“I love you too.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lorenzo
She was trembling against my chest.
I could feel every shudder, every ragged breath, every tear that slipped from her eyes onto my skin.
The city sprawled below us, indifferent to the wreckage I’d made of her.
Then I heard a faint whimper from the hallway.
Fuck.
The dog.
I’d been so caught up on her leaving that I’d forgotten all about the damn dog. I had my assistant pick him up this morning—an impulsive purchase after she lit up at an animal rescue post as she scrolled on her phone in bed. She talked about becoming a vet with such hope that I tracked down the dog she’d seen.
And then that disaster at the boat, and her trying to leave.
The dog had been sitting in a crate in the study for hours.
I tensed beneath her. “Fuck.”
“What?” Her voice was hoarse, still thick with passion.
“Hold on.”
I shifted her off me carefully—too carefully, maybe, given that I’d just bent her over a table and taken her ass—but I couldn’t stand the thought of her moving away from me.
I grabbed my discarded pants and pulled them on, not bothering with the button.
“Stay here.”
She sat up, watching me with those big, tear-stained eyes, her naked body on full display.
“Lorenzo, what is going on?”
“I said stay,” I said dryly.
I walked out of the living room, down the hall, and found the crate sitting by the front door. A tiny golden retriever puppy, barely eight weeks old, was pressed against the bars, whining, his big brown eyes blinking up at me.
I’d never felt more ridiculous in my life.
I carried the crate back to the living room, where Zara was still on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest, looking confused.
“What is that?” Confusion and excitement spilled out with her words.
The puppy tumbled out, all clumsy paws and soft belly, tail wagging so hard his whole body wobbled.
She stared at him like he was a ghost before she looked up at me, her eyes wide, her lips parted.
“I thought you said you’d never let a dog in here.”
I sat down across from her, knees brushing the floor, watching her watch the puppy. “That was before I saw your face.”
“My face?”
