Page 52 of Just Between Us

The dog sniffed around the toys, losing interest in the pile as he realized he had a whole house to explore.

“Loopy?” Andy asked.

“That’s so mean.” The dog ambled into the kitchen. “Should I follow him?”

He shrugged. “He just went pee, right? He’s probably fine. Rod?”

“Rod?”

“Like Rod Stewart. Isn’t that dog you walk named Maggie?”

“That’s a reach.”

“Trashcan.”

My eyes widened and I dropped the pizza away from my mouth. “Seriously, Andy, that’s a terrible name.”

“No,” he said, pointing behind me. “He’s in the trash can.”

I turned to watch the dog wander by the kitchen entrance, the trash can cover stuck over his head. He slammed into the wall, turning 180 degrees and crashing into another. Laughter coursed through me as Andy crossed the room. Sweeping the dog up in one arm, Andy removed the lid from his head, and the dog rewarded him with a messy lick across the face.

Tears rolled down my face as my laughter went from heaving to silence.

Andy plopped onto the floor beside me, placing our dog on my lap. “Definitely a Trashcan.”

Exhausted from his run-in, the dog set his head on my lap and closed his eyes, his extended tongue soaking the leg of my jeans. Andy pet his head.

“I’m not naming him Trashcan,” I said.

Andy ruffled his hair. “You’ll always be Trashcan to me, little guy.”

He dropped his hand onto my knee, the living room quiet except for the sound of our dog softly snoring.

“Do you really have to go?” I asked, not bothering to mask my disappointment.

He nodded, his face falling. “Afraid so. Want to make a weekend trip out to California to see me?”

“And leave him behind?” I said, nodding down at the mop of fur on my lap.

“He could come, too.”

“Or you could come home?”

“I can try.”

I pursed my lips, refusing to ask again. I sounded desperate and had no business stopping Andy from leaving town. Heck, it was part of our deal. Still, I’d grown used to being around him. He felt warm and comfortable, and only now that he was leaving did I realize how much I’d miss having him in the house.

“But,” he said, the edge of his lips tilting up. “I will miss you.”

His grip tightened on my knee, and my stomach flipped.

“I’ll miss you too,” I said.

My mind flashed back to the kiss on the porch, the feeling of Andy’s arms around me, his palm on my ass and his lips crashing into mine. Chills ran down my spine as I let my eyes fall to his mouth, watching his smile fade and his breath catch.

With so little time left before he left town, I abandoned the carefully constructed rules I had set for myself when I agreed to marry him. I leaned closer, daring him to kiss me.

He sucked in a breath, his eyes darting from my lips to my eyes and back again—asking permission without saying a word. I tilted my head up, leaning closer until I could feel the warmth of his skin.

---