Leo smiled. “Right.”
Then he did something surprising. He grasped her hand and led her down the hall after Lesli’s swaying hips.
Felicity tried not to read into it other than that Leo was probably using Felicity to throw Lesli off his scent. Whatever the reason, Felicity couldn’t deny the butterflies tumbling in her stomach.
Lesli glanced back before pushing a door open. Her gaze cut to their joined hands, and although her expression didn’t change, her eyes seemed to flash. “This way,” she said in a cheerful tone.
Seconds later, a series of barks erupted, with an undercurrent of meows.
Felicity’s heart ached as she passed the rows of cat kennels and their sad eyes and desperate meows. Beyond was another swinging door to the dog kennel. As Lesli opened the second door, the barking intensified. And the smell . . . was less than pleasant.
Lesli said something over the barking, but Felicity didn’t hear a word. She watched as Lesli opened one of the kennels and let out a rather scrawny yellow lab. He nearly knocked Lesli over in her heels by jumping against her in excitement.
“Now, we don’t jump on people, buddy.” Lesli grasped his collar and clipped on a leash, using a deftness that was unexpected.
Still holding Leo’s hand, Felicity walked with him out another door that led to a fenced-in yard. Lesli unclipped the dog’s leash and turned to them with a smile. “Take your time.” She smiled sweetly at Leo, then gave Felicity a passing glance as she returned to the building.
The dog ran up to Leo, and he released her hand to crouch down and scratch the dog behind the ears. “Are you happy to be out of your kennel?”
The dog panted and rubbed against Leo, using his full weight. “Easy there, buddy. Sit.” The dog didn’t make any motion to sit. Leo’s gaze connected with Felicity. “He needs some serious training.” As if on cue, the dog started to bark.
Felicity joined Leo as the dog ran circles around both of them, not listening to any of Leo’s commands. At least the air was much better out here, and with a gentle wind, the scent of pine drifted into the yard.
“All labs aren’t like this, are they?”
“He’s still young, but training will definitely make a difference. You probably don’t want to have to wait for that.” Leo commanded the dog to sit again, but he didn’t obey. “There are several other dogs in there we can look at too.”
Felicity shrugged and pet the dog as it rested its body against her legs, though it was hard to keep her balance with the dog’s weight. “I feel kind of bad for him. Maybe we should just stay out here so he can run around and play.”
Leo raised his brows. “You’re generous.”
“And it might make Lesli wonder what’s going on.”
Leo nodded. “She’s an interesting woman.”
“I wouldn’t say that, exactly, more like very interested in you.”
Leo rubbed the back of his neck and looked away.
“Don’t you like her?” she asked in a sweetly innocent voice.
His gaze returned to hers. “Is that a trick question?” he said in a teasing tone.
Felicity tilted her head. “She’s made it obvious that she likes you.”
Leo picked up a ragged-looking tennis ball from the ground and tossed it toward the far fence. The dog took off running after it.
Leo took a step closer to Felicity. “Lesli is a lot like my ex-girlfriend,” he said. “And I steer clear of that type of woman.”
Now she was curious. “Which type is that?”
“Women who only care about status or money,” he said. “Women who always take and never give.” He took another step closer and lifted his hand to move a flyaway bit of hair from her face. “Women who don’t like to read or ride bikes.”
Felicity scoffed. “Funny.” But then she smiled. “You’re really stretching there. Lesli probably likes a good steamy romance novel, and I thought I saw a red bike on the side of the building before we came in.”
His eyes glinted, and one side of his mouth lifted into a smile. “Funny.”
The dog barreled into the side of Felicity’s leg, back from his ball-fetching excursion. She grabbed Leo’s arm to steady herself, and he bent down to retrieve the slobbery ball. He threw it back toward the fence.
Felicity dropped her hand. The less physical contact she had with this man, the better. Even in the yard of an animal shelter, all of her senses were overwhelmed by his every action and word.
This time when the dog returned, Felicity took the grimy ball and gave it a toss. She didn’t throw it quite as straight as Leo had, but it still closed the distance to the fence.
“Everything all right out here?” Lesli’s singsong voice interrupted.
Felicity tried not to cringe, so that by the time she turned to face the woman, her expression was bland.
“Everything’s fine,” Leo said.
“You’re so sweet to come with your friend to look at dogs when you’re off-duty,” Lesli said, keeping her attention on Leo.
“Can we look at the chocolate lab that was in the corner kennel?” he asked.
Lesli smiled, and it appeared that she’d reapplied her dark-pink lipstick. “Sure thing, hon.” She called for the yellow lab, who was more than happy to run up to her and start licking her hand. Lesli clipped on the leash and went back into the building.
Felicity didn’t move and didn’t look at Leo. She’d already stated her opinion about Lesli. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Leo approach. He stopped close to her. “Maybe you’re right. I could totally see her reading one of those romance novels you were talking about.”
Felicity jabbed him with her elbow.
“Hey,” he said with a laugh, then grabbed her hand.
She looked up at him. His brown eyes danced with merriment, and he tugged her closer, until they were only inches apart. Surely he wasn’t going to break his dating rule in the middle of a dog yard.
“Here we are,” Lesli said, opening the back door. “This guy’s about six or seven years old. His owner died, and the family members brought the dog here.”
The dog was a dark-brown color, one that Felicity hadn’t noticed in the frenzy of the dogs barking inside. He was more mellow, but his eyes were alert, his body tense. He seemed wary, and Felicity wondered if he’d been abused.
Lesli unclipped the leash. “I’ll be back to check on you in a few minutes.”
“Thanks,” Felicity said, but Lesli didn’t reply.
Leo crossed to the dog and held out his hand. “Hey there, buddy.”
The dog sniffed Leo’s hand but didn’t move. Leo scratched the dog’s head, then crouched in front of him and read the dog’s tag. “General. That’s your name?”
The dog’s ears perked.
Leo rose and said, “Sit, General.”
The dog obeyed.
Felicity smiled. “Does that mean he’s been trained?”
“We’ll find out.” Leo led the dog around the yard, giving it several commands, all of which the dog followed.
It was kind of charming to watch Leo with the dog.
“Good boy,” Leo said after a moment, rewarding the dog with another head scratch. He looked over at Felicity. “Come and try the same commands.”
Felicity did, mimicking what Leo had done, and General listened to her. After she took the dog through several paces, she brought him back to where Leo stood. “I wonder what he’s seen in life.” She scratched the dog’s head, and Leo bent to pat his back.
“He’s been well-trained,” Leo said. “And he looks healthy.”
“Do you think he knows his owner died?” Felicity asked.
“Dogs get pretty attached to their owners, so he probably does.”
“Not only that, but he was taken from everything he knew.” Felicity sighed. “I don’t know if I could work here. I’d want to take home every animal.”
Leo smiled. “I don’t doubt it. But remember the rule.”
Felicity met Leo’s gaze. �
�I’m about to break the rule.”
He lifted his brows. “Don’t be hasty.”
“It’s a feeling.”
Leo didn’t say anything for a minute. Then he nodded. “You can always return the dog to the shelter if it doesn’t work out.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Felicity said. She turned to the dog. “Right, General? We’re going to get along just fine.”
Leo decided he was glad Felicity had picked out a dog on the first visit. They’d be picking up the dog after dinner, since Lesli said that the guy on the night shift would let them inside. He was relieved Lesli would be gone by then. He was sure the minute he left the place, Lesli would start spreading the news that he was spending time with Felicity. Not that he minded people knowing, but Lesli ran in the same circles Janna did. And he really didn’t want Janna knowing personal stuff about him.
“I’ve heard this place is really nice,” Felicity said as they pulled up to the Alpine Lodge restaurant.
Leo parked his car. “Sunday night is buffet night, so it’s a lot more casual.”
“So I’m good to not be wearing a sparkly dress and three-inch heels?” she teased.
He looked over at her. He wanted to reach out and wrap her hair around his fingers, to see if it was as soft as it looked. He also wanted to ask her the meaning of the tattoo on the back of her neck.
His gaze dipped to the shirt that matched her glasses. “What you’re wearing is perfect.” The image of her wearing fancy dress clothes flashed through his mind, and although he wouldn’t mind seeing her dressed up, he was completely fine with what she was currently wearing.
Leo opened his car door and hurried around the front to open Felicity’s door. Even though they’d been hanging out with dogs for the past couple of hours, she still smelled great.
“Great timing,” a man spoke from across the parking lot.
Leo turned to see Grant approaching with a woman. Leo knew immediately that the woman wasn’t Grant’s type, and the way she was now ogling Leo spelled trouble. Not only that, but Grant had a rescue me look on his face. Well, dinner was going to be painful.
“This is Crystal, everyone,” Grant said. “We’ve actually met, since I did the work on her ex-fiancé’s cabin. Small world, huh?”
Especially in Pine Valley, Leo wanted to add. He knew exactly who Crystal was. Leo wasn’t best friends with Cameron Vance, her ex-fiancé, but she was another Janna type. Even if he didn’t know her personally, Crystal’s appearance screamed high maintenance—from her designer shoes and clothing, to her perfectly styled blonde hair that was in no way natural. Her blue eyes snapped to Leo, and she made no secret of checking him out.
“You’re a cop, right?” she asked, extending her hand.
“Right.” He shook her hand, and she kept the handshake going several seconds too long.
He was happy when she released her grip.
“I heard you’re not dating anyone,” Crystal continued, then leaned forward, making no secret how tight her shimmery blouse was. “I mean, we really can’t count tonight. Grant told me how this was all set up.” Her eyes darted to Felicity, then back up at Leo. “I’m not dating anyone either. This blind date is sort of a one-time thing.”
Leo shot a glance to Grant, but he was talking to Felicity.
Crystal touched Leo’s arm, and he looked back at her. “Before the night is over, we should exchange numbers. You know, if we happen to have a free night at the same time.”
Leo was literally speechless. Now he was the one who needed rescuing. He heard Grant ask Felicity, “How are those locks?”
Felicity smiled. “Great. They’ve kept out all bogey men.”
“Well, the package did have a 100% warranty against any bogey men.”
Felicity laughed.
Leo wasn’t worried. Not much. Okay, he was getting annoyed.
Their group began to move in the direction of the restaurant, and Crystal sidled up to Leo. “You must have all kinds of stories to tell,” she said, her blue eyes glinting. “I mean, you have to carry a gun all of the time.”
“I do.” Why was Grant talking to Felicity? Shouldn’t he talk to his own date?
Felicity laughed at something else Grant said, and suddenly Leo was looking at the pair of them in a different light. Did Grant find Felicity attractive? Of course he did. She was undeniably attractive. But what did Felicity think about Grant?
As they neared the hostess stand, a dark-haired woman named Alicia greeted them.
“Hello, Leo,” she said. “I mean Officer Russo.”
“Leo is fine,” he was quick to say. “Nice to see you again.”
Alicia had been younger than him in high school, so they hadn’t really known each other. Alicia’s mom had had some complaints filed against her for stealing and hoarding her neighbor’s trash, so any recent interactions with Alicia were not exactly the topics of casual conversation.
“Four of you tonight?” Alicia breezed right past any other topic of conversations, which was fine with Leo.
The sooner this dinner date was over, and the sooner he had Felicity back to himself, the better.
Most of the tables at the restaurant were filled, and Alicia led them to their table, then handed out the menus. “Gwen will be your waitress, and she’ll be here shortly. The Sunday buffet is our main feature tonight, but you can also order off the menu.”
“Sounds great,” Grant said. “I think we’re all planning on the buffet.”
Alicia nodded. “I hope you enjoy it. Gwen will take your drink orders in just a moment.”
As Alicia walked away, Crystal turned to Grant. “You have to try the chicken parmesan here, but order it from the regular menu. There’s nothing I hate more than standing in line and piling food on my plate from a massive bowl.” Crystal gave a shudder.
Leo tried not to let his mouth drop open. Grant had said in their earlier call that his blind date wanted to go to the Sunday buffet. Well, it wasn’t Leo’s problem.
“I love buffets,” Felicity said. “My parents are buffet gurus, and when I was living at home, we went every Saturday night.”
Grant seemed to be fixated on what Felicity was saying, yet Leo thought something in her words felt off. He turned to catch her eye, but she was looking directly at Crystal as if to dare the woman to contradict her. Leo had to stifle a laugh when Felicity next said, “I once went on a date to a buffet restaurant, and my date ate so much that he got sick.”
Grant did laugh. “I hope your date tonight is better mannered than that.”
Felicity turned her green gaze on Leo. “I guess we’ll find out.”
Leo smirked. “I’m sure I can pace myself so I don’t get sick.” He winked at Crystal, because she was openly staring at him. The expression on her face was priceless.
“Hi, everyone,” a waitress said, stopping by the table. “I’m Gwen, and I’d like to welcome you to our restaurant.” The woman wore a white blouse and black pants, but her earrings were yellow suns, matching her nail polish. Her pale blonde hair was pulled into one of those messy buns.
“What type of white wine do you have tonight?” Crystal asked, preempting them all.
While the waitress rattled off vintages and their years, Grant nudged Leo’s foot. When Leo looked at his friend, Grant mouthed, “Check your phone.”
Leo pulled out his phone to see that Grant had sent him a text. I had no idea my blind date would be Crystal. Can you create some kind of emergency to get us out of here?
Leo typed back: Seriously? We’re not in high school. We’ll eat, then you can take her home.
Grant sent back an eye-roll emoji.
Leo swallowed down a laugh.
The next hour was spent by fielding awkward questions and blatant suggestions from Crystal. She practically ignored Grant. Felicity made good on her promise and piled her plate with plenty of food. Even Leo doubted she could eat it all, but he was surprised at how much she did eat. Crystal ordered a separate meal and
barely touched it.
As the meal finally concluded, and their waitress delivered the bill, Grant handed over his credit card without a look at the bill. Every minute counted, it seemed. Once his credit card was returned, Grant stood. “Thank you for joining us,” he said, “but I’m afraid I’ve got to finish up some accounting tonight, since my brother’s wife has been sick.”
Leo wondered if that was true, but he decided Grant had been a trooper. So Leo stood, and the women joined them. Before they exited, Grant was stopped by someone he knew.
Crystal somehow managed to sidle up to Leo while Grant was talking. “I should really get your number, in case things align,” she said.
Leo didn’t need to look at Felicity to know that she could hear every word. And there was no way in hell he was giving Crystal his number.
“Because of my job, I can’t give out my phone number to citizens.”
Crystal wrinkled her pert nose. “I’ve never heard of that rule.”
Felicity slipped her hand into Leo’s. “It was really nice meeting you, Crystal. But we have a dog to pick up.”
Crystal’s confused expression deepened.
Leo squeezed Felicity’s hand, wanting right then and there to kiss her in the middle of the restaurant lobby. “Yeah, nice to meet you, Crystal.” He kept a hold of Felicity’s hand and moved toward the entrance, clapping Grant on the back as they passed.
“Wait, you’re leaving?” Grant said, breaking away from his conversation.
“We’ve got an appointment,” Leo said, not slowing his step.
They pushed through the outside doors, and the cool air was a welcome slap to his senses.
“Wow,” Felicity said.
“Yeah, wow,” Leo breathed.
They continued to his car, and he opened the passenger door for her. Felicity paused next to him before she climbed into the car. “Do you have that effect on all the women you meet?”
He looked down at her. The moonlight was bright, but the color of her eyes were indiscernible in the darkness. “What effect?”
She tilted her head. “Please don’t tell me you didn’t notice. First Lesli, then Crystal. Is this normal for you? Or is it because you’re a cop?”
Finding Us (Pine Valley Book 5) Page 9