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She gives me a look that either says she understands and agrees or she thinks I’m bananas for talking to a dog. “How about this—if you can cheer him up, I’ll give you an extra bonus treat, okay? The good kind.”
Her tail wags at the word treat. Perfect. We have an understanding.
With a last deep breath, I walk back into the meet-and-greet room with Doris, hoping my instincts are still on today.
Eli looks up, his shoulders more slumped and his expression darker than when I left the room. But he perks up immediately when he sees Doris, his face brightening and softening at the same time.
And dang it—I’ve never been jealous of a dog, but I sure am now. I’d like to be the one putting that look on his face. The one who walks into a room and has that kind of impact.
I gently slip the lead back over her head, setting her loose in the small room. “Eli, this is Doris. Doris, Eli. I’m not quite sure how this will go. She’s new and still getting the hang of things, so she might not …”
There’s no need to finish my sentence. With the kind of grin that could disarm nuclear warheads, Eli holds his arms out wide.
Doris, smart girl that she is, climbs right into his lap.
I can’t blame her. If Eli were opening those arms to me, I’d walk right into them too.
No, I’drunand take a flying leap.
Eli doesn’t move while Doris settles in his lap, as though sensing her need to take things at her own pace. Slowly, he lowers his arms, bracketing her in while still giving her plenty of space.
She sniffs one of his big hands, then the other. Eli waits, motionless but still smiling, letting Doris run the show. She tilts her head to look up at him. Then, slowly and tentatively, she stretches up and gives the blond scruff on his chin a solid lick.
Even his chuckle is soft, as though he knows a full laugh might scare Doris. “That’s a good girl,” he says.
My heart gives a solid thump. I ignore it. It thumps again, harder this time, and I tell it to kindly go back to its regularly scheduled programming.
With Eli’s focus on Doris, I am completely at liberty to stare at the impossibly attractive man before me. I remind myself of what I told Beth earlier—don’t objectify him—and then add my warning for Doris—don’t get too attached.
Doris, however, is listening about as well as my heart. After Eli passes her smell test (I could have told her that he would),she settles in on his lap and rolls over, presenting her belly for scratches.
Eli gently strokes her belly. “We’re going to get along just fine, aren’t we, Doris?” His smiling eyes meet mine. “And to think you doubted me.”
“It’s not that I doubted you?—”
He smirks. “Uh-huh.”
“I just wasn’t sure how it would go. Doris has had a rough time adjusting so far.”
Eli’s happy expression recedes, and he gazes down at Doris, who is now shamelessly butting her nose into Eli’s palm. “She has a sad story?”
His somber tone makes my chest tighten.
“As with most of the dogs who end up here, we don’t really know. From the looks of things, she’d been on her own for a long time. You can see how thin she is, and her fur was one big matted clump. It’s why we shaved her so short.”
“Well, I happen to think you look beautiful with a buzz cut, D. You’re a stunner. Don’t let anyone tell you different.”
Gah! My heart!It feels like each of Eli’s kind words is piercing me like an arrow, tipped not with poison but some kind of love potion. There is a cupid laughing maniacally somewhere. I just know it.
Doris curls into a ball and closes her eyes as Eli scratches behind her ears. He gives me a smug look, and I feel it all the way down to my toes.
I hold up both hands. “I stand corrected.”
“Never doubt me again,” he says.
I clear my throat, feeling a weight in his words I know he doesn’t intend. “Never.”
Normally, when people visit with dogs, I’ll pop in and out of the room, checking to make sure things are going okay butgiving them plenty of space. Trading out one dog for another as people try to get a sense for what one might be the best fit.
