Page 38 of Baby For The Billionaire Silver Fox

“Mortimer.”

“I see. Can you blame him?”

Dan looked at me with a quirky grin that was sexy as hell. “Not at all.”

I crouched down to pet the dog and got a face full of wet, slobbery kisses.

“I think he got the rest of the powdered sugar off my face,” I said, drying my face with my sleeve. “I was at Lexi’s coffee shop,” I explained.

For a second, Dan looked at me like he wanted to lick my face too, but the look quickly disappeared. I felt a little disappointed to see it go.

This wanting him and having to push him away was so fucking hard. In fact, it was exhausting.

“How did he do through the night and this morning?” I asked.

“Fine. It’s apparent to me that he’s had some basic training. He knows how to sit, stay, come. And he’s not skittish at all, so I don’t think he was abused.”

“That’s a relief.” I scratched the dog under his chin and then between his ears with my fingernails. He melted like putty in my hands.

“I put out feelers in the community and social media. Do you still want to keep him?”

“Absolutely. Do you think he’ll have separation anxiety while I’m at work?”

“You can test the waters. Why don’t we take him for a walk now, then put him back in the loft and go to lunch? An hour or two alone will give you your answer.”

“What if he trashes your place?”

He shrugged. “It’s meant to look old and lived in. It wouldn’t bother me if there were a few new scuffs. Right now, the only living it sees is me rattling around most nights alone and then the occasional dent from an overzealous winner at poker night.”

He sounded a little sad. He reached down his hand to help me up, and I squeezed it after I’d risen.

“Come on. I picked up a plain leash when I got the dog food last night. You might want to get one a little more blingy.”

“No blingy leashes for this dog. He strikes me as a fun boy, not one who needs to be extra.”

We walked along the paved river trail behind the warehouse. “I didn’t know this was here,” I marveled. “How come you didn’t show me this during the tour of the town?”

“I sometimes forget it’s here. There are a lot of joggers and cyclists along here in the summer because it goes quite a ways, and it’s pretty flat. You can see it from the side windows in my loft in the winter when the leaves are off the trees.”

We walked as briskly as the dog would let us. He was happy as could be to stop and sniff at just about every tree. The river was shallow, with big smooth rocks sticking up, demanding the water go around them. The banks weren’t high, and there were short trails every so often, leading to little landings that I imagined people fished from.

I was watching the river intently.

“What are you looking at?” Dan asked.

“I’m watching for fish to jump. They do that, right?”

The dog was watching the water, too, and spotted a big, odd bird. Suddenly the dog lurched forward, intent on getting to the bird, and the leash came out of my hand.

“Wait!” I yelped in surprise. “Come! Come, Dan, come!”

Dan looked at me.

“What? I know he responds to that,” I said.

I ran after him to the water’s edge and watched helplessly as he splashed in after the bird. The bird gave a loud squawk and took to the air.

“Come, boy! Come on!” He looked like he was trying to head back, but his motions were less than graceful.

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