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Then again…it’s not like that Denver agency is banging down my door.
“Oh, my goodness!” the server from earlier squeals as she comes over to pet the little gal in my hand. “Can I hold the precious puppy wuppy?”
I arch a pointed brow at the giant mountain man across the table and make my reply real big and exaggerated. “Absolutely you can hold da puppy wuppy lovee dovee. Who doesn’t love to hold a puppy?”
The woman cradles Queenie in her arms, and instantly, she’s assaulted with licks all over her face, to the woman’s absolute delight.
“Actually, do you have a bowl and some water I could give her?” I ask, thinking it’s been an hour since she’s had anything.
“I sure do,” the woman coos. “Mind if I take her out back? My grandson is out there, and he’d love to play with her. I’ll let her go potty and bring her back once she’s stretched her legs a bit.”
“Oh my God, that would be so amazing. Thank you!” I watch in delight as the kind woman squeals and scurries off with the puppy. I can’t help but eye Wyatt dubiously as I point at where they’ve disappeared out the back door. “That’s the normal reaction to puppies.”
He grunts at me.
Literally grunts.
Okay, this is too much. “What kind of man who wants a baby doesn’t like puppies?”
He shrugs and leans forward, hitting me with those stunning light blue eyes that are a gorgeous contrast to his light brown hair and beard, which has flecks of gray in it. “You’ve met my niece, right?”
“Yeah.”
He quirks his head and adds, “She’s better than puppies.”
“Okay, that’s fair,” I reply with a laugh at that simple but effective response. “So, what’s your deal? You love your niece and want one of your own?”
“I suppose that’s part of it. She’s going to college in Ireland at the end of the summer, and that’s messed all of us up quite a bit,” he replies with a thoughtful look. “But I’m ready to be more than an uncle. And while I know I want to be a dad, I don’t want to be a husband. And I realize I don’t have to be married to have a baby, but I don’t want to co-parent with someone. The idea of splitting time with my own blood the way my brother has to with Everly…it looks painful to me.” He pauses for a moment as his hand grips the pilsner glass firmly in his hand. His eyes darken when he adds, “I can be kind of possessive when it comes to those I love.”
A flush rushes up to my cheeks, and the carnal reaction my body has to that last sentence is something I did not expect. I mean, look, I’d have to be blind not to find the tall, bearded lumberjack sitting before me attractive. But I’m someone who can normally keep my cool with guys. Mostly because I’m not a relationship girlie. My tendency to be late annoys most men until they give up on me, and my focus truly has always migrated more toward animals than humans. I don’t even have many close friends for all those reasons. And I’m cool with that. Rejection fucks with my head, so it’s easier to just expect nothing when it comes to people. But this guy…Mr. Mountain Man Wyatt? I’m going to need to keep my shit together if this works out.
My body shivers as I take a second to inspect him and try to figure out what I find so alluring about him. He isn’t one of those classically handsome Disney prince guys who are a dime a dozen in Denver. He has a rough-around-the-edges look to him. His beard is short and trim but crawls down his neck like he doesn’t do any sort of shaping to it. His brown hair is scruffy and sticking out every which way, likeit was shoved under a hat all day. And his nose slopes slightly more off to one side. I wonder if he’s ever broken it. And his eyes. Damn, they are penetrating. They are narrow and intense, almost animalistic in nature. That’s what it is. I’m attracted to him because he looks like a wolf, ready to attack. Typical me.
It isn’t until he sits back to take a drink of his beer that I realize I’m staring at his thick neck, completely slack-jawed, as he swallows the foamy liquid.
I shake off my hormonal daze and shrug casually, my mind snapping me back to reality as I realize he was the last one to speak, and now it’s my turn. “Possessive or protective…both are good qualities in a future father. I’ll accept that answer.”
“Is this a test for me as well?” he asks, arching one thick eyebrow at me.
“A little,” I reply honestly. “Can we continue the truth bombs?”
“By all means.” He crosses his arms in front of him, and I can’t help but eye the way his bicep pulls against the flannel of his shirt.
“Well,” I start, clearing my throat for the next bit, “I am about to be a little bit…homeless.” His brows furrow with concern, and I hold my hands up defensively. “But not in the ‘I don’t know how to pay my bills’ sort of way. I mean, I am low-key poor, but I manage my money just fine. The problem is…I got busted with a potbellied pig in my apartment last week, and my landlord is kicking me out, even though I told him I got all the stains out of the carpet.”
“Did you say a potbellied pig?” His tone is not impressed.
“Yeah.”
“Are you about to pull a pig out of your bag next?”
“No…Jesus, he’s a hefty bastard! I can barely lift him into my car.” I stretch my back at the memory of that pain. “Reginald is at the pet facility I work at, but they are not equipped for farm animals, and it’s actually illegal for him to be there, so I have to get him out of there ASAP.”
“I see,” Wyatt replies, looking a bit confused.
“Your niece said you had some lodging options for the potential surrogate you hire?” I offer hopefully. “Something about a barn onyour property. And, well, if I’m about to move next door to a man to have his baby…I need to make sure he’s not a crazy person and that this is a safe situation for me. So yeah…this is a test for you as much as it is for me.”
“That’s fair,” he replies stiffly.
