Page 26 of Puppy Christmas

Her sisters would have probably kept going in this vein, demanding answers and details and in-depth descriptions of the calluses on every one of Ford’s fingers, but they were interrupted by a flash of unmistakable blinding white from the restaurant doors.

Well, it would be more accurate to say that they were interrupted by the man attached to that preternatural flash, but the idea held fast. Lila’s heart, however, did not. It plummeted to the pit of her stomach, holding her in place.

“My, my, isn’t this a pleasant surprise.” The man approached their table and bestowed his dazzling smile equally on all the Vasquez sisters. “It’s not often that I’m lucky enough to find the three of you together. My ship must have finally come in.”

Lila sat perfectly still, striving to think of a way to slide her entire body under the table without anyone being the wiser. It wasn’t the most elegant way to go about things, but her only other option was to fake a fire and run screaming out the emergency exit doors.

She was debating the merits of just such an approach when a white knight came to her rescue.Twoof them, actually. Her sisters might be pushy and interfering and giddily romantic, but they were also unquestionably on her side.

“What do you want, Patrick?” Dawn asked without bothering to hide her grimace.

His eyes opened in mild surprise. “To see your sister, of course. I happened to be walking past and—”

Dawn had never been one to swallow lies. “Oh, please. You know we eat here several times a week. What are the chances our waitress will confirm that you’ve been by every day in hope of coincidentally running across us?”

“Intelligent as well as beautiful.” Patrick put his hand over his heart. “Why did I ever think I stood a chance?”

“Because the only thing bigger than your pride is your ego.” Sophie scooted to the far end of her booth seat to preclude him sitting down next to her. “Can we help you with something?”

Love for her two siblings went a long way in lifting Lila’s spirits. Even though they didn’t know all the details of her relationship with Patrick, they were all too aware that things hadn’t ended well between them.

As if he, too, was remembering the discord of their last parting, Patrick reached out and touched one of the locks of hair that had slipped out of Ford’s inexpert braid.

“Hey, Lil,” he said, his voice low with familiarity. “I like this new look. It suits you.”

No, it didn’t. She looked ridiculous, as her sisters had already pointed out, but there hadn’t been time to fix it before she’d rushed over here to meet them. Punctuality was more important than aesthetics, no matter how much it pained her to present anything but her pristine best.

Ford had pointed it out, too, laughing apologetically as she’d beaten a hasty retreat. “You came to us looking like a princess and are leaving looking like something the puppy choked up,” he’d said, and then had smiled so warmly that it had been impossible to take offense.

Besides, taking offense was right up there with admitting how much she’d enjoyed the sensation of his fingers running through her hair. She felt nothing for Ford except cool, professional disinterest, dammit, and no one could accuse her otherwise.

Patrick Yarmouth, however…

“You could have just called like a normal human being,” she said. She started to rise out of her seat, hoping to take this conversation outside, but it didn’t work. Either because he assumed she was moving over to make way for him or—even more likely—because he’d never been great at taking a hint, he lowered himself onto the red vinyl seat next to her.

In addition to a dazzling smile, Patrick had a number of attributes that made him look like a model in a toothpaste ad. Most of those attributes had to do with his being shaped exactly like a square. His jaw was square, his eyes were square, his shoulders were square, and even his hair, which gleamed a burnished auburn under the lights of the restaurant, had a distinctly cube-like shape. It wasn’t a bad thing, all those clean-cut angles and solid masculinity, but Lila found that she preferred a sharply chiseled pair of cheekbones and a touch of gray at the temples.

“Well, girls,” he drawled, emphasizing a term heknewLila hated, “I hear congratulations are in order.”

Lila knew better than to ask him to elaborate. So did Sophie and Dawn, but of course that didn’t stop Patrick from barreling right ahead.

“A little birdie told me you’re making great progress on the Auditory Guild contract,” he said. “Good for you. It’s just the thing to put Puppy Promise on the map, and it couldn’t have happened to a better organization.”

To the untrained ear, Patrick sounded sincere. He looked sincere, too, what with all those teeth flashing around the table. It was part of his charm, that ability to distract and awe, a brilliantly plumed peacock performing his mating dance to everyone close enough to revel in it.

Lila’s ear, however, was anything but untrained. Five months of dating this man had taught her a thing or two about reading between the molars.

“Thanks, Patrick,” she said. And because she knew the lines by heart, she added, “We couldn’t have done it without you.”

He turned to look at her, a queer light in his eyes. “You think so?”

She knew so. As much as it pained her to admit it—and the pain, it loomed large—Patrick had been the one to introduce her to Anya in the first place. He was also the one who’d encouraged them to donate a service animal, who’d showed them the benefits of allying Puppy Promise with an organization as large and influential as the Auditory Guild. As an otolaryngologist, Patrick had plenty of clout in the hearing services field. As an attractive man in his early forties—well educated, well spoken, and well-to-do—he also had plenty of clout with Lila.

Or so she’d thought.

“You know how instrumental you were in getting us that contract,” Lila said, since it was no more than the truth. “And if the only thing you’ve come here to do is make me feel guilty about it, then you’re wasting your time. Iknowhow much we’re in your debt.”

Some of Patrick’s brilliant wattage dimmed. “I’m not here to make you feel guilty, Lil. I only wanted to tell you that you have my full support.”