Questions I’d never considered before when it came to other women. And again, I wondered, what was so different about this woman?
“No.” She led me down the street, clearly intent on a destination. I was impressed by how well—and how fast—she could walk in her shoes. “But I’d absolutely love to go. The architecture, the design, the food. Ugh,” she groaned, echoing my earlier sentiments.
“C’est magnifique.”
“NowthatI understood.” She grinned.
We stopped at a light, waiting for our turn to cross. “Have you done much traveling?”
“Some. Mostly in North America, though I have been to Phuket and Australia. And I’m hoping to go to London next year.”
“Wow. Interesting locations.” And kind of all over the map. “How’d you pick those?”
“My friend, Harper, is a film scout. She travels all over and, sometimes, I go with her.” She smiled up at me from behind her sunglasses, her tresses glinting in the sunlight. My breath caught, and for a moment, all I could do was stare at her.
She had the ability to distract me so completely that I forgot about anything else. I shook my head to clear it.
“Is she the one you were with that night at the bar?” I asked.
“That was Juliana. She’s an event planner.” She slowed as we approached a home furnishing store. “Here we are.”
I held the door open for her, and a bell chimed, heralding our entrance.
“Hello, welcome,” said a chipper woman who was fluffing some pillows. She turned to greet us and smiled when she spied Lauren. “Oh hey, Lauren.”
Lauren gave her a half hug. “Hey, Staci. How are you?”
“Pretty good.” She grinned. “Baxter’s going to be happy to see you.”
Baxter?I tried not to frown.
I clenched my fists, doing my best to keep myself in check. Whoever this guy was, Lauren was happy to see him. I’d never seen her light up like she had when Staci had mentioned Baxter. I wished she’d seemed even half as excited to see me.
A large, shaggy dog trotted over to Lauren, tail wagging, tongue out. She crouched down to pet him, and I tried not to stare at her thighs, her cleavage, her…everything.
“Hey, boy,” she cooed, scratching behind his ears. “Baxter,” she chided, laughing when he licked her.
This was Baxter?Baxterwas a dog?
I’d never really considered myself a jealous person, until now. And I wasn’t even jealous of another man. I was jealous of a damn dog because he was getting all her attention. Was it so wrong that I wanted her to pet me?
“What brings you in today?” Staci asked.
“Trying to get a feel for his taste,” Lauren said, her attention never wavering from the dog.
“Looks like you already have your eye on something.” Staci gave me a meaningful look.
I nodded, understanding her intent perfectly. “Indeed.”
“That’s great.” Lauren stood but not before grabbing something from her purse and holding it out to Baxter. He gobbled up the treat, hanging by her side.
She turned to me expectantly. “What is it?”
Staci laughed and turned for the counter. “I’ll be around if you two need anything.”
“It’s…” I glanced around, pointing at the first thing I spotted. “That.”
She laughed. “Okay. A giant phallic sculpture. I guess that’s not entirely surprising.”
