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‘It wouldn’t hurt,’ he agreed.
She found herself grinning again. ‘Puppies, huh? Do you think there’s any money in dog breeding?’
‘Not really.’
Oh, well. She’d think of something on the job front soon enough.
She gestured to the food. ‘I don’t think this effort has disgraced me.’
‘Absolutely not.’
But he didn’t meet her eye as he said it. Her heart started to thump. There was loads of time yet to learn all she needed to know about macaron towers.
She swallowed. Béarnaise sauce one day. Macarons the next.
* * *
‘What on earth are you trying to do?’
Jo turned at Mac’s voice. Bandit twisted out of her grasp and ran a few paces away, where she turned to glare at Jo. Jo let a growl loose from her throat. ‘I’m trying to get Bandit into The Beast.’ She gestured to her car. ‘But Bandit doesn’t seem too enamoured with the idea of going for a ride. Either that or it’s the V-word—V. E. T.—that has her spooked.’
She pushed her hair off her face, thinking she must look a sight before telling herself that it didn’t matter one iota what she looked like.
‘For heaven’s sake, how hard can it be? I’m bigger than her. I’m stronger than her. And if you make one derogatory comment about my intelligence in comparison to hers you’ll be getting fish fingers for dinner.’
He raised his hands. ‘No comments, derogatory or otherwise. I’m hoping for a cheese soufflé. I just put the recipe on the kitchen counter.’
She hoped it would taste as good as the words sounded coming from his lips. ‘Do I need to pick up any exotic ingredients?’
‘Not for today—but you’ll need these for later in the week.’
He handed her a shopping list. Wrapped inside it was some housekeeping money.
‘Here, Bandit.’ He clicked his fingers and Bandit was at his side in an instant.
Jo scowled. Typical female. She rolled her shoulders. Actually, when she thought about it, she couldn’t fault Bandit’s taste.
‘Up.’ He patted the front passenger seat and Bandit leapt up and settled there. Mac turned back to Jo. ‘There you go. I’ll see you when you get back.’
He started to walk away and Bandit immediately leapt down to follow him.
‘Ahem...’
Mac turned at Jo’s cleared throat. He shook his head. ‘C’mon, Bandit, let’s try that again.’
This time when Bandit was seated in the car Mac shut the door. But when he started to walk away Bandit set up a long, mournful howl.
‘Don’t cry, lovely girl.’ Jo reached into the window to pat her. ‘It’s okay.’
None of which made the slightest difference. Bandit continued to howl.
Jo swung back to Mac. ‘She’s pregnant. I’m pretty sure that means she’s not supposed to get upset.’
He lifted both arms. ‘What do you want me to do about it?’
‘It’s more than obvious what needs to happen.’
‘What’s that?’
‘You’re going to have to come with us.’
Mac’s face shuttered. ‘That’s out of the question.’
Jo took one look at him and had to rest her hands on her knees for several long moments. Pulling in a breath that helped haul her upright, she opened the car door to release Bandit—who leapt down in an instant.’
‘I’m sorry, beautiful girl.’ She went to fondle Bandit’s ears, but the dog dodged away from her and for some reason it cut her to the quick. It was all she could do not to cry.
‘What are you doing?’
Disbelief was etched across every line of Mac’s face. A face, it occurred to her now, that had become a little too familiar to her.
She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but only partially succeeded. ‘I’m not going to put her through that kind of distress. Not while she’s in such a delicate condition.’ Her voice came out high and tight, due to the lump. ‘She’ll hurt herself, or spontaneously abort. Or...’ She shook her head, her stomach churning. ‘I’m not going to be responsible for that.’
She walked past Mac and tried to hold her head up high.
‘But... But...’ he spluttered.
She stopped and waited, but he didn’t say any more. She turned. ‘Are you waiting for me to bully you? If you are you’ll be waiting a long time. You’re an adult. You know what’s right and wrong.’
His jaw went tight and a tic started up beneath his right eye.
‘I’m going to conserve my energy for when I have to contend with Bandit and her puppies when I eventually leave.’ That was going to be awfully traumatic for poor Bandit. The thought made her stomach churn even harder.
