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Blake grinned as Best and Charge took off out the door, and he went to sit down in the corner, his foot tapping impatiently on the tile floor.
This was insane and probably bordering on stalking. Would she even want to see him after he’d flown off the handle with her?
Ten minutes later, when Hannah came through the double doors, the puppy snuggling his nose in the crook of her neck, his question was answered. When she caught sight of him, her eyes brightened and she smiled before turning to speak to the receptionist. With her back to him, his gaze slowly traveled over her length, his eyes lingering on the little flared yellow skirt and the way it swished above her long, curvy legs.
Realizing she could turn around any second and catch him staring in the direction of her ass, he jerked his gaze up and caught the puppy watching him over her shoulder, a surprisingly suspicious look in its dark eyes.
Blake laughed aloud at the absurdity, and Hannah turned, frowning.
“What’s so funny?”
Blake got up, moving in next to her now, and reached out toward the puppy, who actually growled and released a high-pitched bark. “Nothing, I was just thinking it was funny that we keep bumping into each other.”
“I was thinking the same thing, although . . . It’s not so strange, if you think about it. We work in the same area, so it would make sense that we would bump into each other every now and again.”
Blake supposed that was true, but he couldn’t help thinking that maybe Hannah kept getting thrown in his path for a reason.
“I stuck around so I could apologize for talking to you the way I did. Most of my friends have been telling me I’m hard to be around lately, and I had no business acting as though I had the right to dictate how you live your life.”
Hannah smiled sheepishly. “I guess I can let it slide, considering you saved me once. I can understand why you wouldn’t want to have to do it again.”
“No, it’s not that . . . ” Blake struggled for a moment, trying to formulate his answer carefully, so that there wouldn’t be any confusion. “I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to you because I like you. You’re a sweet girl, and you deserve to be safe and happy and live a long life.”
For some reason, she almost seemed disappointed by his words, and when he started to ask what he’d said, the receptionist handed her the bill. While Hannah paid, she turned enough so he got a good look at the puppy again. His small golden muzzle looked raw with red bumps and bald patches, but other than that, he appeared to be in good health.
Blake reached out toward him again, planning to run his hand over his shiny head, and the puppy actually bared his little white teeth at him as he snarled.
His jaw clenched. He couldn’t really blame the little guy for not trusting him, especially if it was a man who had hurt him. What the hell was wrong with people? There were other solutions if they decided they no longer wanted their pets, but abusing them or leaving them to die a painful death was just evil.
“It’s a good thing you found him. He looks like a Lab or a Lab cross.”
Her hand stroked over the puppy’s back soothingly as she turned back to him, co
oing at her new pet. “I don’t care what breed he is. He’s just Milo to me.”
Blake’s eyebrow hiked up. “Milo? Like the orange cat from that kid’s movie with the pug?”
“Yeah, so what? I think it fits.” She took her card back from the receptionist and slipped it into her purse.
“That was my favorite movie as a kid. I just think it’s funny.”
She looked up at him, and he caught the slight smile playing across her lips. “It was mine, too. It’s—”
Whatever she was about to say was cut off when Best poked his head in and nodded at Blake. “Hey, Kline, we got to go.”
Blake really didn’t want to leave, but he was at a loss for anything else to say. “If you ever need a lesson in obedience training, there are some great classes at PetSmart.”
“Thanks, Blake. I’ll probably do that.”
“Great. Well, I guess I’ll see you.”
“Why don’t I just walk out with you? I’ve got something to ask you anyway.”
Blake’s heartbeat raced as a thousand possible scenarios played out in his mind. Was she going to ask him out? Maybe to coffee again? She did seem nervous, so that would make sense.
“Yeah, sure. Sounds great.”
Blake held the door for her, an unintentional curse escaping as a blast of cold air hit him.
