If You Were Mine

Of course, she didn’t act on either of those. Instead, she pointedly looked at Cuddles in his arms and said, “She has legs, you know.”

He held the puppy closer to his chest as he walked into Heather’s office. “She likes it up here.”

Heather muttered something he couldn’t quite make out, but he didn’t need to hear it to know it wasn’t flattering. Atlas nearly tackled him to get to the puppy. Cuddles leapt out of his arms and practically landed on the Great Dane’s back.

Heather watched the two dogs tangle with one another in horror. “Please don’t tell anyone you just saw my dog do that.”

“What will you trade me for my silence?”

Because he’d sure like that kiss sooner rather than later. It was making him cranky, all this waiting. Especially when he wasn’t used to waiting for a woman.

Hell, he’d never waited for anything in his life before Heather.

She pinned him with a look that told him he wasn’t going to corner her into a kiss that easily. “I’m here tonight to work with you and Cuddles, aren’t I?”

“What changed your mind?”

She looked surprised by his question. Frankly, he was a little surprised himself.

Zach wasn’t one to spend a lot of time trying to figure women out. Apart from his sisters, who he could barely make heads or tails of, and his mother, he hadn’t had any long-running relationships with women. He hadn’t wanted one.

And even though he still never planned on making vows, or sticking a ring on someone, he wanted to know her answer anyway.

In lieu of answering, she looked over at the dogs. When he followed her gaze, he saw that Atlas and Cuddles were playing a hilariously off-balance game of tug-of-war with a rope. Atlas was patiently holding the wet, frayed rope in his mouth and Cuddles was losing her furry mind trying to shred it. Suddenly, the big dog tugged on the rope and the puppy went sprawling in a slobbery heap on the floor.

Heather’s laughter warmed him in places he hadn’t realized had been cold.

“How could I resist the Huge & Tiny show?”

She ran her fingers over the red dog bone box he’d sent and he wished she were touching him like that. Soon, damn it, she would be. He wouldn’t rest until he figured out how to get her to come around.

“Besides, no one has ever sent Atlas a gift before.”

“So it was the bone that threw you over the edge?” he said, letting himself savor the victory of a great idea perfectly executed.

She shrugged. “Plus the fact that all of my other trainers were busy tonight.”

Her timing with the slam was so perfect that he had to laugh, even though it was at his expense.

She motioned for Atlas to follow them out back to the training area. Of course, Cuddles followed right beside her big friend. She was all business as they began with the come command again then began to work on sit.

As if he knew he had to make up for his earlier outburst of excitement, Atlas was the perfect example of a well-trained dog. No matter how Cuddles tried to distract him, he kept his eyes on Heather.

Zach couldn’t pull his eyes from her, either. She was shockingly beautiful, even in a sweatshirt and faded jeans, her braid trailing down her back with wisps of hair framing her face.

He wished he had an excuse to touch her, to feel the warmth of her skin beneath his fingertips, her softness against his lips.

She directed him to begin using the sit command, but for the first time, Cuddles didn’t immediately pick up on what they were trying to learn.

After a few failed attempts, Heather said, “You’ve got to focus on your dog to let her know how important it is to you that she does what you’re asking her to do. She can tell if you’re distracted by something else.”

“You’re right,” he admitted. “I am distracted.” In all seriousness, if he didn’t get that kiss from her soon, he was going to lose his mind.

“All she needs is fifteen minutes of your focused attention. Surely,” she challenged him, “you can pull that off.”

“Do you know what Cuddles did all day long?” Without waiting for her to reply, he told her, “She pined for your mutt, hoping he’d be here tonight. I’m pretty sure a training session is the last thing on her mind when all she wants to do is play with her friend.”

“I told you, Atlas is not a mutt,” she said automatically, and then, “And you’re exaggerating about the pining.”

“Swear to God,” he said, “I showed her a picture of a Great Dane on my phone and she went wild.”

He could see her fighting a grin as she worked to keep to just business. “Our time is almost up and I’d hate for you to leave tonight making negative headway with Cuddles.”

“How about this,” he negotiated, “I’ll get both of us on track for the rest of the session if you’ll agree to let them play while we eat dinner afterward?”

Her mouth tightened. “After breakfast at your house and what happened at the park—” Another flush told him she hadn’t forgotten how perfectly their bodies had fit together when he’d saved her from the skateboarder. “—I know it seems like the lines have gotten blurred, but I haven’t changed my mind about things. About us. I’m happy to support your training with Cuddles to make things better for the both of you while you’re taking care of her, but I’m not interested in anything else.”

“Are you seeing anyone?”