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I tried to move but large paws were on my shoulders keeping me in place as his tongue bathed my face.
“I’m sorry!” Jimmy apologized as he pulled him off of me. “He never does that anymore. He used to when he was younger, but since he’s been an old man, he’s stopped.”
“Well, it was quite a welcome.” I bent down to pet Sherlock’s head. “Hi, buddy. It’s nice to meet you. Oh my goodness, you are so handsome.”
Sherlock sat panting, and I would’ve sworn that if dogs could smile, he was grinning from ear to ear. He looked very proud of himself for his antics. I was still scratching his head when he flapped it from side to side. Ears, jowls, and slobber went everywhere. My arms, shirt, and part of my cheek were coated with it.
“Oh my gosh!” I gasped, jumping back.
“I’m sorry,” Jimmy apologized again. “Let me put him out in the back. Come in.” He shot the last part over his shoulder as he pulled Sherlock through the house.
I stepped inside, feeling bad that Sherlock was being punished for just being a dog. “He doesn’t have to go out.”
“Yes, he does. He’s doing all that for attention and he’s not gonna stop.”
I was wiping my cheek and arm when Jimmy returned with a damp dishtowel. “Here you go. Or you can go freshen up if you want. The bathroom is just down the hall.”
“Yeah, that would be good.” I nodded.
It wasn’t that the dishtowel wouldn’t have worked just fine, but I just wanted to take the opportunity to gather my thoughts, not to mention my nerve.
Mrs. B was the only one I’d told about my condition. She’d told the mahjong girls, of course, but other than those ladies, I hadn’t talked about it with anyone.
Jimmy led the way down a hallway with recessed lighting. From what I could see of his home, it was newly renovated. There were pictures that looked like they’d been taken from his boat, a few shots with groups of people at the bar, and one of a beautiful woman with long blonde hair, lying in a hammock holding a toddler on her lap. She was laughing as the baby pulled a floppy hat down over her face. The coloring on the print, as well as the style of the woman’s clothes, told me the photo was old. If it weren’t for that, though, I would have sworn it was Cheyenne. She looked exactly like her.
“Is that…?”
“That is my mama, Sabrina Comfort. And that handsome devil is me.”
I grinned. “You were a cute baby. And she’s beautiful. And she looks just like Cheyenne.”
“I know.” Jimmy stared wistfully at the photo. “I wish I remembered her.”
This was one of those moments that I would have given anything to have had more well-developed social graces. I felt like most people would know what to say, but as for me…well, I had no idea.
“It’s right through there.” Jimmy pointed to the door at the end of the hall.
“Thank you.”
I walked past him, and our arms brushed. The slight contact spread through me like a wildfire. By the time I shut the door my entire body was engulfed in arousal. One touch. That was all it took.
The bathroom was small, but felt open and airy. And clean. Even though I’d been a basket case since I’d entered Jimmy’s home, I’d noticed that it was very tidy and, just like the exterior, it was cozy and well-kept. Not at all what I would expect a bachelor pad to be.
After washing my still-shaking hands, I took a deep breath. I knew I was going to tell Jimmy what was going on with me, but I still didn’t know how I was going to do that. My awkwardness was really exacerbated by stress, so my state of near-panic definitely wasn’t going to help anything.
The one thing I had going for me was that Jimmy had a way of putting me at ease. Not just me, either. Everyone. I hoped that his energy would be a calming balm to my anxiety.
As tempting as it was to stay in the bathroom, I knew that I couldn’t do that. It wasn’t what you might call a forever solution. So I washed my hands, dried them, and forced myself to face what I had to do.
When I came back out, I found Jimmy in a room around the corner from the entryway. He was standing at a mini bar, his back to me. I took a moment to admire the strong planes of his shoulders, visible through his thin cotton T-shirt.
Jimmy’s body was something I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of admiring. He looked just as good with clothes as he did without. Well, maybe not just as good, but real close.
He turned and looked over his shoulder. “Can I get you something to drink? Water? Something stronger?”
I’d drunk more this week than I had in the last two years, but I figured why stop now? “Something stronger.”
He gave a small nod and I watched him pour our drinks. My eyes zeroed in on his chiseled forearms. There was something so attractive, so sexy about them. The muscled lines, thick wrists…the single vein that popped out whenever he did anything strenuous. It all made one very sexy visual.
