Page 102 of The Mistake

“Ive?”

“And you deserve to have something to love and to be loved,” he said.

Okay, now my heart pounded just a little bit. Neither of us had said anything to each other, not a single word of love, but I knew he wasn’t going to say anything tonight. I wasn’t even sure if Ive loved me. I think he might care for me, but I was fine with that. His care was addictive.

“There are a lot of dogs here, but you can have one, to start with.”

“One dog?” I asked.

“Yes, one dog. They do have puppies and dogs here. Unless you don’t want a dog.”

“I want one,” I said. That day when my father took the dog from me, it had broken my heart.

Tears filled my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. This was … so beautiful.

Ive took my hand and we stepped through the main doors. There was a woman waiting, and she led the way. She gave a brief description about the dogs, but as I came to one cage,the dog hadn’t even bothered coming to the door of the cage. Out of all the dogs, this was the only one curled up on her bed.

The lights were down quite low, but I saw from the tags that this dog had been here for over a year. She was two years old and surrendered at a year old. One year of living in a shelter, she had watched people come and go. No one wanting her. No one wanting to give her love, even though she had a whole lot of love to give.

I wasn’t going to move. This dog had givenup. She expected to be ignored. Not anymore.

“This one,” I said.

“Charlotte, she’s not even bothered to come to the cage.”

“Because she is used to being overlooked. A year she has been here, Ive. She has watched people come and go, ignoring her. I can’t walk past.” Thewoman opened the cage and when she went to go in the cage, I stopped her. She was about to protest but I could imagine Ive giving her a stern look.

I didn’t rush to the dog. Instead I entered the cage and pressed my back to the wall and slid down. The dress would be ruined, but I figured after coming here, the restaurant was off the menu for the night. I didn’t mind.

Staying with Ive, wherever we went, was all I cared about. If he took us out to a pit for us to dig, I’d do it just to be with him.

“Charlotte?” he asked.

“Just give her time.” Like me, just give me time.I’m not a bad person. I’d had a lot of bad stuff happen over the years, but I was still good. Always still good.

I don’t know how long it took, and in all honesty, I didn’t care. The dog that had given up on people slowly made her way from the bed and moved toward me, putting her head in my lap. I knew this wouldn’t be the case for all dogs, and there would be some that were vicious, but this girl wasn’t vicious, she was beautiful, sweet, and kind. I saw it in her eyes. I wasn’t going to give up on her.

Leaning down, I pressed a kiss to her nose, and as she looked up at me, I was sure she told me her name.

“Rose,” she said.

“There are puppies,” Ive said.

“I don’t want puppies. I want this girl,right here.”

The kind lady looked so happy as she gave meRose’s lead, as well as some toys. Ive promised he’d handle all the necessary equipment I’d need to take care of her. She didn’t have a problem leaving the shelter, and we got her into the car and settled in the seat between us.

“She’s already going to be a cock block,” Ive said.

This made me laugh.

“You know, if you show her a little love, she will love you and be loyal to you as well.” I loved dogs so much. They were precious.

We arrived backat the penthouse apartment block, and Hubert very kindly reminded us that we were going to need to walk her.

Ive groaned, but I had started to realize it was a little fake. I noticed him strokeher head in the car. Even if he wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted a dog, I had a feeling he was going to love her regardless.

Chapter Twenty-Two

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