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twenty-nine
“Sunny, wake up.”
The words worked their way through her slumbering brain. Sunny didn’t want to move. Her world was warm and safe, like she could stay this way forever. In this world, she was in Pete’s arms, tight against his chest. He’d just finished kissing her, making the world spin and her heart implode. She blinked in the dim, orangey light of her salt lamp.
“Sunny. Wake up. Call off your dog.”
Sean stared back at her. Right next to him, on all fours—threes?—and pointing his muzzle in Sean’s direction was Fezzi.
Oh, right. “Fezz,” Sunny said. “Down.”
Fezzi settled on his stomach and thumped his tail on the mattress. This was the first time Cici had gone out of town since Dad died, and Sunny had taken pity on Fezzi and let him sleep on the bed with her. She sat up and gathered the sheets close to her chest. It took a moment of blinking her eyes and rousing her brain to realize that it was Friday night. The week had flown by. This was a busy time of the year for the rescue, and Sunny had barely had time to breathe. She’d meant to text Sean and tell him not to come this evening, that she was just too tired and needed to turn in early. Which was true. Even if it wasn’t the whole truth.
“You called me Pete,” Sean said. “I kissed you in your sleep and you called me Pete.”
Andthatwas the whole truth. Sunny rubbed her face in her hands, then looked up at Sean with a sigh. She might be dreaming now, but the kiss she’d shared with Pete was real. And so was the way she’d felt during that kiss, after that kiss and every moment since that kiss. She hadn’t told anyone. Not Sean. Not Pete. Maybe most notably, not Cici. Telling Cici would make it real, and then Sunny would have to accept that something unacceptable had happened the moment Pete had drawn her in and pressed his lips to hers: Sunny had cracked. He’d edged his way in somehow, behind that just-for-kicks barrier she’d built around her heart.
Long ago, after watching her steely father spend his days a hardened widower, Sunny had decided that a serious relationship was not for her. No way was she going to spend her days trying to get a man’s attention in all manner possible, only to be rewarded with the hardened crumbs of whatever he might choose to toss out. She kept her relationships with men fun and convenient. They could be as gruff as they wanted, long as they went home afterward.
Sunny had a heart, but it belonged to her dogs. Men could have her body, but the heart was off-limits.
Then Pete had gone and kissed her. Pete, whose heart also belonged to his dogs. Pete’s kiss had changed something. Awoken something? Sunny wasn’t sure. She had no idea what Pete had done. But she didn’t like it, so she’d avoided Pete all week and kept all this nonsense to herself. It would pass if she gave it enough time. Like everything fleeting, it would blow over.
Sean’s expression was changing.
He rose up from the edge of the bed. “I should probably go.” He headed for the door.
Sunny threw back the covers and went after him. “Sean.” She stilled him with a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry.”
Sean turned around to face her. “Nothing to be sorry about. We weren’t exactly dating. Just keeping it casual. Sex. Court orders. Animal control. No big deal.” He tried a laugh.
“I know, but...” Sunny paused, shrugged. “I’m still sorry. What you said to me about Pete. About him being sweet on me. It got me to thinking. And it turns out you were right. I honestly had no idea until...” She stopped. How much honesty was too much? Even if she and Sean hadn’t been serious, they’d still spent a lot of nights together. She didn’t want to hurt him.
“Hey.” Sean raised his hands. “Relax. You don’t need to explain anything to me.”
“I do,” Sunny insisted. “Even though we were kind of just messing around, I—” she shrugged “—I like you, Sean. It just turns out that I...well, I don’t know what I...” Sunny closed her mouth.
Sean offered a tired, sad smile. “I like you, too, Sunny. Even if you are a dog thief.” He paused a heartbeat to let her giggle softly. “And I’m not going to lie. I wanted this to be something more. But I could tell, you know? About you and Pete.”
There’s nothing between Pete and me,she wanted to say. The words wouldn’t come. Sunny wrapped her arms around Sean and gave him a tight, solid hug. Sean returned it, then pulled back and grinned. “Keep your nose clean, Sunny. Don’t think what we had will keep me from locking up your thieving ass.”
Sunny laughed. “Yes, sir, Detective Callahan.”
“I’ll let myself out.”
Once he was gone, Sunny sank back to her mattress and pulled the covers to her chin. She grabbed her phone off the nightstand and considered texting Pete. She even typed out a brief, goofy message with no serious emotion attached before Fezzi crawled up next to her and nudged the cell out of her hand. “You’re right,” she agreed, kissing him on the head. Sunny deleted her text and stuffed her phone under her pillow. Fezzi curled up against her and let out a great sigh.
“I hear you, boy.” Sunny stroked his fur. “I hear you.”
