Page 71 of Lovestrung

* * *

“You’ve lost your fucking mind,” Ethan scowled down at me, fisted hands on his hips, as I sat on the floor at the animal shelter, surrounded by yapping puppies that looked like a cross between a Labrador and a Yellow Retriever, except they were huge. When we got there, Ethan’s boss, Charlie Jameson, was there. If I wasn’t totally over the moon in love with Ethan, I’d have been crushing hard on this guy – he was just shy of six feet tall, with chocolate brown skin and a smile that showcased the most attractive dimples I’d seen in a long time, and with mischief written all over his face.

Charlie told us he thought that the puppies might be a breed called Broholmer, but we wouldn’t know for sure until they were fully grown.

I gave Ethan my most innocent look.

“Why? Remember what my dad used to say? A home isn’t a real home unless there’s…”

“Unless there’s a dog or two in it,” he finished my sentence but shook his head. “I agree with Henry, but come on, Pen. Two dogs? I mean, I love them, but I only want one.”

I balanced two of the puppies in each hand and batted my eyes at him. “Aww, how can you resist such darlings, baby?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you baby me.”

“Look,” Charlie butted in, grinning as wide as me, “why don’t you buy the one you want and then simply foster the other until we have found a steady home for him?”

“I love that idea!” I enthused and barely avoided getting French kissed by one of the squiggling puppies. I glanced between its legs and saw it was the boy. Go figure.

I knew I was close to getting to Ethan when his lips quirked, and he rubbed his hand over his hair, a sure sign that he was giving in, but that didn’t stop me from turning my pleading eyes back to Charlie.

He quickly caught on and slapped Ethan on the back.

“Plus, they can entertain each other when you’re busy or out, Ethan. It’ll be the perfect arrangement for y’all,” Charlie continued.

“And I bet Bernie will love spending time with them as well,” I beamed at my man. “He could also do with the exercise. Mama had been spoiling him loads while I was away, and he’s a bit on the chubby side.”

Ethan swung his head to Charlie and back to me. “Fine, fine. You win,” he sighed. “But they need to get fixed first before I take them home with me.” He turned to Charlie and jerked his head to the front desk. “Let’s get the paperwork done, and then I’ll do the procedure on both of them. That works for you?”

Charlie nodded and winked at me.

“Perfect.”

My heart clenched but I had to admit it was the sensible thing to do. I brought both puppies close to my face and nuzzled into their soft furs.

“You’re such cuties. Ethan will be the best new daddy for you. Just wait and see.”

“Pen, you going to get up from the floor, or do you plan on moving in here?”

I rolled my eyes and carefully placed the puppies down before I straightened from my spot. I gave them one last scratch behind their ears and then went to the desk at the front. Charlie gave me a friendly look while Ethan went about signing some papers.

“It’s been nice meeting you, Charlie,” I smiled at him.

“Likewise.” He bit his lip and rested a hip on the table, settling in for a visit. “Want to grab a cup of coffee?”

“Hey, man, I’m standing right here,” Ethan grumbled and thrust the wad of papers at Charlie’s chest. “Don’t try to steal my girl.”

Charlie’s eyes widened. “Your girl? Sorry, man. I didn’t know you two were serious.”

“Yeah, well, now you do.”

Ethan narrowed his eyes and I couldn’t stop grinning at the caveman tendencies I was witnessing.

Charlie held up his hands, palms out.

“Hey, all right now. Chill.” His curious eyes flickered between the two of us. “You’ve always referred to Penelope as part of your family. Threw me for a minute there.”

Ethan shook his head, clearly still annoyed, before his head swiveled to mine. My insides melted at the intensity of his eyes.