Page 133 of Thoroughly Pucked

He squeezes my wrist, his fingers encircling it.

Before my heart performs an entire uneven bars routine, I hear Dev’s footsteps, and he pointedly clears his throat. “Hello? Did you forget about Puck Fitzgibbons?”

The other shirtless man in my home bends and scoops up the dog from the floor beside the bed. I laugh and Ledger snorts, letting go of my wrist.

“You already named him?” Ledger asks Dev.

“Dude. He needs a name,” Dev says defensively, then sets the precious cargo down on the mattress, not even asking me if he’s welcome in the bed.

Because Dev knows me.Of coursethe dogis welcome.

The mutt seems to know it, too, bounding up the bed then whining tentatively for my attention. I stroke his soft snout till he sighs and then curls into a dog ball by my side. “He might be someone’s dog,” I point out.

“We do need to see if someone is looking for him,” Ledger adds.

Dev rolls his eyes. “Dude is skinny, hungry, and collarless.”

“But he might have gotten out a few days ago,” I say.

Dev turns on his side and pets the dog. “Puck, did you get out, or were you looking for Aubrey?”

Ledger drops his face into the crook of my neck, chuckling. “There’s no way you’re not keeping this dog.”

I sort of knew that the second we found him, but I take issue with one word. “You meanwe.”

When Ledger lifts his face, he smiles softly. “Yes.We.”

I let that sink in for a little bit—the ease of thewe. The comfort of it. The way we all seem to know that a year became two months. That a first date is only the beginning. That this is us. “You know, the place where Iused to live didn’t allow dogs,” I say, musing on the seemingly random as I pet the new bedmate.

“But this place does?” Dev asks with some concern.

“Yes. Definitely. One of the reasons I moved here. But then Aiden was allergic…”

Another pause. Another contented sigh from Ledger. Another pet of the pooch from Dev.

“Looks like it all worked out,” Ledger says.

Maybe it did. Like Trina said, sometimes time is just time. It doesn’t have to flow perfectly. It doesn’t have to line up according to rules. Life is short and real love doesn’t come around often. If you don’t grab it, it might pass you by.

Ledger falls asleep first, like he always does. I turn to Dev, who’s petting the dog. “Damn, you fall fast.” I’ve never seen someone bond so quickly with an animal. “Even faster than me.”

He meets my gaze, his green eyes flickering with heat and vulnerability. “Yes. I fell a long time ago.”

My breath catches. My skin tingles. “You did?”

He nods solemnly. “I did.”

My neck is warm. My insides are melting. “Really?”

He slides a thumb along my jaw. “Yes, really.”

“That’s why you said you’d wait for me?”

He shakes his head. “No. I fell for you before that week. During that week, I knew you were worth waiting for.”

So much for going slow. I’m not sure I can now either. I lean in to give him a quick, firm kiss. When I break it, I say, “How are you feeling about the season? I know you want it to be the best.”

“I do. But that’s not the only thing I want now,” he says.

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