Page 44 of Lucky Mother Pucker

Gently, he pulls my hand off of his. Then he gives my shoulder a soft squeeze before walking off.

I stand there, in a daze at his softly spoken words, wondering if maybe he’s right.

Chapter 17

Leo

“I’m headed to work now,” Lucy says.

I look up from my phone as I stand in the kitchen, waiting for the pot of hot water on the stove to boil.

“Are you hungry? You wanna take some food with you?” I ask.

Her mouth curves up into a soft smile.

“What?”

“You’re always making sure I’m eating enough. It’s really sweet.”

“Can’t help it. It’s another thing my mom instilled in me. Whenever we have people over, she’s constantly shoving food in front of them.”

Lucy chuckles softly. “She sounds adorable.”

She crouches down and pets Wally, who’s sitting at her feet. He tries to lick her face, but she leans back and smiles. I notice she’s wearing a lot of makeup. More than I’ve ever seen her wear before. Her hair is styled differently too. It’s a little wavy, like she curled it.

She kisses his head. “Be good for Leo and the guys, okay?” She stands back up. “His leash is hanging in the coat closet, in case you want to walk him. You don’t have to though. I walked him a little while ago.”

“We’ll definitely go for a walk.” I smile at Wally. I grab a treat from the bag on the counter and toss it to him. He catches it in his mouth.

“You’re a spoiled boy,” she says to Wally while scratching behind his ears.

“He deserves it.” I still feel bad that he was stuck in that shelter for so long. He probably missed Lucy so much.

I watch him follow her to the front door. She grabs her jacket and gives him another kiss and a pet on the head.

“I’ll be back later. Be a good boy, okay? Love you.”

I smile at her sweet words to Wally. When she leaves and closes the door behind her, he whines at the door.

I watch him, feeling pity for the poor guy. He’s probably so sad to see her leave after spending the whole day with her.

I walk over to him, lean down, and give him some pets.

“It’s okay, Wally buddy. She’ll be back.”

He stops whining but keeps looking at the door. I stand back up and turn to head back into the kitchen, but my gaze catches on Lucy in her car. She pulls off the blue T-shirt that’s her diner uniform, revealing a low-cut, red lace top.

I frown. That’s weird. Why would she change out of her diner uniform when she’s about to work a shift there?

She backs out of the driveway and drives down the street in the direction of the diner.

I head into the kitchen to grab one of the bones I ordered for Wally. His tail wags when I set it down on the ground. He lies down and happily chomps away.

A few minutes later, Blake walks in with his girlfriend, Briar.

I nod “hi” at them as I sit on the couch eating the noodles I cooked. Briar beams when she sees Wally.

“Oh my gosh, he’s so cute!”