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“You need someone around to help, and… to be honest, I could use the company. I moved to Aster Valley a few months ago, and…” I felt the heat of embarrassment on my face. “I don’t know a lot of people here yet.”
BJ’s eyes widened. They still held the glassy sheen of the pain meds, but they looked warm and welcoming. I took a breath and tried to stave off any hesitation he might have. “Parker can vouch for me. I saw you were skiing with him today, and he knows me. We skied together in college.”
“Oh, I… I don’t really know him. I only met him today. Well… I mean… I met him earlier this week, but that was a misunderstanding.”
I waited for him to tell me that wouldn’t be enough of a personal reference for him to feel comfortable staying with me, but he surprised me.
“You sure you don’t mind? I really don’t want to go back to that big house tonight. I don’t have any food, and it’s too far out for delivery—”
“No,” I blurted. “No, that’s great. Let’s get you inside.”
I raced around the truck to help him out. With my arm around his smaller body, I managed to get him into the house without him having to put weight on his injured leg. If I’d thought he would have let me, I’d have carried him bride-style. Instead, I helped him hobble over to the sofa, nudging a very nosy corgi out of the way in the process.
“Who’s this?” BJ asked with a grin.
“Her name is Cosi. My niece started calling her Cosette during a Les Mis phase, and it stuck.”
“Cosi the corgi. I would not have pictured it,” he said with a genuine smile. “She’s flipping adorable.”
“What do you mean? I don’t look like the dog type?”
BJ glanced up at me. “You look like the dog type, but something bigger like a retriever or Rottweiler. This girl is pristine. Look at her coat. Surely she gets regular grooming with a coat like that.”
I nodded and pretended to be serious. “Only the best for my girl. We had a time finding a new salon when we moved here. Thankfully, the woman at the realty place hooked me up. Louisa at the Barking Lot is a miracle worker.”
Once I got him settled on the sofa with a blanket and the remote, I took Cosi outside for a quick break. As soon as we returned inside, she bolted over and took a spot on the floor closest to where BJ’s hands could reach her for pets if, by any chance, he was inclined to want to do such a thing.
What followed was the fastest mutual love affair I’d ever witnessed.
BJ cooed at her and scratched her ears, giving her all the attention she demanded, while she sprawled shamelessly on the floor and panted her approval.
I shook my head. I refused to be jealous of my own dog. I made my way into the kitchen to put some things away and see what I could fix us for dinner.
I enjoyed cooking, but I rarely did it for just me. So I took the opportunity with BJ here to make a chicken pasta dish I liked that would also be easy on his stomach.
Once I had everything ready, I brought it back to the living room, where I discovered him asleep with Cosi belly up between BJ and the back of the sofa. His arm was wrapped around her protectively in an adorable snuggle, and I couldn’t help but be creepy and snap a photo with my phone.
He was attractive and kind.
And he liked my dog.
I sighed and set the food down on the coffee table. Why did I get crushes on random strangers? I didn’t know anything about this guy other than seeing his cheerful interaction with people in the restaurant at lunch and his gentle affection for my dog. But something about him was calling out to me to look out for him. Keep him safe.
Make him happy.
I returned to the kitchen to grab the two tall glasses of ice water, and when I returned, Cosi’s wriggling interest in the food on the table had awoken BJ.
“Sorry,” I said, reaching over to pluck my dog up before she could cause him any discomfort. I shooed her back to the kitchen, where her own dinner was waiting, but she declined my suggestion and took a spot by the coffee table instead.
BJ winced when he tried to sit up, so I raced over to help him rearrange himself in a more comfortable position for eating. “Thanks,” he said. The pain was clear on his face, so I checked the time to see if I could give him another pain pill yet.
“You can have another pill in twenty minutes,” I said. “Do you think you can eat in the meantime? It’ll help.”
