“I won’t.” I tuck a strand of pink hair behind her ear. “Now. Can I tell you what is changing?”
She blinks. “What?”
I look down at Lucky, who’s been sitting patiently at my feet this whole time, wet nose pressed into my thigh.
“Our dog is pregnant.”
Lila’s mouth drops open. She looks down at Lucky, who wags her tail happily.
“How do you know?” Lila asks.
“Rafe, of course. He’s the first to know everything.”
“We should get her an ultrasound,” she says immediately, already crouching down to take Lucky’s face in her hands. “Make sure everything’s okay. I’ll call the vet tomorrow.” She’s stroking Lucky’s ears now, murmuring something soft to her. Lucky leans into it with her whole body, shameless.
Lila looks up at me.
There’s a small smile on her face.
“Slade. You saidourdog.” The smile widens. “Notthedog.Ourdog.”
For someone who’s avoided attachments his whole life, I seem to be collecting some pretty permanent ones lately. I sigh heavily and scrub a hand across my jaw.
Puppies.
Because apparently the universe decided one dog wasn’t enough.
“The dog is having puppies,” I correct pointedly.
Lila’s smile goes full and warm and a little bit dangerous.
“Too late,” she whispers. “You already said ‘our’ dog.”
“Slip of the tongue,” I mumble.
“I think you’re gonna keep her, Slade.”
I want to keep you,I think.Forever.
She grabs my jacket and pulls me down to her.
Her mouth is warm and she tastes like cinnamon and she kisses me with her whole body, her fist in my collar, her other hand sliding up the back of my neck into my hair. My hands find her waist and pull her flush against me.
I want to take her home and get her in our bed and I need to do it right now.
I pull back, take her hand, and start dragging her in a very un-gentlemanly way back towards my truck as she’s laughing, half-running to keep up with me. “Slade, where are we going?”
“Home.”
“It’s the middle of your work day! And I just got here!”
“Film crew will be here all week,” I say, holding the door of the vehicle open for her before she climbs in. “You kiss me like that again, Mrs. Rhodes, you’re lucky I don’t fuck you in this truck.”
She waits until we pull up to our house.
Then she unbuckles her seatbelt.
And she kisses melike thatagain.
