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Those three words, spoken with a tender electricity that zipped through her chest like a lightning bolt, left a tingling heat in their wake.
Noel passed by them on the sidewalk, and when her eyes met Merry’s, she nodded toward Clark with a thumbs up, silently asking if they were good. All the girls had witnessed the dramatic events of the disaster date, but Merry had begged them all to leave the guys out of it. Merry knew it would be hardest for Noel, who genuinely considered Nick her best friend, but considering her brother hadn’t knocked Clark into the dirt, she assumed Noel kept her word.
As they neared the porch, Holly’s gaze shifted from Merry to Clark, her eyes narrowing. She opened her mouth as if ready to give him a piece of her mind, but then she looked down at Jace and shut it. Even though she’d told Holly about their encounter yesterday, her sister still wasn’t ready to forgive and forget.
Her mom opened the front door as Merry reached the top porch step, her frazzled smile dissolving as she took in Jace’s tears and Daisy’s dirt-streaked fur.
“Oh no! What happened?” Victoria cried.
“Daisy decided to go for a little jaunt,” Merry said, squeezing Jace’s hand reassuringly. She didn’t want him blaming himself anymore. “And Jace was upset about it, but there’s no harm done that a little soap and water won’t cure. We’ll get her cleaned up, wash our faces, and get back out here.”
“I’ll take Jace, while you work on the troublemaker.” Victoria gave Daisy her angry mom look, complete with wide eyes and a deep frown. Daisy backed up a few paces and pressed against Merry’s leg.
“Come here, baby,” her mom called and Jace dropped their hands, running full tilt into Victoria’s arms, who picked him up like he weighed nothing at all. “We’ll get that face washed, but first, how about a cookie?”
“Mom, shouldn’t you ask his dad if he wants him to have a cookie?” Merry asked.
“I pretty much let Victoria do whatever she wants with him.” He said it with affection. Like all of her mom’s children, he’d resigned himself to going along with whatever Victoria wanted.
Victoria bounced Jace on her hip. “And we want cookies, because they make everything better, right?”
“Right!” Jace laughed, already happier.
“So, Merry, mind your business and get that dog cleaned up. She has an outfit too.”
Merry shook her head as the two of them disappeared inside and she smirked. “You’ve created a monster.”
“Me? What did I do?”
“You brought that adorable child into our lives and made everyone, especially my mother, fall in love with him. I’m just saying I don’t think there is anything you could do that would get rid of her.”
“I don’t want to get rid of any of you,” he whispered.
“Yeah, right.” Holly snorted from behind them, but Merry ignored her, her heart keeping up with the rapid tempo when he stepped closer, his hand coming up to rest against the side of her neck, his thumb running along her jawline. Bells jingled in the distance, like some kind of musical soundtrack to this charged moment, growing louder as he leaned over so only she could hear.
“Can we—”
A loud bay made Merry jump and she looked down as Butch stopped between them, wearing a plaid dog sweater complete with a red leather collar dotted with bells. Daisy jumped on Butch, grabbing his long ear in her mouth, and the other dog tolerated her gnawing.
“Merry! Get your dog washed!” Victoria hollered from inside.
“Do you still want help?” he asked.
“That’s okay. We can talk later when we have more privacy,” she said, shooting her sister a lethal look.
“All right, I’ll see you out there.”
She covered Clark’s hand with hers, releasing a heavy sigh. “One thing.”
“Yeah?”
“If I ever try to dress Daisy in ridiculous outfits, please stop me.”
“I promise,” he said.
Chapter 17
Clark
