He hadn’t been sure what to expect, given Lily’s warning about Daisy not being used to strangers. He’d thought maybe she’d look wary or back away, or maybe even growl a little.
Instead she lifted her head and looked him straight in the eye. It was eerie the instant connection he felt with her, as if they had some prior history. “Nice to meet you, Daisy,” he said.
She gave a short bark, as if in acknowledgment. Then she walked over to him with that same knowing gaze in her brown eyes. Her tail wagged slowly, and Griffin could swear she was smiling.
Crouching down, he held out his hand for her to sniff. She did, quite thoroughly; and then she gave his hand a lick.
“I guess it’s okay if I pet her,” he said.
“Apparently so.” Lily seemed slightly bemused herself. “She seems quite taken with you. I’ll get her leash.”
“Okay.” Griffin sank his fingers into Daisy’s soft golden fur and scratched behind her ears as she continued to stare at him. He was probably projecting thoughts on her that she wasn’t having, but she looked for all the world as if she’d seen him somewhere before and was trying to place him.
He had a similar feeling, as if he knew this dog. But that couldn’t be. “Where did you get her?” he called out to Lily.
“From the animal shelter. Why?”
“She acts as if she knows me, and she seems familiar to me, too. But none of my friends have—or had—a golden.” He stood as Lily arrived with Daisy’s leash and a black nylon jacket she held out to him.
“This is big on me,” she said. “If we’re going for coffee, you should have something.”
“Thanks.” He had planned to have coffee at her place because he didn’t have a jacket, but Lily had neatly solved that problem. “What about Daisy? Is she going for coffee, too?”
“There’s a café about a block away. They have outdoor seating and heaters. Daisy will be fine there. I wish we could go to Anica’s shop, Wicked Brew, but it’s not all that close and she isn’t open at night, anyway. She caters to the office crowd. So this is my second favorite spot.”
Apparently he’d have to drink some coffee tonight, after all. It didn’t really matter. The evening would still end the same, with both of them naked and enjoying a simultaneous orgasm. But that would take a little longer to accomplish than he’d figured.
They retraced their path down the stairs, this time with Daisy in the lead, Lily coming next and Griffin bringing up the rear. The jacket smelled like Lily, which wasn’t helping keep his mind off sex.
The dog was a distraction, though. Griffin decided to concentrate on Daisy in order to get through this coffee-date foreplay. “Was Daisy a stray?” he asked.
Lily took the steps quickly to keep up with Daisy, who seemed eager to get outside. “No, a family left her at the shelter. According to her record, they moved to England and decided not to try and take her.”
“Hard to imagine anyone leaving a beautiful dog like this.”
“Their loss is my gain. They didn’t appreciate her the way I do, or they never would have left her.”
“So your apartment allows pets?”
“Luckily they do. I didn’t think of that when I moved in, but now I’m really glad.”
“It’s funny; I made sure my apartment complex allows pets because I wanted to get a golden after I got settled in there. But then I . . . just never did.” He wondered now how he’d let that plan slip away.
Sure, he worked long hours, but he had the money to afford a pet sitter who could let the dog out once during the day. If he skipped the happy hour habit, he’d have plenty of time to get in a run with a dog each evening. But if he’d skipped happy hour, he never would have met Lily, and he sure as hell didn’t regret that.
“Maybe you just needed someone to nudge you.” Lily opened the front door and followed Daisy down the concrete steps. “My sister’s the one who convinced me to adopt a dog. I didn’t think I had time, but you make time.”
“Exactly.” Griffin decided then and there to get a dog, a golden like Daisy. By some twisted logic, he might have been waiting until he met the right woman so they could pick out a dog together, but that was nuts. The right woman would like the dog he chose, or she wouldn’t be the right woman, would she?
They paused so Daisy could pee in a little patch of gravel about halfway down the block.
“My only worry is that she doesn’t get enough aerobic exercise,” Lily said as she waited for Daisy to do her thing. “I’m not into running.”
“I’m surprised.” Griffin remembered his fantasy—tight black Lycra covering her long legs and a black sports bra. “You seem so—”
“Fit? Well, there are the stairs.”
“Unless you go up and down them twenty times a day, that’s not enough to keep you . . .” How could he describe the perfection of her body? “. . . looking that good.” Lame, totally lame. She looked more than good. She looked like a centerfold, someone he wanted to lick all over.
She laughed. “Then I guess it’s magic.”
He had no problem believing that. Some people were born with the kind of metabolism that kept them in wonderful shape. Lily’s kids could very well inherit that metabolism, which would be a bonus for them. And whoever had the privilege of creating those children with Lily would be one lucky bastard sharing her bed every night.
Griffin blinked. Where had all of that come from? His plan was for one hot night with Lily. Nothing in the plan included thoughts about sharing a bed long-term and making babies. In fact, he needed to be absolutely certain she had condoms so there wouldn’t be any chance of babies. He needed to get back on track.
The neighborhood coffee shop with the outdoor tables and heaters beckoned from the corner. A yellow neon sign told him it was called Harvey’s Hangout. With barrels of red geraniums defining the space and red umbrellas anchoring each wrought-iron table, the place was appealing, although Griffin was more interested in privacy than appeal. This spot offered no privacy whatsoever.
Two of the four sidewalk tables were occupied by couples. Romantic couples, at that, despite the lack of privacy. One pair was simply holding hands across the table while they talked, but the other couple had scooted their chairs close together and looked as if they might kiss at any moment.
Griffin thought that might be a good thing. Watching other people kiss could flip some switches for Lily, and he wanted that. Coffee, with its jack-you-up qualities, wasn’t going to help much. Wine would have been better, but a quick check of the chalkboard menu told him he didn’t have that option here.
“If you’ll grab a table, I’ll get our order,” he said. “Do you want anything besides coffee?”
“No, thanks. But a tall mocha cappuccino would be great.”
He tried not to put any significance on the fact that he always ordered the same thing. “Whipped cream?”
“A little.”
There it was, a grown-up version of the hot cocoa he used to love as a kid. It was what he always ordered when he had coffee in the evening. So Lily liked the same kind of coffee drink and the same kind of dog. So what? That didn’t mean they were compatible, that they had similar goals in life.
Lots of people probably liked mocha cappuccinos and golden retrievers. And had great bodies with a killer metabolism. It was natural that he wanted to undress her and have sex with her all night, but the relationship didn’t have to mean more than that.
He didn’t want to make it into more than it was. That had been his parents’ mistake, and he didn’t plan for history to repeat itself. He just needed to scratch this one, persistent sexual itch, and he’d be good to go.
The coffee shop smelled terrific. He’d been in dozens of coffee shops, and he couldn’t remember ever being surrounded by so many heartwarming scents. Coffee, chocolate, steamed milk, cinnamon, hazelnut, and vanilla all combined to give him a sense of rightness and well-being.
He gave his order to the nerdy guy behind the counter whose name tag identif
ied him as Thomas.
“You must be here with Lily,” Thomas said.
“Yeah.” Griffin discovered a certain pride in admitting that. She might not be right for him long-term, but she was the kind of date a man could feel good about because she was . . . okay, he’d just admit it to himself and try not to feel like a shallow bastard: She was extremely hot. When men looked at Lily, they thought of tangled sheets and slick, naked skin.
As did Griffin, but the more he considered the nerdy guy imagining Lily like that, the less he liked it. All things considered, Griffin had no right to be possessive about Lily. He was in for the short haul.
That meant not caring who else was interested in the lovely Ms. Revere. Thomas wouldn’t stand a chance, anyway. He was too young, and not at all Lily’s type.
“She always orders this,” Thomas said. “I almost started making it when I saw her out there, but since she’s here with someone else, I thought she might change her mind.”
“Guess not.” Griffin recognized the adoration in Thomas’s eyes. Poor lovesick kid. Griffin tried not to feel smug. But any smugness vanished when another guy came out from the back, someone who was probably the owner.
He was casually dressed without being sloppy. Jeans and a white shirt, loafers, good haircut, midthirties. He could easily be Lily’s type. He breezed past Griffin, went out the front door and straight over to Lily.
She glanced up and smiled. The interloper, which was how Griffin thought of him, crouched down to pet Daisy, who thumped her tail on the sidewalk. The nerve of the guy, talking to Lily and petting her dog when she was out on a coffee date with someone else.
Griffin’s jaw tightened and his fist clenched. And that was ridiculous, because he had zero claim to Lily. Yet he continued to observe the interaction and continued to hate every second of it. He could hardly wait for his order to be ready so he could go out and break up that cozy little chat.
The mocha cappuccinos with a small amount of whipped cream appeared on the counter set into a cardboard tray. Griffin picked it up and made for the door. He couldn’t justify his behavior, but he planned to let the guy know right here and now that he was no longer welcome to hang around Lily. Not tonight, anyway.
Chapter 5
Lily had known Brad Harvey for a couple of years. Three months ago they’d gone out on a date, which had convinced Lily of what she’d suspected before—she had no chemistry with Brad. He’d tried to change her mind, but in the end he’d had to settle for being friends.
She was afraid he still carried a torch. Staying away from his shop seemed silly when he could use the business and his was the only decent late-night café within walking distance of her apartment. She’d never brought a date here, though, thinking that would be mean. Maybe not. Maybe it was a good idea for Brad to realize she was interested in someone else.
Brad’s smile never wavered when she told him she’d come here with Griffin, but his gaze sharpened. “So he’s a customer at the Bubbling Cauldron?”
“Initially. He’s more than that now, of course.” Or she hoped he would be. From the corner of her eye she saw the café door open and Griffin emerge with their coffee drinks. “Here he comes. Let me introduce you.”
“Absolutely. Consider me the big brother you never had, the one who gives your dates the third degree.”
“Good luck with that. He’s a lawyer.” She turned as Griffin approached. “Griffin Taylor, I’d like you to meet Brad Harvey. Brad owns the café.”
Balancing the tray with his left hand, Griffin shook hands with his right. “Nice place.”
Lily couldn’t fault Griffin for the comment, which was perfectly polite, but she was amazed at the curt way it was delivered, without even the hint of a smile. Despite the brief handshake, Griffin wasn’t being the least bit friendly.
“Thanks.” Brad stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “It works for me. I’m a night owl like Lil. We’ve spent many a wee hour together talking and drinking coffee.”
Lily almost choked. Between his saying her nickname, something he seldom used, and his implication they were really close friends, he was trying to one-up Griffin. She hadn’t seen that coming. But she hadn’t expected Griffin to be borderline rude, either.
“I’m something of a night owl, myself.” Griffin set the cardboard tray on the table and pulled out the chair nearest Lily. “Great to meet you, Brent,” he said with a total lack of enthusiasm.
“It’s Brad.” Brad made no move to leave. “Lily says you’re a lawyer.”
“That’s right.” Griffin didn’t look up as he took the drinks out of the segmented tray and placed one in front of Lily.
“Can’t be much of a night owl when you have to be in court bright and early.”
Griffin looked up at Brad. His gaze was direct. “I recover fast.”
Openmouthed, Lily stared at the two men. She’d never seen either of them act this way. They were both normally easygoing and affable. But tonight they were behaving like . . . She realized what they were behaving like and had to press her lips together to keep from laughing. They were behaving like two rutting elks vying for a female.
She had no intention of sitting here while the two of them pawed the sidewalk and locked antlers. Pushing back her chair, she untied Daisy’s leash from the table leg, stood and picked up her coffee. “Daisy’s had almost no exercise today,” she said. “If you don’t mind, Griffin, I think she needs a longer walk.”
“Great idea.” Griffin came out of his chair so fast he almost knocked over his coffee. “Let’s go.”
“See you tomorrow night, Lil,” Brad said.
“I may not make it tomorrow night,” she said. “My life seems to be on fast-forward these days. Take care, Brad.” She turned Daisy toward home because she didn’t want to continue down the street and have to pass Harvey’s on the way home.
“Right!” Brad called after her. “The engagement party! Can I pick you up?”
“Uh, thanks for the offer, but I’ll . . . I’ll probably have to go early.” Lily squeezed her eyes shut. She’d forgotten that Anica had invited Brad, but only as a friend, someone who knew Lily and was in the same coffee shop business as Anica. Lily had been fine with it until now.
“You come here every night?” Griffin fell into step beside her as they started back toward her apartment.
“No. I don’t know why he implied that I do.”
“Don’t you?” He took her hand and laced his fingers through hers.
Lily sighed. “Yes, I know why he implied that. We went on one date. One. It didn’t work out.”
“But he wants a second chance.”
“Yeah.” Now would be the time to ask Griffin to be her date for the engagement party, but she was still afraid he’d reject the idea. They hadn’t spent enough quality time together.
She’d envisioned lingering over coffee and discovering all sorts of interesting things about each other. Well, they could do that while they walked.
“If you don’t mind, let’s go down to the dog park,” she said. “Daisy really could use the exercise.”
“All right.” He didn’t sound overjoyed by the prospect.
“You can head home, if you want. I brought my cell, so I could call a taxi.”
His grip on her fingers tightened. “I’ll stay.”
Guilt swept over her again. He was probably sticking around because he hoped that eventually he’d be able to get her into bed. She had the opposite goal. She wanted them to become friends tonight, not lovers.
She took a fortifying drink of her coffee. “I’m going to be straight with you, Griffin. You can hang around until dawn if you want, but I’m not going to bed with you. If that’s all you want from me, then maybe you should take a cab home.”
“I won’t pretend I don’t want to have sex with you.”
“Thanks for being honest.”
“But I’ve never forced a woman in my life. I’m not about to start now.”
She g
lanced over at him. “You think you’ll wear me down, don’t you?”
The corners of his mouth twitched, as if he might be trying to control a smile. “That’s a very unromantic way of putting it.”
“You think you can seduce me, then.”
The smile broke through, a confident grin of male pride. “It could happen.”
If only he knew how easily. Just talking about having sex with him had dampened her panties. But she understood the consequences and she would be strong. He had no idea that he was dealing with a magic spell that could turn him into her love slave. If he knew, he’d be running in the opposite direction instead of walking along with her, hand in hand, casually and somewhat arrogantly talking about luring her into bed.
They reached the dog park, a grassy area dotted with young trees and enclosed by a chain-link fence. Releasing her hand, Griffin tossed his empty coffee cup in a nearby trash can, opened the metal gate, and motioned them through ahead of him.
“Thank you.” Lily waited for him to shut the gate before unhooking Daisy’s leash. Daisy had never shown the slightest indication that she’d run away, but Lily wasn’t taking any chances. “There you go, Daisy. Knock yourself out.”
Daisy circled around in front of them and stood gazing up at them, her tail wagging.
“Go on,” Lily said. “Run around. Stretch your legs.”
“There aren’t any other dogs. She needs someone to play with.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve brought her here when there are gobs of dogs, and she acts as if they’re beneath her. Sometimes she’ll take off running, but it’s usually her idea and not because she’s chasing or being chased.”
Griffin searched the ground at his feet. “Maybe this will work.” He picked up a short stick. “Fetch, Daisy!” He tossed the stick several yards away.
Daisy followed the direction of the stick with her gaze but she didn’t chase it. Instead she looked expectantly at Griffin, tail wagging.
“What do you want?” he asked. “A tennis ball? I don’t have one.”
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