Puppy Love by the Sea

by Traci Hall

  Franco put his hand to his chest. “Me?” He’d never been called Buster in his life.

  “No.” Jennifer shook her head, her hair in a clip and springing curls all over. “This is our newest rescue.”

  “Good luck finding a home,” he said. “Even I would have a tough time there. He looks ready to kill.”

  “He might not be so fond of men,” Jennifer said with a nod and a pat on the dog’s head. “His owner was a real jerk. We’re keeping Buster separate from the other animals until Dr. Wilton gives him the okay. Then we’ll see. I have an idea he’ll settle in.”

  “Is Sarah ready?” Franco looked around, walking toward the kitchen so he could give Benny and Pippa a pat. Coffee brewed in a Mr. Coffee 12-cup machine—a far cry from the Brazilian blend he made at home.

  “She’s in the warehouse. Buster here didn’t like his bedding, so he tore it up rather than sleep on it. She’ll just be a second.”

  Sarah pushed through the door connecting the office to the warehouse. “Done. No more cushy foam for him. I put in the straw pallet. Maybe that will be more his style.” She looked up and blushed as she saw Franco. “Oh. Hi. I thought I was talking to my mom.”

  “Morning,” he said, his mood lifting at her smile. “I was just hearing about Buster.”

  “He’s going to need some work, but we can talk about it in the car. Did you eat breakfast? I’ve got granola bars somewhere.”

  “I figured we could get coffee on the way out of town.”

  “Perfect, since I didn’t have time for that either.” She gestured to the beige shorts and soft yellow silk shirt she wore. “I was trying to blend, but now I smell like dog.”

  Franco looked down, seeing that Sarah didn’t bother painting her toes. She wore sandals with two slick yellow straps that showed off narrow feet.

  “I don’t think that will be a problem where we are going.”

  She grinned. “The breeders? Probably not.”

  He sniffed her. “You smell great to me.”

  “Sweet talker.” She brushed by him without meeting his gaze, careful not to touch him. “Mom. We’re leaving. The truck keys are on the counter in the kitchen. Martin will be in to walk Buster later, okay? Call me if you need anything!”

  She grabbed her purse, a soft leather pouch with embroidered trim. The bohemian style suited her. It seemed more natural than the khakis and polo shirt.

  “Have fun! Drive safe, Mr. de Silva.” Jennifer Murphy pointed her finger at him. “And good luck with the chi-poo.”

  Laughing, Jennifer sank back in the office chair, her hand still holding Buster’s collar.

  Sarah pushed out the front door. “She is having way too much fun.”

  “What is the matter with that?”

  “She wants to help me, which is great, but I need to do this myself.”

  “You said that yesterday, too,” Franco reminded her, opening the passenger door of his car for her. “There is nothing wrong with accepting a helping hand.”

  She stared at his car and then looked at him. “Now and then,” Sarah agreed, grinning as she patted the top of the car. “Shiny. Black. The only reason I know it’s a Ferrari is because my cousin watches Top Gear. You must be the most popular dad at Bella’s school.”

  “I drive the Volvo when Bella is with me. I don’t get behind the wheel of this one as often as I’d like.” He waited by the door as she slid in against the decadent leather seats.

  Sarah sighed with appreciation. “This is smooth, Franco.”

  He thought she was smooth, showing her tanned thighs as her shorts slid up. The soft lemon silky blouse settled around her, her long hair straight and falling past her shoulders in a smooth curtain. She reached for the door to close it, just as he shut it from the outside.

  Independent, he thought, going around to the driver’s side. Franco got in, the sleek car purring to life. “Coffee?”

  “I’m all right for now. Maybe once we’ve been on the road a while.”

  “Sure.”

  “Pretty much I don’t want to spill anything in your car.”

  “It washes.” She was sweet to think of that.

  “Was Bella terribly upset that she couldn’t come?”

  “She’d forgotten all about it, actually. My daughter likes school. Can you believe it?”

  Sarah laughed. “Uh-oh. You might have a geek on your hands. I liked school too.”

  “You’re very smart.” He kept both hands on the steering wheel, even though her bare skin was close enough to touch. Tempting.

  “Focused. It’s different. I had to study. A lot. But I wanted to. I thought I might be a vet, but changed my mind two years into the program. I wanted to find homes for the unwanted animals, not just know how to stitch them up. Which I can do, by the way. School wasn’t wasted.”

  Franco pulled onto I-95. “Learning and expanding the mind is rarely a bad thing.”

  Silence settled for a few moments. Franco stole glances at Sarah, who looked out the window at the passing cars. He liked that she didn’t feel the need to chatter. Fill up the conversation.

  “It doesn’t even feel like we’re moving.” Sarah brushed her hand over the dash. “We could be flying, it drives so smooth.”

  “I have to be careful of speeding,” Franco acknowledged. “It’s easy to do. I get lost in thought and the next thing I know…”

  She smiled, glancing at the speedometer. “I’ll help you keep watch. So. What else do you know about this breeder? Have you bought from them before?”

  “No.” Franco gestured to the portfolio by her feet. “But go ahead and read about them. The Brownings are new so there aren’t any bad reviews.”

  “No good reviews either,” Sarah said.

  “True. Which is why we’re making the trip to check these puppies out.”

  She opened the folder and scanned the information. “The American Canine Hybrid Club calls it a chi-poo, but,” she looked at him with a disbelieving laugh. “It’s also known as a choodle. People are so strange.”

  “What else does it say?”

  “Toy breed, 5 to 10 pounds. Requires grooming. Good for condo living. Sociable.”

  Franco nodded. “It’s the condo living that makes it an easy sell. Unlike your Buster. What happened there?”

  Sarah rested her head back against the seat and closed her eyes, frowning. “A guy who decided to head back to Georgia did his dog a favor and left him behind.” She sat up and faced him, crossing her legs. “I don’t understand how people can be so cruel to something that offers unconditional love.”

  He heard the anger she barely suppressed. “Lucky dog, to have gotten you.”

  “One county over, and he would probably be put down,” Sarah said. “I’m the only no-kill facility here.”

  “Now what will happen?”

  “I have to get Buster used to people, his shots and a check up with Dr. Wilton. He’s already fixed.” Sarah tilted her head. “See what his temperament is, though he didn’t seem interested in my two yappers, that’s no guarantee he’ll be sweet with other animals. He likes my mom.”

  Franco laughed. “Who wouldn’t?”

  “I’m just saying. We have to wait and see. It’s easier with puppies and kittens. They’re tiny and cute and don’t have strong personalities yet.”

  “Buster needs a home full of football players or something.”

  Sarah lifted her hand as if to stop his words. “I don’t know about that. He might do better with a single woman, someone he can protect. A single man? It would have to be a special guy to get beyond what Georgia did.”

  “Is there any recourse, legally, for you to follow up on?”

  “I’d given him a ticket before, and warned him if it happened again he’d have to go to court. There are laws against animal cruelty.” She tapped her fingers along the folder. “I gave him literature on how to help keep his dog from barking.”

  “You can’t save everybody, Sarah. People have to want to change.” He tho
ught of Bianca and changed the subject. “I’d like to buy one of the puppies to bring back to Dr. Wilton for a complete examination.”

  “Smart idea. She is amazing. Genuinely cares about what she does.”

  “Like you. Here’s the exit that switches out to Sawgrass. Coffee?”

  “I’m really fine,” she said. “We’ll be there in no time.”

  Franco liked driving, liked having Sarah with him in the intimacy of the car. “So, tell me about you.” Unable to resist, he reached over to touch her hand and she jolted. She was not immune to him, he noticed happily, so he left his hand over hers.

  “Uh, what do you want to know?” She gave a nervous laugh. “I love food, the ocean and I’m a Pisces.”

  “Married?”

  “I ended an engagement because we didn’t agree on my career path.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “He was a vet, and wanted me to be a vet too. I had my own ideas about the pet rescue I wanted to start instead, and he told me I’d fail. No money in the non-profit business. Which he was right about, but money is not what motivates me.”

  “You aren’t failing.” He had a million ideas to help her but he was glad he kept quiet about them. He’d only know her a few months and knew that money was not what drove her. “Look at all of the animals you’ve found homes for.”

  “Thanks. He had a list of ways I could be successful and use my education so that it wasn’t a ‘waste’.” She cleared her throat. “He expected me to take a break, raise kids, and work in our veterinarian office together. I like kids, but I wasn’t ready to pop them out by some graph he’d made up.” She shrugged. “And now? I’m thirty.”

  “Thirty is not too old to start a family. These days, people wait until they’re forty. They have their career first, then settle down. In a way, it makes more sense. You have financial stability, you’ve grown up yourself, and you’ve sowed your wild oats.”

  Sarah leaned against the passenger door, slighting adjusting her upper body so she could see him better. She didn’t pull her hand away. He winked.

  “I didn’t have any wild oats.” She lifted her shoulder. “But I have no regrets. My job matters, and there is plenty of drama to keep me from feeling too boring. The ocean keeps me sane after a rough day.”

  “You are not boring.” Franco switched lanes to avoid a carnival on wheels that was part of a long fair caravan headed west. “You have a full life, doing what you love.” Some folks searched for that their entire life without finding it.

  “True.” She patted her chest with her free hand. “I’m not against having someone important in my life, but they’d have to understand that I’m my own person.”

  “I appreciate that. I’ve been learning so much about myself this last year,” Franco said. “Being the sole person in charge of another human being’s welfare set me back on my heels. But I wouldn’t change a minute. I feel like Bella has made me better, more well-rounded. And a little bit paranoid,” he added, laughing.

  “You are an amazing dad.”

  “Thank you.” He squeezed her hand and brought the subject back to her. “I can’t stop thinking about our kiss. About you. I remember how beautiful you were, coming from the ocean like a goddess. Water droplets shining on your tanned skin, your eyes green as the sea.”

  She tugged her hand free, embarrassed. “Attraction. I’m betting you haven’t done too much dating since your wife died.”

  “There have been a few.” He wasn’t a monk, for God’s sake. “Nothing serious.”

  “I feel as if we are becoming such good friends. I don’t want to ruin that. And Bella doesn’t need to be confused.”

  Friends, again? “How would Bella be confused?”

  “Well, I’d be around, and then, when our desire ran its course, I wouldn’t be.” She looked out the window and then back again. “I really care about her.”

  “First of all, I cannot believe you are using Bella to turn me away, and second of all, just how quickly do you think our desire would fade?” He’d never had this instant, or deep, of a connection before.

  Her poor cheeks turned so red they looked painful. “You’re a man of the world, Franco. I don’t know. I’m just a South Florida girl on a mission.”

  “You don’t give yourself enough credit.” He had been around, around enough to appreciate a treasure when he found it.

  “We are in separate zip codes.”

  Americans! “We have the same zip code. 33308.”

  Exasperated, she twisted her hair around her finger and tied it in a bun at the back of her head. “You are mega rich. I am forced to sell dog treats at a car wash to get the roof fixed. How long do you think we could last?”

  “Sarah, if you had all the money in the world, what would you do?” She was so fortunate, already living her dream.

  “Get my roof fixed?”

  “Seriously.”

  “I’d...” She tapped her lower lip. “I would do the same thing I’m doing now, but I would expand. Help more animals.”

  “I can help you do that.”

  “But that’s my point! You helping me do it means that I wouldn’t be doing it, and that takes away some of the joy for me. The satisfaction of knowing I did it myself.”

  “I don’t care about how much money you have or don’t have. I just want to help, because I like you. Those treats you created taste wonderful. I know a marketing guy who can take them to the next level. I am not offering anything other than a contact. A name. You do the rest.”

  She sighed and stretched her legs out in front of her. “Just let me think about it, okay?” Sarah hummed beneath her breath and closed her eyes for a few minutes then she sat up and looked at him. “Your turn to share a story. Tell me about your wildest escapade. Before you got married, settled down and turned boring. I mean, respectable.”

  Franco grinned. “Well, I was born on the Amazon. My family lived in a village there…”

  “A village? Why am I not buying that you grew up in a poor little rainforest town eating grubs?”

  “So maybe my family owned the village,” he conceded, sending her a smile.

  *****

  Sarah hated to admit it, but she was well and truly charmed by Franco de Silva. He drove the car like it was an extension of himself. Confident, sexy. Why did he keep touching her? Why did she let him hold her hand?

  He made it really hard to stick to that just friends thing she kept telling herself. She listened to his mesmerizing voice as he talked of his childhood, the love for his family clear. God, his voice was such a turn on. Lightly accented, deep. Rich. Perfect.

  “Where are they now?” she asked. “Your family?”

  “They’re gone. Dead. Life is a precious thing and the trail of loved ones behind me reminds me every day.” His jaw clenched.

  He wore the dark shadows well, combining grief with hope in a way that spoke to her heart. “My dad left us when I was thirteen. I didn’t have any brothers or sisters; it had always been just the three of us. I had cousins, of course—Mom’s brothers. Mom worked in an office, Dad fished. I’m pretty sure the only reason my folks got married was because of me. Well, Mom getting pregnant.”

  “They did the right thing.” Franco made the question a statement.

  “I don’t know...” Sarah looked inward. “They never seemed happy. It was a relief when Dad left, which is sad, I think.”

  “Is he remarried?”

  “Yeah. Ten years ago he married this girl in the Keys. She’s my age. I don’t call her Mom, if you know what I mean.”

  Franco didn’t laugh, but offered his hand again. Sarah took it, caressing his fingers. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I know what it’s like to be disappointed by those we love.”

  “I looked up your wife, after our dinner the other night,” she confessed.

  “You did?” Now Franco chuckled. “The late, great Bianca Rodrigues?”

  “Yes. She was beautiful.”

  “Rotten on the inside. Spoi
led fruit.”

  Sarah tightened her grip on his hand. “It must have been hard, dealing with all of the paparazzi. There were so many stories, I couldn’t even begin to read them all. And the images of Bella...”

  Franco cursed. “I tried so hard to get those removed from public view. Bianca’s fans wanted to see Bella’s grief. It sickened me. The day I punched a reporter was the day I realized I had to get out of Bahia. South Florida has always called to me.”

  “So I Googled Bahia,” she said, letting her voice trail before she laughed.

  “I like that you are curious about me.” He caressed her thumb with his, their fingers joined.

  “It’s so old there,” she said. “The buildings on the water look ready to fall in. You have a history that I don’t have.”

  “A lot of history. A lot of drama. Here it is quieter, and peaceful. It’s good for the soul to have time to reflect. Not that I don’t like a good party every once in a while. The older I get, the longer I can go between them.” He flashed a grin that made her skin heat.

  “I don’t care about parties,” she said. He was far from old.

  “You’ve never partied with the Brazilians. We dance, sing and eat. So much food. I learned from the older chefs the value of simplicity. Letting the flavors of the fruits and vegetables, the fish or meat, speak.” He pinched his fingers together and made a kissing noise. “I will take you to Bahia, if you’d like.”

  Sarah laughed. “I’m busy today.”

  “I can make a few phone calls. We could leave this afternoon.” He brought her knuckles up to his mouth and kissed them, just that light brush of his mouth made her suck in her stomach. “I will not bore you with fizzling desire.”

  He thought she would be bored? Heaven help her. “Franco.” Then she clamped her mouth closed.

  If he wanted to think of her as some hot Lolita type, who was she to argue?

  “I think this is our exit.”

  He nodded, signaling and then moving over. “I’ve got a small crate folded behind your seat, if we find one that we like. We’d have to drive home with it at your feet.”

  “Hmm.” She saw plenty she liked, all right.

  Driving the Ferrari like a rock star.