Whoa.
It was like being splashed with warm water. The surprising heat spread across her chest and shoulders. She let herself look at him for a moment. His expression was a contradiction of happiness and regret. Lee still snuggled Victor close to him, lightly scratching behind the puppy’s neck, but his eyes never left her.
Unlike water, the splash held its warmth, but she couldn’t let herself luxuriate in it any longer. Wren moved her eyes to Victor, who yawned and rested his chin on Lee’s shoulder.
“He really likes you,” she conceded.
Lee smiled and looked down at the puppy pressed to his chest. “He feels awesome.”
Wren nodded. “I know." Then she sighed. “Fine. You can keep Victor.”
“Victor?” Lee’s eyes lit again.
Wren shook her head, embarrassed. “It’s just the name I gave him.”
“I like it,” he said, smiling down at the puppy. “Why Victor?”
She felt her face flame. Would he think she was dumb? Wren waved the notion away. He probably already thought she was crazy. What did it matter?
“It’s from this sci-fi show I like. Victor’s this love-sick pawn in this shady hi-tech corporation that wipes people’s memories and reprograms them to be whatever they w—”
“Dollhouse.Yeah, I loved that show.” Lee cut in. “No matter how many times they wiped his memory, Victor still wanted Sierra.”
Wren’s mouth hung open. No way was Dr. Leland Hawthorne a Joss Whedon fan.
“You’ve seenDollhouse?” she asked in disbelief.
“Yeah, both seasons. It was my consolation after I got to the end ofFireflyand started having withdrawals,” he said, laughing at his own joke.
“You’ve seenFirefly?!”Wren knew her eyes were bugging out of her head, but his words would not compute. Lee laughed at her.
“Why are you so surprised? Joss Whedon is a god. I never would have made it through med school without Netflix andBuffy the Vampire Slayer.”
“Buffy?” Wren said the name like she was talking about one of her best friends. “All six seasons?”
“Yeah, but there’s also the comic that follows Buffy and her crew after they destroy The First, so it’s really more than six seasons.”
There was a Buffy comic? How could she not know this? More importantly, how couldheknow this? Wren refused to admit defeat.
“Yeah, okay, but do you know who Bad Horse is?” she challenged.
“Bad Horse, Bad Horse, Bad Horse, Bad Horse,”Lee sang, bouncing Victor in his arms. “He rides across the nation. A thoroughbred of sin. He got the application that you just sent in. It needs evaluation, so let the games begin. A heinous crime, a show of force. A murder would be nice of c—”
“Okay, you win.” Wren held up her hands in surrender, laughing in spite of herself. “You are totally worthy to take Victor home." Anyone who could burst into numbers fromDr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blogcould have pretty much whatever they wanted, as far as Wren was concerned.
She shook her head in wonder. How on earth was he dating that sour-faced bitch monster? If Lee’s girlfriend was also a Whedon fan, Wren might have to slit her wrists.
“Good,” Lee said, pressing a kiss to Victor’s head and eyeing her with mischief. “Because you weren’t getting him back.”
She laughed again. “Okay, whatever. Just be good to him.”
“I will. I promise.”
And Wren believed him. He looked completely smitten, standing there in his dress shirt and tie, holding the golden puppy to him, and kissing the little guy’s head. Watching them made her heart ache.
She had to get it together. Wren took a deep breath.
“So, Rocky said to give you a little of the food they are used to.” She pulled herself away from the adorable picture they made and walked toward the back porch. Lee followed. She opened up the plastic bin and measured a few scoops into one of the paper bags Shelby had left for her. “They’ve been eating Iams Smart Puppy. And he said they de-wormed them last week, but they’re still trying to nurse on Millie, so he’ll probably need another round.”
