Page 6 of For You & No One Else (Say Everything 3)

Two

Beckham had apparently lost his ever-loving mind.I like the interesting answers?More like the imbecilic ones. What the hell had he been thinking? One second he’d been fighting with the code for the project he was working on, and the next he was in the passenger seat of Eliza’s car on the way to the animal shelter.

Up until this point, he’d managed to avoid dealing with Dr. Sunshine, the nickname he’d given Eliza in his head. He didn’t care how good she looked in that pair of jeans, he didn’t trust people who were always in a good mood. And he especially didn’t need another therapist in his life. He’d had enough of those for a lifetime already. But today, when she’d blurted out an invitation to join her on her dog quest, he’d heard the desperation in her voice, the sharp stab of loneliness. She was dealing with some tough shit today—her normal sunshine was behind a veil of dark clouds—and he didn’t have it in him to say no to her. Plus, it wasn’t as if he was having a banner Christmas Day either.

Adding dogs couldn’t hurt. He just hoped addingElizawasn’t a vast error in judgment.

Eliza pulled out of the parking garage, her fingers wrapped tightly around the wheel and an unreadable expression on her face. He got the sense she was having some kind of internal conversation with herself. She dragged her teeth against her bottom lip in a way that made it hard for him to look away. “I probably should’ve verified that they’re open today.”

Her words caught him off guard, and he smirked at her admission. “You don’t know?”

She gave him a quick glance as if gauging his reaction. “This wasn’texactlya fully thought-out plan.”

He stretched his arm along the passenger window, amused to see someone normally so put together looking frazzled. “I’m surprised. You strike me as the planning type.”

“I am. To a pretty intense degree, really.” She maneuvered her way down a particularly narrow street near the French Quarter, avoiding a horde of well-dressed pedestrians probably heading to a holiday jazz brunch. Then, she turned and headed away from the heart of the city. “But I guess today I’m…taking the day off from my norm. Getting a pet.” She peeked over at him. “Kidnapping unsuspecting coworkers and harvesting their organs. You know, traditional Christmas stuff.”

He laughed lightly and lifted his hips to grab his phone from his back pocket. He unlocked the screen and did a quick search for the nearest animal shelter. “You’re in luck. They’re open until three today. And, hey, all Christmas Day adoptions come with a free goody bag.”

She lifted a fist in victory. “Score.”

He scanned the map. “Take a right at the next stoplight.”

She frowned and looked over at him. “I’m pretty sure the shelter is the other way.”

“It is.” He adjusted his seat belt. “We’re making a quick pit stop. Another Christmas tradition awaits.”

She gave him a skeptical look. “And that is…”

He lifted a brow. “Hey, lady, you kidnapped me. The least you can do is make sure I’m well fed.”

“Oh hell,” she said, looking genuinely concerned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think to ask you if you’ve had lunch. We’ll stop somewhere.”

She’d said it like it reallywasher job to make sure he was fed when he’d only been making a joke. But he guessed, at her job, she probably was always the one making sure people had what they needed. “It’s not a big deal. Haveyoueaten lunch?”

She shook her head. “No. There was a spiked-eggnog situation last night, and I only managed some toast this morning, but now I’m pretty hungry.”

“A spiked-eggnog situation?”

She winced as she pulled up to a stop sign and gave him a look. “Do not recommend. Zero out of five stars.”

He laughed. “Well, I’ve got the perfect hangover food then.” He cocked his head toward the street ahead. “Just follow my directions, and I’ll make sure you’re well taken care of.”

“Yeah?” Her gaze darted from his face down his body, before snapping back up—a microsecond of a glance—but he felt as if she’d touched him.

It took a second for him to register what had happened, his body picking up the cue before his brain caught on, but the truth was confirmed when Eliza faced forward again, her throat bobbing with a hard swallow and the honey-gold of her skin darkening a little with a blush. She had checked him out. And he had a sneaking suspicion she’d thought aboutexactlywhat he could take care of.

A hard kick of desire made his muscles tighten.Well, shit.He didn’t need to chase that line of thought down the road. Doing anything with Dr. Sunshine would be a really, really bad idea.

He had a keep-it-casual rule for a reason, and Eliza was anything but the casual type. Nothing about her saidlaid-back.She probably had a ten-year plan to discuss and a twenty-page personality test she required before she allowed someone to see her naked. Plus, she was a therapist. Someone who’d want to poke into all his dark corners to see what they could find. He could tell it’d taken a big dose of restraint for her not to ask him more questions about his parents. Hell, no. He didn’t need that in his life.

“Turn right up there. Place is on the left,” he said, his voice tenser than he wanted it to be. He needed to get all naked Eliza thoughts out of his head.Puppies.He was here for puppies. Nothing more.

“You okay?” she asked, giving him a look.

“Yeah, just hungry.” He cleared his throat. “Park right over there. This place has the best chicken lo mein you’ll find anywhere, and they’re always open on holidays.”

She smiled, back to normal, polite Dr. Sunshine. “Sounds good.”

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