by L. A. Witt
“Hey!” Brian snapped his fingers. “Lola, down.” She instantly dropped onto her haunches, but kept her attention fixed on me as she vibrated with excitement. He rolled his eyes and muttered, “Traitor.”
I laughed and held out my hand for her to sniff. Well, lick. All over. “You are friendly, aren’t you?”
“God, yeah, she is.” He gazed fondly at her as she slobbered on my hand. “Anyone ever breaks into the house, she’ll just ask them to throw her toy or pet her.”
“Aww, not much of a guard dog, are you, baby?” I petted her with the hand she’d soaked, and her tail wagged so hard it made her whole body sway. “She’s tall for a German Shepherd, isn’t she?”
“She’s a Belgian Malinois. They’re kind of like Shepherds, but yeah, they get huge.” He watched her for a moment, then said, “Come on, Lola. Go inside.”
She trotted in, and we followed.
“Go get your leash.”
Instantly, she broke into a run and sprinted across the house, barking as she did. She turned a corner, and there was some sliding and crashing. I winced, but Brian just laughed.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “There’s nothing for her to hit. I dog-proofed this place the day after I got her.”
Before I could respond, there was a jingle at the other end of the house, and Lola came loping back with a harness in her mouth, the leash flapping behind her. She dropped it at Brian’s feet and sat down, wiggling and whining.
“Somebody likes going out,” I said.
“Oh, you have no idea. And we only had a short walk after work because I was meeting you, so she’s got a lot of energy to burn.”
“What?” I straightened. “Well, shit. Maybe we can take her along when we go out this weekend, then. She’d probably be happier, right?”
Brian blinked. “Really?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’m sure there are places that don’t allow dogs, but there have to be some parks and beaches we can go to, right?” I scratched behind one of Lola’s giant ears. “Do they allow dogs at places with outdoor seating?”
“Um.” He blinked again, and then shook himself. “I think so, yeah. I can google dog-friendly restaurants.” He crouched and collected the harness. “She’d definitely love to come with us, especially if we swing by the D-O-G P-A-R-K.”
I chuckled. “She knows the word, eh?”
“She knows a lot of words,” he muttered, and slid the harness onto his dog, which must have been a challenge with her bouncing and wiggling like that. “Too smart for her own good sometimes.” He tousled her ears and smiled. “Aren’t ya, baby?”
She woofed. He stood, and as he did, the leash jingled. She whined, front paws barely staying on the wood floor as she radiated excitement.
“You want to go?” he asked. “You want to go see some squirrels?”
Lola almost came unglued at that, and we both laughed. God, I loved how his blue eyes lit up whenever his dog’s did.
We went back outside, and as I got into the passenger seat, he opened the backseat. Lola leaped in, went right to the middle, and sat down.
“Good girl.” Brian leaned in and clipped her harness to something.
“Is that—” I looked closer. “Does she have her own seatbelt?”
“Yep.” He reached past her and clipped the other side of the harness to the passenger side seatbelt. “Some people think I’m nuts, but I’m not driving with a loose animal in the car.”
“No, that makes sense. I just didn’t know they made something like that.”
“I didn’t either until I got her.” He wrapped her up in a bear hug and kissed the side of her face. “Gotta keep my baby safe.”
And dear Lord, I almost melted right then and there. As if I hadn’t already been quietly losing it over basically everything this man did.
Once Lola was secured, she lay down on the backseat while Brian got in on the driver’s side. He started the car, and, after glancing back at her, backed out of the driveway. “I hope she didn’t slobber on you too much.”
“Nah.” I twisted around so I could pet her. “I miss having dogs, so I’m not going to complain.”
“Okay, good. Some people get annoyed by that. And the dog hair. She’s a longhaired dog, so you’ll probably need a lint roller or—”
“Relax.” I patted Lola’s neck. “Trust me—I don’t mind at all.”
He glanced at me, brow pinched. “Are you sure?”
“Dude, I love animals. Seriously, I miss having pets, so I’ll take the dog hair.”
That must have been what he needed to hear because the tension started easing in his features and his shoulders. Some of it, anyway.
I gave Lola another pat, then faced forward again, but I still watched Brian. “You’re really nervous, aren’t you?”
He laughed quietly, cheeks coloring. “Is it that obvious?”
“If it’s any consolation… me too.”
Brian’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
“Well, yeah.” I shrugged even though he wasn’t looking at me. “I was nervous about meeting you on the show, and then coming here after I blew you off…”
“You didn’t blow me off. You had somewhere else you had to be.” He glanced at me, a subtle smile on his lips. “I get it. It’s okay.”
“Still. I felt like an ass.” I paused. “Especially since I really wanted to meet you one-on-one. Without all the cameras.”
“You did?”
“Of course. Brian, I’m not joking—you were the reason I made it to that audition, and that audition changed my life.”
He swallowed hard but didn’t speak.
Heart thumping, I went on, “I’m not here because I feel obligated to you or like I owe you something. But it’s hard to forget someone who came along and acted like it made perfect sense for me to succeed. You didn’t have any reason to believe I could, but you didn’t have any reason to believe I couldn’t either. With all the negativity I’d been getting, and all the negativity that I’m surrounded by now, it’s hard not to be drawn to someone who sees possibility and potential in anyone.”
He exhaled. “Wow. I just… I still can’t believe that. I’ve been such a huge fan of yours ever since I saw you in Shots Fired, and…” He shook his head. “It’s kind of surreal, honestly.”
“Tell me about it.”
We exchanged glances. Though we both smiled, his anxiety was palpable, and mine probably was too. We’d been doing all right up until now—definitely nervous, but with plenty to talk about to fill the silence. Now that we’d acknowledged those nerves, they were impossible to ignore.
I swallowed. “This isn’t too much, is it? Me crashing your town for three days?”
“No! No. Not at all.” He adjusted his grip on the steering wheel and focused on the road as he nosed up an onramp. “Like I said—surreal.” He chewed his lip as he merged onto the freeway. Once he’d found a lane and sped up with the rest of traffic, he went on, “I mean, one day I’m watching this amazing actor and none of my friends believe I met him before he made it big. The next…” Brian glanced at me. “The next, you’re in my car, making friends with my dog.”
Hopefully making friends with more than just your dog.
“And I guess that’s just a lot to get my head around, you know?” He was almost whispering now. “You’re you. And you’re here. And I…” He didn’t finish the thought.
My heart was doing weird things as I listened to Brian’s soft, starstruck confession. Sometimes it still blew my mind that anyone could even get starstruck over me, and if he thought this was surreal for him, he had no idea what it was like for me.
Hoping I wasn’t about to make things weird, I twisted a little so I was facing him. “Would you believe a day hasn’t gone by that I haven’t thought about that day at the diner?”
He flicked his gaze toward me. “Really?”
“Really. I sometimes wondered if I’d ever be able to find you again. Partly because I wanted to say thank you, and partly becau
se I always…” I hesitated, heat rushing into my face. “I guess I always regretted that I never got to know you.”
Brian’s breath hitched.
I moistened my lips. “Someone who’d say something like that to a total stranger—I mean, that has to be a pretty amazing person. And I always kicked myself for letting you walk out the door without even finding out your name.”
A smile slowly formed on his lips. “Well, you know it now.”
“Yeah. I do.”
He looked at me again, and we both smiled.
As he kept driving, we let the subject drop and moved on to figuring out which park to take Lola to and walk off our full stomachs. Still, my mind stayed on that little exchange we’d had. There was more to it. More that I wanted to say but couldn’t. Not yet. A sense of urgency I hadn’t noticed before—a jittery, uneasy feeling in my chest—had begun to fade. As if I’d felt a clock ticking and needed to get all the words out before I ran out of time.
Somehow, I didn’t feel like I was on a clock anymore. We’d get there. I’d find the right words and the right time to say what I needed to say. This thing we were doing had the potential to extend beyond the weekend, which meant I could really think about everything I hadn’t said just now.
Like how attracted I’d been to him that very first day.
And how attracted I still was tonight.
And how much I hoped this weekend wouldn’t be the end.
Chapter 10
Brian
I’d had a crush on Adam since that day at the diner and had drooled shamelessly over him in movies and on magazine covers for the last few years. He was absurdly gorgeous and had a smile to die for, so I made no apologies for getting breathless over him.
But holy shit, I was not prepared for how weak my knees became as I watched him playing with Lola. Every time she came galloping back to us with her toy, he lit up like a kid on Christmas, laughing and encouraging her to hurry until she dropped the toy at his feet. Then she’d spin around, wagging her tail and woofing, and as soon as he threw her toy, she was gone again, spraying grass and dirt at us.
And I was just… mesmerized.
Adam could smile for a camera and look hot doing it, but this genuine, carefree smile? The way he really seemed to enjoy watching Lola tear across the park in pursuit of her toy? The way he almost doubled over laughing when she got so excited she couldn’t stand still? Oh my God.
I was used to people who liked dogs and were nice to Lola, but it had been a while since someone had been truly enthusiastic about playing with her. Or about letting her come along when we went out. Or about petting her and interacting with her even if it meant drool, hair, and mud. Whenever Adam picked up the toy and it had mud on it, he’d throw it, and then absently brush his hand off on his jeans while he watched her run. It didn’t seem to bother him at all.
It was silly to be this stupid over someone enjoying a dog, but there it was. Some guys were just sort of indifferent toward her. Some got annoyed that she went everywhere with me and that I spent so much time with her, and it didn’t matter to them that she was a high-maintenance breed who needed tons of attention unless I wanted her to dismantle my house. Even the guys who really liked dogs never got excited about seeing her or playing with her. Not like this. As if I needed another reason to swoon over this man.
“She’s going to sleep for days after this,” he said, chuckling as she took off again. “I’m not going to break your dog, am I?”
I laughed and shook my head. “There’s not enough daylight left for you to wear her out. Trust me. Your arm will be done long before she is.”
“Oh yeah?” He turned to me, still grinning. “Never runs out of steam?”
“Nope. What about you?”
Adam shrugged, watching Lola again. “I might feel it in my shoulder tomorrow, but I’m all right.”
And you’re so amazingly hot.
I muffled a cough and turned toward Lola as heat rushed into my face. It really wasn’t fair how hot he was, especially when he wasn’t on an airbrushed magazine cover under perfect lighting. Not that the lighting was so bad right now. The sun was starting to go down, so the light was warm, which brought out the brown of his eyes and caught some auburn highlights in his hair and beard. Even without makeup, cameras, and the touch of a professional photographer, he was stunningly gorgeous and unmistakably Adam Jacobsen. There was no looking at him and forgetting who he was.
Especially since we weren’t the only ones here, and I definitely wasn’t the only one who knew who he was. Nearby, a couple around our age—early thirties, I guessed—played with their speckled mutt on some agility equipment. More than once, they’d watched Adam while whispering behind their hands. A preteen with her mom and a Chihuahua glanced our way several times, but didn’t snap any pictures or say anything.
I couldn’t blame them for noticing. Even dressed down and hanging out in a dog park, he was unmistakably him.
And yet, at the same time, I could still see that flustered waiter with the dark circles under his eyes. He was the movie star, and he was the waiter, but either way he was so jaw-droppingly beautiful that I couldn’t believe he was here with me and my dog.
I cleared my throat as Lola came running back up to us, and I held out my hand. “Lola, give it to me.”
She started toward Adam, but then obeyed and dropped the toy in my hand. I held it up and said, “Last throw.”
Then I hurled it in the same direction Adam had been throwing it.
“Does she actually understand that?” he asked.
“Don’t know, honestly. I think so, because she doesn’t put up as much of a fuss when I put her leash back on.” I shrugged. “So maybe?”
“Animals are smarter than we give them credit for.” He slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Ready to take her back in?”
“The park closes at dusk, so we can’t stay too much longer. If we start walking back to the car now, we’ll get there in plenty of time.” I crouched to pick up Lola’s leash. “We don’t have to call it a night or anything, though. If you want to go walk by the waterfront or something, we can do that.”
“Sure.” Adam flashed another of those disarming smiles. “I’m having a great time, so I’m game for anything.”
My stomach was instantly full of butterflies. “Okay, well, let’s head back to the car, and we’ll take it from there.”
“Sounds good.”
Lola was almost back, so I whistled and jingled the leash. She slowed to a trot, stopped at my side, and sat down, still holding her toy.
“That’s a good girl.” I scratched her neck before I leaned down to clip the leash to her harness. Then I pulled a treat from my pocket, and she dropped the toy. When I tossed the treat in the air, she grabbed it with a loud snap of her jaws.
“Jesus!” Adam laughed. “She sounds like she could take your arm off.”
“She probably could. I think she likes you, though.”
And dear sweet Mother of God, the man blushed, and I almost died.
I took out another treat and handed it to him. “Here. You can toss it or let her take it out of your hand.”
I half-expected him to be wary of handing it to her after she’d snapped her teeth like that, but he crouched in front of her and put the treat on his outstretched palm. She… well, she didn’t take it delicately by any means, but there were no teeth involved. Just a lot of slobbering.
Adam laughed and wiped his hand on her, then on his jeans. “I’ll bet you sleep hard when you finally run out of juice, kiddo.”
“She really does.” I gathered the slack from the leash. “It takes a while to get her there, but once she drops, she’s out.”
We left the fenced-in dog park and started toward the footpath that would take us back to the parking lot. Lola still had her toy in her mouth, and she walked along happily between us.
“Any thoughts about what you want to do tomorrow?” I asked.
“I’m open-minded. And if s
he’s happier coming with us than staying home, we can go someplace dog-friendly.”
Be still my beating heart. Why can’t I find men like this to date, for God’s sake?
“Well, if you don’t mind a bit of a drive, we could go out to the Olympic Peninsula,” I said. “There are some beaches out there that are nice this time of year, or we could go up to Hurricane Ridge and—”
Out of nowhere, Lola dropped her toy and lunged forward with a loud bark, but stopped abruptly when she hit the end of the leash. She kept barking and straining as I tried to reel her back in.
“Lola,” I warned. “C’mon. Calm down.”
Adam put a hand to his chest. “What the…”
“Squirrel.” I motioned toward some trees and the fat gray squirrel that Lola had apparently seen. With a long-suffering sigh, I rolled my eyes. “She’s well-behaved most of the time, but it all goes out the window when she sees a squirrel.”
“Has she ever chased one for real?” He gestured at the taut leash. “I mean, has she gotten away from you?”
“Oh yeah. Especially when I first got her. And sometimes there are brave—or stupid—squirrels in the dog park.”
Adam grimaced. “Has she ever, uh, caught one?”
“Nah. They’re way too fast.” I petted Lola’s head and casually turned it toward me so she wasn’t watching the squirrel. “I don’t think she’d ever hurt one, to be honest. She’s done the same thing with the neighbor’s cat a couple of times. Scared the shit out of me when she caught up with him because I thought she might eat him, but she just bounced and barked and tried to get him to play. She couldn’t figure out why he’d stopped.”
A relieved laugh burst out of Adam and he stroked her back. “So she’s not a killer, just wants to play.”
“Exactly.” Once Lola had calmed down and the squirrel was out of sight, we continued along the path. I did keep a tighter grip on the leash; Lola was going to be on high alert for more squirrels now that she’d seen one. As we walked, I said, “So anyway, the Peninsula. It’s an option if you want to. The drive is really pretty, but it means like three or four hours in the car each way.”