Silence again. This time for a stretch of time that went on for so long I wondered if we’d been disconnected. “Slash, are you still there?” I finally asked.
“You made friends with a reporter?” His voice sounded a little strangled. “On purpose?”
I sighed. “Yes, but it’s all good. She’s not like the paparazzi. You have to trust me on this.”
“I do trust you, but you’re sure you trust her?” he asked.
“Absolutely. You’ll like her. But right now, I’m absolutely exhausted, not to mention covered in dog fur. I’m so ready to sleep in my own bed…with you.”
“As am I. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“It’s weird, but I’m feeling good—really good. We shut the lab down for real this time. It’s not going to hurt any more animals. Oh, and there’s a potential national security angle, but I’ll fill you in on that part later, too.”
“I’m proud of you,” he said, simple and certain. “And I can’t wait to hear how this all went down, especially with Ginger.”
Something warm bloomed in my chest. “I don’t even really like dogs,” I confessed. “You know that, right? I don’t do animals. I don’t foster. I don’t rescue things. I make spreadsheets, fight little black clouds, and avoid all entanglements with living creatures.”
“And yet…” he added gently.
“And yet,” I echoed, looking down at Ginger as she sighed against me. “Here we are.”
He chuckled. “I’ll get some dog food. See you soon.”
Just like that. No hesitation. No negotiation. No conditions. Was that how marriage really worked? Sometimes he ate the last piece of cake without permission, and sometimes I brought home a dog, and somehow we just went with it?
Gray looked at me in the mirror. I’m not sure how much of the conversation she heard, but somehow she knew. “You married well, Lexi.”
“I know,” I said, leaning my head back against the headrest. “And apparently, I’m better for it.”
Ginger was asleep on our couch. Not curled politely, not delicately, and not even remotely ladylike. She sprawled upside down, legs in the air, tongue out, snoring softly.
My couch. My throw pillows. My personal space. Gone.
Slash stood in the doorway, arms folded, watching her. “She stole my spot,” he said gravely.
“She stole mine, too,” I said. “But she also saved the world…or at least contributed meaningfully to the prevention of an international biotech disaster. I think that earns her couch privileges.”
He looked at me. “You said you didn’t like dogs.”
“I said dogs didn’t like me,” I replied. “There’s a difference.”
Ginger twitched in her sleep and let out a happy woof. Slash walked over and scratched her belly. Traitor.
I remembered how she’d reacted the first time she met him. She’d looked at him, tilted her head, and visibly melted. Full-body wag, immediate adoration, and an insta-crush so pure it bordered on embarrassing. He’d scratched her ears once and she’d gazed up at him like he’d personally invented happiness. I couldn’t even be offended. I’d seen that reaction before. Ginger simply joined a very large club.
I walked to the couch and wiggled my way to the end, making room for myself. Ginger barely moved.
Slash squeezed onto the couch beside me and pulled me against his side. I pretended to resist for exactly half a second before settling in. His hand traced lazy circles on my palm.
“So,” he said casually. “We need to talk about the wager.”
I rested my hand on his thigh. “I guess we do. Let’s lay it out. We girls saved a boatload of abused animals, exposed an illegal lab, outwitted a bunch of scientists, protected national security, and adopted an investigative reporter and a golden retriever. I also won nearly ten thousand dollars in cash, although a thousand of it went to an all-night vet, who we also sort of adopted.”
Slash sighed. “I’m afraid I only won a modest amount of money playing cards with our friends and family and spent most of it feeding the horde. I also had a stomachache, a hangover, and took the first antacid of my life.”
I lifted my head and looked at him, eyebrow raised. “So, what does that mean in terms of the wager?”
“You won the weekend,” he said without hesitation. “By a landslide.”
