She bit her lip, eyes searching my face for something I hoped she found. Her hand moved, fingers brushing against mine for half a second before pulling away.
“See you tomorrow? With more dogs?” she asked.
“I'll be there.”
She nodded slowly. “Great.”
“Goodnight, Rosie.”
“Goodnight, Cal.”
She turned and walked to her truck. I stayed where I was and watched her go—keys jingling, hair catching the light, shoes quiet on the pavement. She climbed in, pulled the door shut, and the engine turned over on the first try.
The headlights swept across me as she pulled out.
I stood there until her taillights disappeared around the corner.
Tomorrow felt too far away.
ChapterFifteen
Rosalie
“Oh, hellogorgeous.”
The words were out before I could stop them. A cocker spaniel was weaving through the market crowd, Cal behind the dog with the leash in hand.
He'd traded his usual work clothes for a faded olive linen shirt, short-sleeved, leaving his arms—and every muscle in them—on full display. Hair still slightly messy, in a way that looked almost intentional today.
“I assume you're talking about the dog.” Cal's ears had gone pink.
I burst out laughing, the sound startling a nearby customer. “Obviously! What else would I be—” I stopped mid-gesture, reality catching up with my mouth. “Oh.”
Nowmyface was heating up. Fantastic.
Cal didn't look away. Neither did I. A moment stretched between us, slightly ridiculous, like we'd both stepped into a puddle and were deciding whether to acknowledge it. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling and failed completely.
He looked down at the dog.
I looked down at the dog.
“Right.” Cal cleared his throat. “So. This is Tucker.”
The cocker spaniel sat at Cal's feet, watching me with those liquid brown eyes. His tail moved in a slow, cautious arc. I crouched down and offered my hand, letting him come to me. He stretched his nose forward, sniffed twice, then gave my knuckles a single tentative lick before pulling back.
“You're a sweetheart, aren't you?”
Tucker's tail picked up speed.
“He is.” Cal crouched beside me, and Tucker immediately leaned into him, earning a gentle scratch behind the ears. “His previous owner kept him indoors most of the time. He needs a new family with a yard. People who won't leave him alone all day.”
Tucker looked at me with those soft eyes, and something squeezed in my chest.
“Tucker.” I cupped his velvet face in both hands. “That iscriminal. You were made for wide open spaces.” He leaned into my palms, tail sweeping the ground. “Don't worry. We're going to find you someone absolutely perfect.”
I looked sideways and caught Cal watching me. Something in his expression had gone soft and unguarded, the way it did sometimes when he thought I wasn't paying attention.
I held his gaze a beat too long.
