Page 15 of Her Greatest Mistake

My brows pinch. “Who’s coming? A potential family?”

“Did you check your email this morning?”

I smile sheepishly. “No. I had a crap weekend and dove right into work these past couple days. What did I miss?”

“You remember when I told you about the fundraisers and adoption day that we’ve always put on for the shelter every summer? To raise money and bring in some potential families?” she asks.

“Yes. The one in June.” It’s still two months away, but I’ve already made a note about it in my planner. “Do you need help with it? I was already planning on putting aside some time to help, but we can always hire a few people if you feel we need it. I’m really looking forward to this.”

Sadie flushes a deep pink and takes her turn looking sheepish. “Actually, that’s something I wanted to talk to you about later, but it’s not what was in the email. What I wrote you this weekend was that we’re getting help fr—”

Suddenly, Hades turns rigid, and his hackles rise. His pretty brown eyes focus on the door connecting the clinic to the shelter, and my body flushes cold.Not good. Softly, I place my palm to his side and hold it there.

Deep voices rattle from behind the door before it’s pushed open and two men tumble inside. Hades shifts his body until he’s standing between my stretched legs, his body hiding me and stopping my ability to see the newcomers. I pat his chest and press my cheek to his side, knowing that if I attempt to get up and create distance between us, he’ll most likely revert back to some sort of aggression.

“Oh! You’re early,” Sadie says. Nerves vibrate in her words. “I’m the manager of the shelter, Sadie.”

“Right. We talked on the phone,” the first man says, sounding confident and sure of himself. It’s too early to tell if that’s a good or bad thing.

“I’m Bentley. It’s nice to meet you, Sadie,” the other voice says. This one is just as deep, but it’s kinder.

“Likewise,” she returns.

“Our third musketeer is just on the phone in the clinic. The woman at the desk said it was okay to come back here while we wait,” Bentley says.

There’s a third man? What is this about? It sounds like I’m going to spend the next few minutes drowning in testosterone.Hard pass.

“Who’s killer and long legs over there?” the first man asks, and I’m immediately on the defense.

With a soft nudge, I move Hades out of the way just enough so that I can peek around his muscled shoulders and glance at the two men ruining my after-work cuddle.

“First of all, he’s not a ki—” I start, only to have my throat seize around the rest of my sentence when my gaze falls on none other than Douglas Trelix.

A tsunami of emotions rushes at me as I plant my hands to the cold floor in a desperate attempt to remind myself that I’m on solid ground and not in fact being sucked up in a death wave.

I haven’t heard his voice since I was eighteen, but even so, I should have recognized it.

“Braxton,” he says, looking far from shocked at seeing me here. His lack of surprise is almost as concerning as him being here in the first place. “Is that your dog?”

It’s now that I realize Hades has sensed my panic and is nudging my chin with his wet snout. I bury my fingers in his neck and take a deep breath.

“He’s a shelter dog. But since the shelter is mine, yes, he’s mine.”

I move my attention to this Bentley person when he says, “He reminds me of a dog I had growing up. Protective as fuck.”

Bentley is a massive man, with broad shoulders and tree trunks for thighs that could probably crush a watermelon with little effort. Just thinking about how many hours he must spend in the gym has my muscles aching.

He has dark skin, a sharp jaw, and a small silver hoop in his left earlobe. But despite his intimidating size, his smile is soft, almost calming. I take a liking to him immediately.

Looking away from him, I slant a curious look at Douglas. “What are you doing here?” Ishehere? Is he the man on the phone?

I feel light-headed.

Douglas pushes a contemplating hand down his face and then tugs on his beard. “Do you intend to sit on the ground for this conversation?”

“Would you prefer Hades take a bite out of those expensive leather loafers of yours instead?”

“Fine. Have it your way,” he mutters gruffly.

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