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She smiles back at me, but I can see the fatigue in her beautiful blue eyes, and I know without a doubt that Erin hit it right on the head with this idea.
“Come on in.” I hold the door for them, take the bag from Summer, and then close the door behind them. Summer takes Lily off of the leash and collar, letting her loose in the house.
“She’s good about not chewing or peeing on things,” she assures me. “And I brought her bed from the shop. It’s in the car.”
“I’m not worried about any of that.” Unable to resist, I tug her into my arms and hug her for a solid ten seconds. Just like the last time, it takes her a moment to wrap her arms around me, but when she does, she hugs me tightly. “How are you, Blondie?”
“I’m good. I have no complaints.”
“We’re going to keep the no-complaint trend going through the night,” I inform her. “I’m going to cook us some dinner, and while I do that, I’m going to draw you a bath upstairs.”
She pulls back and stares at me with wide, blue eyes. “Really?”
“Really. I have a huge tub up there that I’ve never used, but don’t worry, it’s clean.”
Her lips tip up in a grin. “I’m game for that. Do you want me to take Lily home?”
“No way. She’s going to hang with me. Do you prefer white or red wine?”
“White,” she decides. “Wow, this is a fun surprise. Thank you.”
“I’ve missed you,” I admit, not embarrassed in the least to admit it. “Two weeks is a long damn time.”
“I missed you, too.” She reaches up and cups my cheek in her hand, surprising us both. “But thank you for having lunch delivered every single day. That was uncalled for and appreciated.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I have to admit, though, this is better.” She grins down at Lily, who has decided to lie across both of our feet. “Someone’s jealous.”
“Well, she’ll have to get over it.” I press my lips to her forehead, breathing her in, and then lead her to the stairs, disrupting Lily, who follows us. “Come on, I’m putting you into a hot bath.”
“I won’t disagree. I know that I said the last time I saw you that I wasn’t going to complain about my job anymore, and I’m not complaining because I love it, but my feet are killing me. I always forget how exhausting the summers are until I’m smack dab in the middle of it.”
“Let’s see if we can help with that a little.”
With Lily watching, and sniffing out every inch of the bathroom, I start the hot water running in the bathtub and pour in the amount of Epsom salts that Erin told me to.
“I have a robe on the back of the door,” I say as I gesture behind me. “And I have a T-shirt and some shorts there, that will absolutely be too big for you, but they’re clean.”
“And red is my color,” she says as she picks up the T-shirt and buries her nose in it. “Thank you for all of this.”
“We haven’t even done anything yet.” I grin at her and reach out to rub the pad of my thumb over her cheek, needing to feel her skin. “I’ll be right back with your wine.”
Not to be left behind, Lily follows me downstairs and watches with her head tilted as I pour a glass. She’s right on my heels, as if we’re playing a game, as I climb the stairs once more.
“I’ve got a new shadow,” I inform Summer as I pass her the glass. “I think she likes me.”
“She definitely does, because if she didn’t, she would be stuck to my side.” Summer sips her wine and nods with approval as I light the candle on the vanity. “This is great.”
“Good. You get cozy, and I’ll be downstairs in the kitchen if you need anything.”
“You never mentioned before that you can cook,” she says before I can walk out.
“Oh, I suspect there are all kinds of things we’ll learn about each other.” I wink at her, gesture for Lily to follow me, and close the door behind us. “We’re going to give your mom some alone time.”
Lily smiles up at me, and we head back downstairs.
As I brown the ground beef for the sauce, I hear music come on upstairs and grin. Glad that she’s comfortable up there, I add the beef to the sauce and set the stove on low so it can simmer.
