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“Yep.” He lifted our joined hands and placed a kiss on top of my knuckles, and that was all I needed to know he didn’t regret what happened this morning. He was showing me what he felt rather than telling me, and I was more than okay with that.
I grinned at him and closed my eyes, basking in the happiness surrounding me, even if it was only for a couple of minutes. At some stage, I must have fallen asleep, because Ford’s palm whispering over my cheek and his murmured, “We’re here, sweetheart,” woke me up.
My eyes fluttered open, and it took several seconds for me to take in my surroundings. “The shelter?” One side of my lips lifted, and butterflies took flight in my stomach. He knew how much I loved the animals here, so he’d brought me to the one place that would make me feel better.
Ford didn’t say anything as he pushed out of the car and checked around us, then opened up the passenger door. He took hold of my hand again and pulled me close to him, but bypassed the back entrance.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my brows furrowing. We never went in the front entrance.
“I have an appointment,” he said so casually it was as if he was telling me the sky was blue. I opened my mouth to tell him I was confused, but he opened the door and led me inside. It was like I was in an alternate universe as I saw Courtney behind the main desk. Courtney was the manager of the shelter, and I’d only met her a handful of times.
“Special Agent Ford,” Ford greeted her, holding his hand out, and my stomach dipped at the way he said his name and the deep tone he’d used. “I have an appointment.”
“Ah, yes…” Courtney fumbled with some paperwork, her gaze moving to mine and flitting away again before she realized who I was. “Belle?” she asked.
“Hey.” I wasn’t sure what else to say because I had no idea what was going on here in the slightest. I was an innocent bystander along for the ride.
Courtney stared at me for a beat and then moved her attention back to Ford. “She’s all ready for you. I wasn’t expecting you until later, though. When you called this morning, I must have misheard you—”
“No, you didn’t,” Ford interrupted and widened his stance. “There was a change of plans. Is that okay?”
Courtney nodde
d, way too many times to look normal. “No, no, it’s okay. I’ll just …erm…” She shuffled some papers. “I need you to sign these, and then the adoption will be finalized. Of course, as a law enforcement agent, there are a few other forms you need to fill in too.” She handed Ford the papers. “I’ll go and get her and the feeding leaflet.”
I stared at her as she moved into the back of the shelter and then looked over at Ford. He let my hand go and picked up the pen sitting on top of the papers and started to sign them without even looking.
“You should read those,” I told him.
“Already did.”
“Huh? When—”
“Last week.” He glanced at me, a smirk on his face. “It gets boring watching you sit at a computer when you’re on shift.”
“Hey! I do more than just sit at the computer.” I planted my hands on my hips. “I feed the dogs, I take them for walks, I play with them. I stroke the cats—”
“I know you do.” Ford placed the pen back on the counter and pushed the forms forward. “Damn, Belle. You look so goddamn sexy when you’re mad.” He stepped toward me, and I wanted to melt into him when his arm wrapped around my waist. “Fuck. You’ve got me tied up in knots over here.”
“Good.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Now, tell me what is going on.”
“I’m adopting an animal,” he said and dipped down so his face was level with mine. “That okay with you?”
“I…you can’t have it at the apartment. I already told you, Justin is allergic—”
“Then Justin will just have to deal or not come around while I’m there.” His eyes flashed. “Got it?”
I swallowed and pressed closer to him, my hand moving from my hip to his chest as I whispered, “Got it.”
I lifted up on my tiptoes, our lips centimeters apart, but the sound of a bark had me stalling. My eyes widened as I dipped to the side and saw Lottie standing there next to Courtney. She didn’t pull on her leash to get to us, but I could tell she wanted to by the way she was standing with her weight forward.
“You…I…Ford, what…”
Ford spun around so he was looking in the same direction as me, his arm latching on to my waist. “Belle, I want you to meet my new dog, Lottie.”
Tears sprung to my eyes, and I couldn’t help but kneel on the floor and hold my arms open for her. Courtney let her go, and Lottie lunged for me, her tongue coming out and licking my face in excitement.
“You were just in time, too,” Courtney said as she moved back behind the counter. “There were only two weeks left until she’d have to be put—”
