Page 3 of Lead Me A Stray

Probably.

Probablythe best night of my life.

Ugh.

“Oh, sweetie,” Rory coos, “I take it back. You can’t sleep with my brother. I love you and l love him, but he would break your heart and I would have to kill him and no one wants that.” She rubs my back as if I’m a kid who scraped their knee on the playground.

“Stop it,” I hiss, annoyed that I’ve let myself spiral this morning when absolutelynothinghappened.

Except when he whispered,“You can be damn sure, Honey Girl, that the first time I’m in your bed, it won’t be for sleeping.”Did he whisper it? Or did it just feel like he whispered it because my vagina thought he was talking directly to her?

“I need to clean something,” I mutter, pushing back from my desk and staring at the clock.Shit.We still have about two hours before we even open for the day, but there’s so much to do. The summer is one of the busiest times for us and this year—because I have nothing else going on—we decided that the shelter will host an adoption dayonNational Dog Day.

Woohoo.

I love this for me.

And the dogs.

And I know it will be a great day and it will all be worth this absolute chaos, but Icannotwith this absolute chaos right now.

“Okay, but like I need you back here in an hour so we can go over some of this checklist you laminated.”

“Uh-huh.” I wave back at her, but I don’t turn around, missing whatever she grumbles under her breath and hoping that in sixty minutes’ time, my run-in with Mack will be nothing but some distant memory.

A really hot distant memory.

Dammit.

MACK

“I’m sorry,sir, do you have an appointment?”

“Yeah, here,” I tell my sister, thrusting the cup of coffee into her hand and watching her dramatically inhale the scent through the little drink hole.

“You’re my favorite brother.”

“I’m your only brother.”

“Yes, and as my onlybrother, you can’t have sex with my best friend.”

“Why? What did she say?” I didn’t mean to say that out loud, the hope in my voice giving away my intentions.

Well, kind of.

Rory growls, “Dude.”

“What? I’m not that bad.” I’m going for levity, but she’s doing the older-sister glare that used to have me running for the hills. Now I just find it endearing.

“You’re amazing, but she’s my best friend and I can’t have you sexing her up and then ghosting her when someone new comes along.”

“First of all, I’m offended.” She rolls her eyes but I’m not joking. “Seriously, what do you think I’m gonna do?”

“Shewill get attached and that will be the end of the easiness between you guys.”

“I like her,”I enunciate, my stomach doing a slow roll as my sister snorts out a laugh.

Awesome.