Page 166 of The Best Thing He Never Wanted

She laughed softly at the little dog glaring back at them from the top of the mound of blankets on his bed, still wearing his cone of shame.

“You saw how fast he just shot across the room. And honestly, Blane, if he spots Pericles, who knows what might happen?”

“I do. He’s going nowhere. He’ll stay right with us—won’t you, little man?”

Sifis barked twice, and Blane laughed. “See. There you go.”

Bea looked down at the harness in her hands. “Well, it’s on your head if he runs off. You’ll have to chase him. You’re a good deal faster than I am.”

“He won’t run off, Bea. He’s finally found where home is. He knows he’s onto a good thing.”

She set the harness down on the table. Sifis trotted back over to her and barked again, as though confirming it.

“Oh, all right, then. Shall we go?”

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Yeah. Let’s get out there. See if we can see the sea today.”

She smiled up at him. “I think we will. It’s a beautiful morning.”

As they set off up the lane, Blane found himself turning over what he’d said about the dog. The little guy really had found where home was. Blane had, too. He knew it now, in a way he never had before, even if he couldn’t explain it.

Sifis wandered off to sniff at the bushes and investigate the side of the road, but he never got far from them, and every time Blane glanced down, there he was, trotting along quite happily.

When Blane nodded toward him, Bea gave a rueful little smile.

“All right. You can say it.”

“Say what?”

“That you were right.”

“I don’t need to be right, darlin’. I just want us happy.” He jerked his chin toward Sifis. “All of us. He’s happier he can roam. Home wouldn’t feel much like home to him if it was a leash that kept him by our side.”

She stopped walking and looked up into his eyes.

“What?”

“Nothing.” She hesitated. “Well—I suppose I’m only hoping you don’t feel as though there’s some sort of leash keeping you here.”

He rested his hands at her waist. “You know better than that, darlin’. And if you don’t, you should.”

“I think I do.” Her smile faltered. “But these last few days with you here have been wonderful. And hopefully you’ll work something out with the training on Nikos’s land, and you’ll come back. But…” She gave a small, sad shrug. “I know you’ll have to leave again soon.”

He leaned in and kissed her. There were things he wasn’t ready to tell her yet—not until he’d sorted out how to make them happen—but for now he could at least kiss that sad little look away.

They broke apart at the sound of Sifis barking, and Blane had to laugh when he saw the little dog jumping up and down in front of the stone wall while Pericles leaned his head over the top of it to stare down at him.

“That fucking goat.”

Bea laughed out loud. “I think they’re making friends.”

He shook his head. “That’s all we need.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” She was still laughing. “They might be an unlikely pair, but perhaps they’ll keep each other out of trouble.”

“Maybe.” Blane couldn’t see it.

Back at the house, he leaned against the kitchen counter and watched Bea fuss over Sifis—checking that the wound on his rear end was clean, setting down fresh water, rolling his little ball across the tiles for him to skitter after. He could just imagine what Cash would say if he could see him now. It was a more domestic scene than he’d ever once pictured himself in. The strange thing was, he didn’t feel trapped by any of it. He didn’t feel as though he’d wandered into somebody else’s life and stayed too long.