Page 42 of Love Out Loud

Chapter Sixteen

The rest of dinner was…weird. Fiona didn’t know what to make of Jake’s quiet, introspective mood. She was pretty sure it was because of the kiss but had no idea what he was thinking. Just one more reason she loved animals. They were open books. They were either happy, sad, lonely, scared, or angry. They didn’t brood and ponder the pros and cons of kisses, like she was doing, and she was pretty sure he was, too.

Jake had picked up the check for dinner, refusing to let her contribute at all. No guy had paid for her dinner in ages, and she found herself flattered by it. “Business expense,” he’d said when he’d put his card in his wallet with the receipt, sucking all the romance out of the gesture completely.

They took the subway to get to their building, which was kind of a relief. Sitting in a cab that close to him would have been hard. Instead, they stood, giving each other awkward half smiles over the head of a little old lady holding the pole between them.

Fiona stopped outside the revolving door to their lobby. “Well, thanks for dinner and the coaching session.”And the panty-melting kiss.

He didn’t answer right away. He just stared at her. She could practically hear the gears cranking in his brain. The guy was carrying on a serious debate in his head.

She shrugged. “Okay, well, I need to walk Daisy and Otto before their bedtime.” When, again, he just stared, she entered the revolving door and pushed. Feeling weirdly hollow, she struck out toward the stairs.

The door whooshed to life behind her, followed by, “Want company?”

She stopped on the second step to face where he stood just inside the revolving door. The look on his face was hopeful, almost pleading, and something about that made her heart do a tap dance.

“Do I want company walking my dogs?” Ugh. What a silly thing to ask. Of course he meant that. What else would it be? Company tonight in her apartment? In her bedroom?Why yes, she would answer if it were the latter option.Yes, I do. Bring your lips and tongue, please.

He nodded, then said, “Yes. Walking your dogs.” She noticed he was breathing shallowly, like a little kid on the high board of the swimming pool about to jump off for the first time. Was it because of the dogs or because of something else? She knew that her dogs made him uncomfortable but not this worked up. Clearly, he’d lost—or won—his mental debate and had come to some conclusion that put him on edge.

“Sure. I need to change and get the pups. I’ll meet you back down here in ten?”

With a grin that made her toes curl, he strode to the elevator. “See you in ten.”

…

Jake beat Fiona into the lobby but just barely. Like him, she’d changed into more casual clothes than they’d worn to the restaurant. He had thrown on a T-shirt and jeans. She had changed into gray sweatpants and a green T-shirt that said, “Meow or Never,” above a cat silhouette. At her feet, the dogs strained toward the door, obviously not interested in slowing down at all. As if they’d done it thousands of times, they led her to the revolving door and then drew in close to her ankles. “I think they’re in a hurry,” she said over her shoulder as she pushed the door.

Jake followed them out and fell into step beside her, Daisy and Otto pulling her like sled dogs.

“Not sure if they’re getting revenge for being left alone or if they really need to go super bad,” she said. After both dogs did some business over a tree grate, the rest of the walk was much calmer.

“I’m curious about your shirts,” Jake said when Otto stopped to sniff a light pole.

She laughed and looked down at the one she was wearing. “Most of them are event shirts and some, like this one, are gifts from patients.”

“I didn’t mean their origins. It just strikes me as odd that you wear amusing shirts that might draw attention to you.”

“Ah.” She nodded as if she’d heard this before. “You’re assuming since I’m reticent to engage in social settings, I’m someone who wants to be invisible.”

“I guess.”

“That’s not how it works for me. For some people, that’s true. I don’t have low self-esteem. I like who I am, and I’m not embarrassed of how I look.” She shot him a smirk. “Well, I’m not embarrassed about my looks unless I’m wearing flip-flops and have wet hair when I show up to a group session where everyone else looks like they came straight from the office or a TV newsroom set. I think that kind of self-consciousness is normal for most anyone, though.”

“I thought I’d been forgiven for that episode.”

“The episode is forgiven, not forgotten. I intend to wield it over your head for guilt inducement whenever possible.”

For the second time, Daisy walked on one side of a parking meter, and Otto the other, causing Fiona to do a sort of dance, wrapping her arms around the pole and switching one of the leashes to the other hand.

“Let me,” Jake said, relieving her of Otto’s leash before he really thought about what he was doing. The little dog fell into step beside him as if they’d been buddies for years. He was walking a dog. It made him want to laugh. No way would he have even considered such a thing before he’d met Fiona.

When he looked over, she was grinning at him. Her smile was amazing.Shewas amazing. He grinned back, feeling happier than he had in a long, long time. He was going to let her go as a client tonight. After the kiss in the restaurant, he realized Marcus was right. This whole thing was ridiculous.

When they made the block and were outside Animal Attraction, he stopped. To his relief, Otto stopped as well and dropped to a sit at his feet.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, brow furrowed.

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