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“Oh. Okay.” For some reason, it pleased him that he’d get to snuggle with the Dalmatian, just like Hannah had.
Hannah looked up and saw them. She held the puppy a little tighter to her chest and her smile faded.
Grady felt bad. She’d been so happy and relaxed a moment ago. Now, she was nervous. He didn’t want to be the one who made her smile go away.
“Hey! Come on back here. Thanks for coming.” She recovered quickly and smiled at him.
“I’m happy to. And sorry about the timing. I would have tried to come earlier if I’d known about the others.”
“That’s okay. It’s fine.”
“Come on, girls. It’s time we got the pups back.”
The two girls stood up and took turns to hug Hannah.
“Thank you both so much for your help.”
“Thank you, Miss Hannah. We had a great time.”
“Yeah. And thanks for doing the calendar.” The younger girl blushed bright red and added, “You’re awesome!”
Ellen laughed beside him. “You really are. Thank you again. I guess we’ll see you tomorrow when you drop Scooter home.”
Grady loved the way Hannah smiled when she looked down at the puppy, who was still wriggling in her arms. “I guess you will. Thank you.”
Ellen nodded at him, and the girls eyed him as they passed on their way back around the house.
~ ~ ~
Hannah clutched Scooter a little tighter to her when Ellen and the girls left. Her heart was beating out of control—which was ridiculous. She couldn’t think about the spark between them, not yet anyway. She had to focus on getting his picture taken and hopefully getting through the session without making a fool of herself.
If it were possible, he looked even more handsome today. Maybe it was because … he was smiling at her. Her breath caught in her chest, and she smiled back.
“Sorry.” She gave an embarrassed little laugh. “Do you want a drink? I made hot chocolate for the girls. They worked so hard all afternoon.” She looked at the mugs sitting on the table. “Aww, and they didn’t even get a chance to drink it.”
“I’m fine, thanks. We should probably get on with it. I’m sorry I’m making your day run later than it needed to.”
“Oh, no. It’s okay. Really. I appreciate you doing this.” She held Scooter up. “And so does this little guy and all his buddies.”
Grady laughed. “It seems to me that you’re the one he appreciates.”
She laughed with him as Scooter licked her face again. “Yeah. We’ve formed quite a bond. I hope you like him. I kept him to be your partner because that way I got to spend more time with him.”
“He’s a little cutie.” Grady reached out and scratched the puppy’s ears.
Hannah handed him over. “You two should probably get to know each other and then we’d better go inside and get you ready. I think I told you that you’re going to be Mr. December. I have a Santa hat and some other props. You can take a look and see what you’re comfortable with.”
He followed her through to the spare room that she’d set up as a dressing room. She was relieved that he laughed when Scooter licked his face, glad that he seemed to be loving it. A couple of the guys this afternoon had been more nervous about the puppies than the camera.
Grady looked at her over Scooter’s head. “Is he looking for a home?”
“He is, but I think he might have found one.”
“Aww. I’m happy for him. But I was thinking that Ava would love him next time we go out to the shelter.”
“She can come and visit him any time she likes. When I said that I think he’s found a home, I meant I think I’m going to keep him. I love dogs, and I couldn’t have one in LA; it wouldn’t have been fair, but now that I’m back here …” She laughed when Scooter started chewing on Grady’s shirt.
She was relieved that Grady laughed with her. “I think he’s trying to give me a hint that we need to get to work. He’s trying to get me out of my shirt.”
