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She didn’t want to tell him about her money problems, not when there was such an obvious financial difference between them, so she changed the subject.
“Can you help me? Hold up this toy above his eye-line? If his face is tilted up, he looks less threatening,” she said, handing Rafe a squeaky toy.
“Sure,” he said, doing as she asked, but the dubious look he gave her let her know that he understood what she’d done. He squeaked the toy and the dog’s tongue lolled.
“That’s perfect,” she said, snapping shots and moving on to the next and final dog.
“Is there a reason all the dogs you’re taking pictures of are black?” he asked.
“Because they’re really hard to photograph, and not just for me. Black dogs are notorious for taking bad pictures,” she said, getting down on her knees for a fresh angle. “And because of that, they don’t get adopted as often as light-colored dogs. That’s why I, ah, rented all this equipment.” She stumbled past her lie and stood up to face Rafe. “If I can get a bunch of great shots of these dogs online, more people will request to see them. And once they come to see these sweeties in person—”
“They’ll fall in love,” Rafe said, staring right at her.
Abbe felt her cheeks heat up. “Yeah.” She brushed a hand over her forehead. “God these lights are hot,” she mumbled.
“You’re really good at your job,” he said pensively.
“What?” she asked, starting to feel like all of the spotlights in the room were focused on her. “Is that a new thing for you?”
“No. I just spent half the day fighting with someone who isverygood at her job. Unfortunately.”
“What were you fighting about?” Abbe asked, troubled that he was so obviously upset about something at his work.
He chuffed. “Money and optics. Where to put our money to make us look good, regardless of whether or not we’re doing good.” He paused and brushed his thumb across the edge of her jaw. “But you’re good at your job, and your job does good. That’s not something I encounter very often. That’s why you’re remarkable, Abbe.”
She didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t flattered, exactly, because she knew this wasn’t flattery. He was simply admiring her, and she wasn’t used to that.
“Thank you,” she said, trying to just accept the heartfelt compliment he was giving her instead of sidestepping it. He was so intense, though. “Everything you do is all or nothing, isn’t it?”
He nodded, slowly. Watching her. “Is it too much?”
She knew that his “all or nothing” way of being felt great now because she was getting his all, but there was another side to that coin, one that left her with nothing.
“We’ll see,” she replied, grinning, and luckily, he took it as a joke.
“You’ll see, huh?” he said, grinning back at her as he pulled her tightly to him. “I accept the challenge,” he said, abruptly letting her go. “Now, what do I have to do to get you alone? Because this guy,” he pointed at the dog, “has been staring daggers at me for five minutes.”
“Yeah, you still have his toy,” she said, cracking up. Rafe squeaked it and tossed it to the dog, who caught it smartly in his mouth.
Abbe opened the door to her office and let them out. Maria and Steven had arrived by this point, and they were out front talking with Charles. Everyone got far too quiet as she and Rafe came out of the office, and then far too loud all at once, making it obvious that they’d been talking about Abbe and Rafe. She made introductions and left Rafe to chat with them while she downloaded the photos, then she hurried Rafe away from them as soon as she was able.
“But I like your friends,” he protested as she pushed him out the front door.
“You like them now, but that’s only because the questions haven’t started.” She saw the black Range Rover and stopped. “Has Alejandro been waiting out here the whole time?” she asked.
“It’s his job,” Rafe replied nonchalantly.
Abbe rolled her eyes at him. No wonder he expected people to bend over backward for him. In general, everyone did.
He told Alejandro to take them home.
“Yours or mine?” Abbe asked.
“Mine,” he replied, looking out the window before he rolled his head across the back of his seat to look at her. “Can you sleep over?”
“I don’t have any of my stuff with me,” Abbe said, starting to protest.
“I have plenty of stuff,” he assured her. “You won’t need a thing.”
