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“You’re making it hard to say no.” And I really want to say no.
“Then say yes.” He leans in and rubs the tip of his nose across mine. “Please.”
Studying him, I let out a long sigh. “All right, I’ll go with you.”
“Do you have a dress, or do you need to get one?” he asks while touching his smiling mouth to mine.
“I’ve been a bridesmaid about a dozen times in the last few years. I’m sure one of those dresses will work.” Or at least I hope one of them will.
“If none of them do, let me know, and I’ll pay for your dress.”
“I’m not letting you do that,” I deny instantly.
“It’s a party you weren’t planning on attending, and you’re only coming because you feel bad for me. It’s the least I can do.”
I don’t respond, because I don’t feel like arguing with him. Instead, I take my last bite of food, then start to get up with my plate.
“Nope.” He takes hold of my wrist, stopping me. “You cooked. I’ll clean up.”
“I’m just going to put it in the dishwasher.”
“No, you’re going to sit your cute ass down, because I’m cleaning up.” He takes my plate from me, then picks up his, and heads around the counter into the kitchen.
“I’m going to take Cooper out. Does Dozer need to go?” I ask him as he rinses the dishes before putting them into the dishwasher.
“We’ll take both dogs out when I’m done.”
“I can take them while you’re doing that.”
“Or you can wait for me to go with you.”
“My neighborhood is safe,” I point out while going to grab my jacket. “I walk Cooper by myself all the time.”
“Yeah, but that was when I wasn’t here.”
“You know you’re being ridiculous, right?” I sigh, putting on my jacket. “I’ll be back in less than ten minutes.”
“You’re not going without me, doll.”
“You can’t stop me,” I mutter under my breath, then search the room, finding both of the pups squished into Cooper’s dog bed. “Dozer, Cooper, let’s go for a walk,” I call, and Cooper instantly hops up, while Dozer just opens his eyes to look at me. “Come on.”
“Babe, you go without me, I’m gonna be pissed.”
“Then be pissed.” I roll my eyes at him, then pat my leg. “Come on, Dozer. Let’s go outside.” Finally, he gets up and comes toward me, and I’m so focused on him and Cooper that I don’t hear Aiden until he’s right next to me.
“I’ll do the dishes when we get back.”
“You scared the crap out of me.” I spin to face him and then narrow my eyes on his. “You don’t trust me to take the dogs outside on my own?”
“I do trust you. I just don’t like the idea of you walking alone in the dark.” He puts on his jacket, and I shake my head at how ridiculous he’s being.
“You’re being crazy.” I head down the hallway, stopping to grab Cooper’s leash from where I put it in my office the last time I took him out. “Nothing is going to happen.”
“I’m sure you’re right.” He takes the leash from me and opens the door, stepping outside. Just as he bends to attach Cooper’s leash, what sounds like thunder cracks through the air right before the mirror hanging in the hall behind me explodes.
I scream as glass scatters across the floor at my feet, then my breath comes out in a whoosh as Aiden’s big body slams into mine. He takes us to the ground, covering the top of my head with his hands and my chest heaves as I try to suck in a breath.
“What was that?” I breathe as my heart pounds out of control.
“Gunshot.” He looks back over his shoulder at the dogs that are now going crazy, then growls, “Fuck,” and jumps to his feet.
“What are you doing?” I try to grab for him, but in the blink of an eye, he’s halfway to the door.
“Stay here,” he orders before disappearing out of sight. With a growl of frustration of my own, I place my hands on the ground and start to push myself up to stand but stop when pain slices through my right hand. Flipping it over, I grit my teeth when I see a chunk of glass sticking out of my palm.
I pull it out, ignoring the nausea churning my stomach from the sight of the wound, and then, being more careful than I was before, I get up. With blood pooling between my fingers, I run to the kitchen and grab a clean dishcloth, then rush down the hall and out the front door. When I hit the bottom step, I scan the street and breathe a sigh of relief when I finally spot Aiden jogging down the sidewalk back toward me.
“Did you call the cops?” he asks when he’s about ten feet away, and I shake my head. I don’t know how I could’ve forgotten to do that after what just happened, but it didn’t even cross my mind. “Come on.” He starts to take my hand but stops when he notices the towel wrapped around my closed fist. “What happened?”
