Christmas Love (Love Collection)

by Natalie Ann

  “Then why bring it up?” Emma asked.

  Beats the hell out of me. “Just something to talk about.”

  “Well, if you don’t want to find a man, and you don’t want a dog, then use your photography for something good in the community. You’ve always found time to give back before. Find a business that could use it and help them out.”

  “I guess it wouldn’t hurt. Since you brought up a dog, there’s a shelter attached to a veterinarian’s office on the outskirts of town. Maybe they wouldn’t mind some nicer pictures of the animals up for adoption.”

  “There you go,” Emma said. “Get a dog fix without getting a dog.”

  “And a dog doesn’t talk back or give attitude like people do.”

  Emma burst out laughing. “You’ve never owned a dog then.”

  No, she hadn’t. Her parents’ lives were too busy, then throw in Noelle’s modeling career, and there was no place for a pet in her life growing up.

  “Dogs still can’t talk back to you, so it’s got to be better.”

  “Give it a go and let me know what you figure out. I’ve got to run now though. I’ll check back in a few days.”

  “Talk to you soon,” Noelle said, disconnecting the call and looking out into the woods some more. It wasn’t quite September yet, but fall was in full bloom. The weather was beautiful and peaceful and she decided maybe it would be a good time to take a walk and try to lose some of herself like she’d said.

  Trying to Blend In

  “Can I help you?” a young woman asked when Noelle pushed open the door to the vet’s office. She tried not to wrinkle her nose over the smell and reminded herself that lemons were better than the alternative.

  She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but the modern office with the young girl sitting there sporting a huge smile wasn’t it. When she heard clicking, she turned her head to see a dog the size of a small horse come trotting into the waiting room.

  “I’ll let you take care of him first,” she said, stepping back and giving him wide berth.

  The young receptionist started talking to the dog in a childlike voice, saying, “Duke, did you do good today? Do you deserve a treat?” If her voice was a little too high pitched, the dog didn’t seem to notice as a treat was placed in his mouth. The receptionist didn’t even seem to mind that her hand was covered with slobber when she pulled it away.

  What was she doing here? Damn Emma for putting this idea in her head.

  “Now, what can I help you with?” the overly cheerful receptionist said to her.

  “I just moved to this area. I’m a photographer and was wondering if the shelter was in need of photos to help with the adoption process. Pro bono. I’m just looking for something to do in my spare time.”

  She was guessing the receptionist didn’t know what pro bono meant when she replied, “Dr. Martin is the person you need to speak with and does all the hiring. He runs the shelter too. You’re in luck because we had a cancellation this morning and he’s currently in his office. Can I have your name and I’ll just go back and let him know.”

  “Noelle Bennett,” she said, hoping no one recognized it. Then she wondered why she was thinking that when no one recognized her face, so they sure the heck wouldn’t know her full name. Hell, most didn’t know her by anything other than Noelle.

  Of course, since she’d moved here she hadn’t worn anything remotely in fashion, trying to blend in like everyone else.

  “Why don’t you have a seat then.”

  She turned and sat down to wait, but didn’t have long. When the receptionist returned, she wasn’t alone, though Noelle hadn’t heard any other footsteps. Surprising too, since the man that was following behind had a good half a foot on her own five foot nine inches. She guessed he probably had eighty pounds on her too.

  “Noelle,” he said, reaching his hand out for hers. “I’m Chase Martin.”

  She stood up and took it, marveling at how soft it was...the complete opposite of his voice. She wondered if that ever scared the animals. Probably not, but she found it pretty darn sexy. Most men she’d been around in her life didn’t have deep voices. No one other than her father.

  “Hi,” she said, liking that he didn’t add doctor in front of his name. Of course, did vets do that? They were considered doctors, right? Not real doctors, but still had that title.

  “I’m not sure if”—she turned, realizing she didn’t know the name of the receptionist— “told you the reason I’m here.”

  “Brianna did. She said you’re looking to take pictures of the animals in the shelter to help with the adoption process.”

  “Yes. I’d like to volunteer my services. I’m new to the area and thought it might be a good way to give back.”

  “I think we can work something out. If you’ve got some time, why don’t you come back to my office.”

  ***

  “Have a seat,” he said after he opened his door. He sat across from her in the opposite chair.

  He was thinking he was like Duke that he’d just seen with a treat being shoved in front of him. His tongue wanted to roll out of his mouth and he was pretty sure he was drooling. Somehow he managed to not spit when he spoke, so that was a plus.

  The woman in front of him was a vision out of a dream. Clear blue eyes that reminded him of the Caribbean, a sprinkling of freckles over the bridge of her nose, with hair so dark it could only be called midnight. She was stunning.

  There wasn’t a lick of makeup on her face and it didn’t matter. She’d be able to stop traffic in the street looking like she did right now in green shorts, sandals, and a white T-shirt. Even her sleek hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

  Casual looked mighty fine on her indeed.

  “How did you hear about us?” he asked, hoping to find a few brain cells that he was afraid might be dropping into his pants right now. Talk about embarrassing. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a reaction like this to anyone. Not even when some of the single owners came on to him during exams of their pets.

  “I pass by here on my way in and out of town often. As I said, I’m new to the area and thought it might be a good way to get involved and pass the time. I’ve seen pictures around of the dogs and saw them on your website. I know I can make the dogs look a little bit more attractive to potential homes.”

  “Anything would be better than me snapping them with my cell phone.”

  She smiled and it seemed like she transformed again. Her eyes, they were just sucking him in like one of those super duper vacuums at the car wash.

  “I know I can do that. Do you need to see some references of my work?”

  He laughed. “Nope. Anything is better than what I do.” She frowned and he knew he put his foot in his mouth. “No insult intended. I’m just saying that I’d appreciate anything or any time you can manage.”

  “My time is pretty flexible,” she said. “I’m self-employed, so if you give me an idea of what works for you, I’m sure I can fit it in.”

  He knew there was a lot he could say that worked for him, but he kept his lips sealed. He and women just didn’t seem to mesh well for some reason.

  He’d tried. He wanted a relationship. It just seemed that most of the time he was too preoccupied with his practice and the outside world got fed up with his lack of focus on anything but the animals.

  Or that was what he was telling himself, because the alternative was that he just sucked at relationships.

  The thing is, the animals were oftentimes better company and better behaved.

  “My office closes at six tonight. If you don’t have plans, we can meet at the shelter after. There aren’t that many dogs there right now, thankfully, but I’d love to get them set up with better pictures and explain the process to you.”

  “That works.”

  She stood up and held her hand out to his and then he escorted her back down the hall and to the front. He was looking at the rack for all the pamphlets left in the waiting room and noticed a lot of emp
ty slots. When did that happen?

  “Brianna, can you give Noelle a few pamphlets on the shelter for me?”

  Brianna reached behind the desk and pulled one out. “We only have one other left. More need to be ordered. I asked you last week if you wanted me to do it, but you mentioned there were things you wanted to change.”

  Crap. He’d forgotten about that. It seemed like he had so much going on, that the little things were getting lost in the shuffle. “I completely forgot. Can you send me an email as a reminder and I’ll get on it tonight?”

  Noelle had already pulled it open. “What do you want changed?” she asked.

  “Just some of the wording. I want the layout different. More appealing, I guess you could say. I put that together myself two years ago when I first opened the shelter. I just can’t seem to find the time to do anything like that, or find someone to even do it for me.”

  “Do you mind if I play around with it a bit?”

  Now he knew he was dreaming, he had to be. Beauty, brains, and a willingness to volunteer. “Be my guest,” he said.

  “I’ll have something in a few hours when we meet. I’ll just find some random pictures to put in it so you get an idea.”

  “Even better. But like the pictures, I’m sure anything you do is going to be aces above what I did.”

  “Aces, huh?” she asked, smirking at him. Another look in her eyes right now. One he couldn’t decipher. Was she flirting? Making fun of him? Maybe he needed to spend more time with humans than canines.

  Not Her Beauty

  Noelle couldn’t believe how pedestrian the pamphlet was that she was given. Of course, the website wasn’t much better, but at least it seemed to be updated weekly with new animals.

  Since she was used to playing with her photos, putting them in a template and adding words was going to be a piece of cake.

  She should get a picture of Chase too. He needed to sell himself along with the dogs. No, that was wrong. He should help sell the dogs. That’s what she was thinking. Not him selling himself. That wouldn’t be right.

  Or was she thinking maybe he could sell himself? If she hadn’t sworn off men, she’d bite. No, buy, not bite. What the heck was wrong with her? Though if she was honest, she’d buy and then bite.

  Maybe Emma was right. Maybe she did need a man. Just to get this itch out of her system.

  Sure, Chase was good looking. Taller than her, just like she liked a man. Bigger too.

  Dark hair, short and neat, dark eyes with a body that told her he took great care of himself, even hidden behind the scrubs that he was wearing. He was clean-shaven and that was probably what she liked the most. She didn’t care for men that hid expressions behind facial hair.

  Was he eying her with the same kind of stare she’d encountered most of her life? He was. She was so used to it that she was good at blowing things off. But what stuck with her was that he didn’t make a move.

  That he didn’t say a word.

  That he didn’t even try to pretend and divert his eyes even if he wasn’t going to make a comment.

  Most men started to hit on her right away or lavished her with comments on her beauty. She didn’t care about that. She knew she was attractive, but she wanted to be able to carry on a conversation with someone.

  Have some man be interested in her because of her brains, not her beauty.

  To see past her money-making face and body that was doing nothing for her in terms of income now. She’d milked it for all it was worth in her eyes. She learned some valuable lessons and when she found she couldn’t brush off the comments and advances anymore, she was done.

  She was sick of being seen as an object and not as a person.

  Time to throw in the towel and start the life she’d been telling everyone she always wanted.

  When she got home, she pulled up the shelter’s website again. It was better than the pamphlet, but barely. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much of a hand at doing anything with that. Instead, she took a few of the pictures from the site and started to play around with templates, hoping to give Chase something to look at in a few hours.

  She was still talking about templates, right?

  A little before six, she grabbed some of the pamphlets she’d printed and her camera case with lenses. She knew she wouldn’t need anything advanced for these pictures, but figured she’d bring them just in case.

  She hadn’t changed her clothes or done anything different with her appearance. That might give off ideas that she wasn’t sure she wanted to.

  Changing clothes or putting any makeup on would mean she was letting her mind wonder too much about possibilities with Chase when it was the last thing she should be considering.

  All she wanted was a peaceful life now. One that she found entertaining, engaging, and fulfilling.

  Modeling had been entertaining to her because of the people she was surrounded by. She was able to laugh off most of the things she’d come across.

  At least in the beginning. Once she was older, she asked herself why she was bothering anymore.

  The places she traveled, that was engaging to her. Everything she saw, everything she heard, everything she tried. She got to see a lot of the world and though she loved it, she didn’t miss it all that much. At least not as much of it as she thought she would.

  But modeling had never been fulfilling to anything other than her pocketbook. Even when she was a child it wasn’t fulfilling. It was more like fun, all the clothes she got to try on, and all the eyes on her. She was impressionable and liked the attention.

  Just not as much attention as she got when she was older.

  But here she was now, the life she said she always wanted, and yet, she was missing those three things.

  Time to find them.

  ***

  Chase looked up when he saw the SUV pull into the parking lot of the shelter. Since they were closed, he was assuming it was Noelle, and he was right when the door opened and she stepped out. One long lean leg coming down, then the other and he was hoping he had better control over his body this time.

  “Hi,” he said, smiling. He was pretty sure he was smiling; otherwise she might think he was staring again.

  He liked that for as beautiful as she was, it didn’t seem to dictate anything with her. It didn’t seem like she thought she was better than others. That she was entitled, or could use her looks to get her way.

  Instead, she seemed...down to earth.

  “Hi,” she said back to him. She had some papers in her hands and a bag on her shoulder. “I’ve got a few samples of things I put together for you this afternoon.”

  He reached forward and took them out of her hand, their fingers brushing, and he thought for sure heat was going to fill his face because it sure the hell was filling other parts of his body. So much for thinking he’d have better control.

  “These are awesome,” he said, flipping through the first one. “You did two of them? Now I’m really embarrassed. It took me days to get one done and in a few hours you managed two.”

  She laughed. Not a mean laugh, not a funny one, but a kind one. “I’m used to playing around with my pictures, and in my free time I’ve tinkered with pamphlets and such.”

  “Putting together stuff for your own photos to advertise?” he asked.

  She looked at him oddly and he didn’t know what to make of that.

  “No,” she said smiling again, this time there was a mischievous glint in her eyes.

  He tucked the papers into his back pocket and started to walk toward the door of the shelter. “Follow me,” he said. “I’ll show you the few dogs we’ve got right now and tell you about the shelter.”

  He punched a code into the keypad and pushed the door open. “Where are the dogs?” she asked. The minute she did, there was barking in the back.

  “Behind that door. This is just a waiting or play area. When someone wants a dog, we bring them out here so they can interact with each other first and make a decision on whether it’s a
good fit or not.”

  “Do you work here too?” she asked, looking around at the space.

  “Not really. It’s my shelter and I oversee it, but I’ve got two staff that come in and care for the dogs that are in the shelter and deal with adoptions and paperwork. Obviously, I care for the dog’s well being from a medical standpoint.”

  “Just dogs?” she asked.

  “Yes. Trying to mix animals wouldn’t be good for anyone,” he said smiling. Just the cats and dogs in the clinic waiting room were enough to drive his employees insane, trying to mix them in a shelter...no way.

  He only had so much patience and cat adoptions weren’t nearly as popular as dog ones. The thought of having that many cats left from week to week...again, no way.

  “What does it take to adopt a dog?” she asked.

  “Are you interested?”

  “No.”

  She’d said that too fast, making him think she wasn’t a fan of dogs, but he let it go. Who was he to judge? Maybe she wasn’t around them much. Or maybe she had a significant other that didn’t like dogs. Women that looked like her always had some man in their life.

  “Then let’s go in back and meet the few I’ve got.”

  “How come you only have a few? And where do you get the dogs from?”

  “Twice a month dogs are delivered here from all over the US. I’ve got more deliveries coming in a little over a week. This last one had a ton of puppies and they went fast, thankfully.”

  She stopped and looked stunned. “You don’t take strays locally?”

  “I do if someone drops them off or there is nowhere else they can be placed. For the most part, these are displaced dogs from areas that have experienced violent acts of weather or are from hard living conditions. Every other Tuesday I get several shipments of dogs, usually pups. I’m contacted prior to their shipment to see what I want, if I have space and any or all health concerns they may be coming with.”

  “How much notice do you normally get?” she asked.