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“What are we doing?” she asked as she closed the foyer door.
“It’s a surprise.”
“But the dogs are coming?”
“Yeah.”
She grinned. “Well, okay then.”
He handed her the leash attached to Pixie’s rhinestone collar. “Do you mind taking Pix? We’ve got a short walk to get where we’re going.”
“Sure thing.”
He kept an eye on her as she carefully wrapped the leash around her wrist, as if to make sure the Chihuahua wouldn’t suddenly bolt and rip it from her grasp. He concealed a smile. She’d obviously spent enough time around dogs to know the correct way to walk them, but not enough to be able to judge when caution was or wasn’t warranted. Pixie could pull so hard she strained a muscle and Megan would still be able to remain in control of her with nothing more than a couple of fingers.
They made their way around the end of the building, crossed the bridge, and started down the road. The dogs battled to go faster, but he maintained his pace, although he’d be sore around the middle later.
“Are we going far?” Megan asked, breezing alongside him, apparently oblivious to his struggle for control.
“Not too far,” he replied, noncommittal. She narrowed her eyes, but he pretended not to see. He wanted to surprise her, so sue him. She’d find out what they were doing soon enough.
A crisp breeze stirred his hair, and in the distance, the sun was rising to reveal a cloudless blue sky. It was a perfect autumn morning. They passed by the glamping ground, which was largely empty because the temperature had dropped too low for people to camp, regardless of how nice the tents were. Beyond the glamping ground, they reached the school, where buildings were silhouetted against the ocean, and he turned into the adjoining sports field.
Megan gasped, and clapped a hand to her mouth. “Oh, my God.” She jumped with delight, then winced, her hand flying to her ribs. “Ugh. Keep forgetting about that.” Straightening, she grinned at him. “Are we doing what I think we’re doing?”
Out on the open field he’d set up an agility course with a ramp, several jumps, posts to run between, a crawl tunnel, a seesaw, and an elevated ring.
“Wait and see.” He unclipped the dogs and set them free, knowing that they wouldn’t leave the field. Then he called Bella to heel and, as Megan watched, he led her through the course. He’d never done this with an audience. Bella wasn’t a competitive agility dog, and he’d only purchased this equipment to keep her from getting bored, but she’d taken to it well. Now she performed like a champ, climbing over the ramp, leaping the hurdles, crawling through the tunnel, and winding between the posts. When she jumped through the ring to finish, he came to a stop, puffing, and Megan clapped.
“Bravo!” she cried. “That was incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Bella sat, and he rewarded her with a treat. She snaffled it from his palm, wolfed it down, and padded over to Megan, who patted her head and fussed over her.
“What a clever girl! You’re so pretty, and so well-behaved.” Bella drank up the praise, and Tione rolled his eyes. There wasn’t much she enjoyed more than attention. “Does she do shows?”
“Not unless you count showing off for the kids. They love to put her through her paces during afternoon break.”
“I bet they do.” She unhooked Pixie from her leash and the little dog trotted off to join the others. “Can Trevor…” She trailed off, laughing. “Of course not. He’s too big for the tunnel.”
“Bella is the only one who does the course. I’d like to teach Zee, but so far, I haven’t been able to get her interested.” He strode to Megan’s side and dropped a kiss on her cheek, unable to resist. She smelled of coffee and vanilla, and he wanted to bury his face in the crook of her neck and breathe her in, but instead he offered her a dog treat to give Bella. “Would you like to have a go?”
A smile split her face. “Really? Yes, I’d love to. What do I do?”
“Come with me.” Placing a hand on her elbow, he steered her to the beginning of the course. Bella ran ahead of them, eager for a repeat.
“I can’t believe you organized this for me,” she said, and when he glanced down, her cheeks were flushed a delicate pink and her eyes sparkled. “This is the best surprise ever.”
That smile hit him like a shot put to the gut, and he had to clear his throat before he could respond. “Glad you like it.”
“Like it?” she asked. “I love it. I can’t believe people really do this. I always thought it was one of those things you saw on TV, but no one actually did in real life.”
His lips twitched. Her joy from something so simple was endearing as hell. “It’s a real thing, all right, and you’re about to do it.” He released her. “There are a few hand signals you need to use. This,” he demonstrated for her, “means ‘jump.’ This,” he changed his gesture, “means ‘down’ or ‘crawl,’ and this means ‘up.’ Repeat them for me.”
She did, and when she made a mistake, he took her hand and guided her fingers into the right position, relishing the opportunity to touch her and feel the sizzle of attraction between them. Each brush of skin on skin drew the tension tighter.
He dropped her hand and backed away. “Your turn.”
“Now?” She nibbled her lip, and looked nervously at the course. “What if she doesn’t do what I say?”
