. "And this is Cookie?" The ginger one licked my lips and I giggled.
They were adorable.
"Your guess would be correct."
"Aw they're so sweet and friendly. How old are they?"
"They're three. I've had them since they weaned off. Jenna's mom took the third of the litter."
Milk started sniffing the bag with the cinnamon roll and I held on tight to it. The last thing we needed was a trip to the vet's
"You took them in at the same time? Wow. Don't they usually say you should avoid adopting siblings or similarly aged dogs to avoid them bonding with each other over you?"
Kody shrugged. "I know. But I did my best to avoid littermate syndrome and as you can see they don't have a problem."
"Nicely done. Bar manager, excellent crafter and dog whisperer. Is there anything you can't do?"
He huffed a laugh and rolled his eyes. "Trust me. There's a lot I can't do."
