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“You can pet Kingsley, but you must be gentle.” I demonstrated the best way to do it. “Do not share your food with her.”
“Him.” Landon corrected.
Of course. The name made sense. “Two at a time.”
Landon held Kingsley’s leash as a couple of young girls ventured over to kneel on the ground and snuggle against the big dog.
“You look great, by the way.” Landon’s smoldering gaze travelled up and down my body. “How many of those stockings do you own?”
Today’s pair were red and black striped as they matched the red top and black shorts. “I’ve lost count.”
“I like them.” He moved in closer.
“I know.” I stepped away – there were children present.
A couple of kids dropped to the ground and hugged Kingsley; it was sweet to watch their young faces light up with joy at petting the dog. Who knew animals had such an effect on kids? Their happiness outshone the excitement of scoring a goal.
“Do you work with them? Are you their coach or something?” He lifted the whistle around my neck.
“No coaching, this is all for fun. A way for me to give back to the community. I set it up so it’s a drop-in program every Friday afternoon. Typically, it’s the same kids each week, which is great. I get to know them and keeping them active keeps them out of trouble. At least for the time they're here.”
“That’s cool. I was watching you play soccer with them.”
“Oh, really now?” I raised my brow and put a hand on my hip.
“Yeah. You’re good with them.”
An ounce of pride swelled from my insides and pushed out to heat my cheeks. “Thanks, want to join us?”
“Nah, I’m good.”
“Yeah, you are.” I sent a wink his way and then chastised myself. What in hell was I doing? I was leading him on, that’s what. Stupid me. Why couldn’t I just keep him at arm’s length?
Cedar. That’s why.
I needed to meet her, learn more about her, and see if she’d be interested in at least testing to see if she was a match. Instead, I was making googly eyes at the cute dog walker.
“So, this is your ex-girlfriend’s dog?”
“Yeah.”
I waited, shifting back and forth on my feet.
“We broke up a couple of years ago, but we’re still really good friends.”
“Was Kingsley your dog too?”
“No. He’s a rescue dog.”
“He rescues people?”
Landon laughed. “No. I don’t know. Maybe?” He quickly checked on the dog. “Maybe he rescued Lucy from a life of solitude?”
“Huh?”
He tipped his head to the side, eyes narrowed, staring at me with a look of confusion. “She rescued him from the shelter. He was surrendered because he was older, and Lucy just fell in love with him.”
“Better the dog than you.” Immediately I slapped my hand over my mouth. “Whoops. Because that means that you’re…”Still single.“Shit. Sorry. Me and my big mouth.”
