She’d been taking care of herself for so long that she couldn’t remember the last time someone had worried about her.
“Come inside the shop and I’ll clean you up.”
The thought of him touching her again had her swallowing hard. She’d always thought there was something so sexy about a mechanic’s hands. The fact that they were so skilled at building and fixing things made it difficult not to wonder what else those hands were good at.
No!
She knew better than to wonder something like that about this mechanic. Talented hands did not make the man, unfortunately.
“You should get back to the models. I can take care of it myself.”
But judging by the look on his face, for a moment she thought he was going to pick her up and carry her over to the garage against her will. Instead, he said, “You hurt yourself saving my dog. It’s my fault you’re bleeding. Let me take care of you—” He stopped, cursing softly. “You saved my dog and I don’t even know your name.”
“Heather.”
“Heather.” He held the seven letters on his tongue as if he was savoring them, and she was held spellbound despite herself. “That’s a pretty name. I’m Zach.”
It shouldn’t have felt so intimate just to tell him her name. But when he’d repeated it in a low, husky tone, just hearing it fall from his gorgeous lips had been practically better than full-blown sex with any other man. And she definitely shouldn’t want to savor his name on her tongue, too.
“What’s the puppy’s name?”
He winced, giving her another flash of normal that was so unexpected given the perfect package it was in. “Do you really need to know?”
“Trust me, I’ve heard a lot of crazy dog names over the years.” But something told her this one was going to take the cake. At least she hoped it would. “And you know, she might have actually come back to you if you’d called for her by name instead of ‘Dog.’”
A muscle jumped in his jaw right before he muttered, “Cuddles.”
Heather pressed her lips together to try to keep her giggles from erupting, but she couldn’t stop the laughter from shaking her shoulders.
* * *
There were half a dozen girls in bikinis waiting in Zach’s garage, but the woman laughing with his dog in her arms, wearing a sweaty, long-sleeved T-shirt and muddy shorts, with a messy braid trailing down her back, put them all to shame.
He couldn’t think of a time he’d ever seen eyes that color, brown with so many flecks of gold that he couldn’t look away. And, Jesus, that mouth of hers, rosy and full, made a man want to do crazy things...like grab the puppy and kiss it all over its drooly, disgusting little face for bringing Heather here today.
He’d been pissed off at Gabe and Summer for dumping the dog on him for two weeks. Now he realized he should thank them, instead.
Unlike most women, however, he could tell Heather wanted nothing to do with him. Fortunately, her dog didn’t seem to have any of the same qualms, especially when he sniffed the glazed sugar on Zach’s fingers from the donut he’d been eating for breakfast.
“Hey, mutt,” Zach said, thinking fast, “I left the rest of my donut on the counter inside. You want it?”
The huge dog’s ears twitched as if he understood, but he didn’t move. Instead, he looked up at Heather for approval.
Clearly, she was gearing up to refuse. But, man, that huge dog could play up the puppy dog eyes when he wanted to. Zach was impressed. He’d have to remember how to do that in the future.
Her dog let out a low whine and Heather finally sighed and said, “Okay, fine. Go.” As she let go of his leash and the enormous dog loped off toward the garage, she followed him, still carrying Cuddles.
“I get that you weren’t prepared for a puppy, but I can’t leave her with you if you’re going to put her in a crate all day. She needs to understand how to stay with you so she doesn’t get hurt by something in the garage. You’re going to need to work on training her to understand your commands. And you’re going to have to do it without yelling at her.” She shot him a hard look. “Ever again.”
He would agree with whatever Heather said just as long as she stayed long enough for him to convince her to give him a chance. He couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman this bad, this fast.
“Hey Chase,” he told his brother, “I’ve got to call off the shoot.”
The models looked at his brother in confusion and Chase told them to take five before saying, “Chloe is going to have the baby any day now, and then I’m out of commission for a while. You sure you want to reschedule?”
Despite her ongoing protests that she was fine, Zach was already kneeling in front of Heather and gently wiping at the open skin on her knee with an antiseptic wipe from a nearby First Aid kit.
“I’ve got to clear my schedule for puppy training.”