end of the leash. “Okay, I’ve got him.” Then he got to his feet and brushed the sand from his jeans and coat. He gave Finn a grateful glance. “Thank you. I wouldn’t have thought of that. You’re obviously used to dogs.”
“We always had dogs when I was growing up.” Finn nodded toward the dog. “He’s usually better behaved than this.” When the owner blinked, Finn gave a sheepish smile. “You walk him by my house. I live on Wildwood.”
Fantasy Guy gave him a speculative glance. “Weren’t you the one who waved to me the other day? From up there?” He pointed to the hotel.
Shit. Busted. “Oh. Yeah. That was me.”
From behind him came Max’s loud bellow. “Finn. Are you making the nails yourself?”
The dog’s owner smiled. “So you’re Finn. Thanks again, Finn. And this is Bramble.”
Finn couldn’t resist. “Does Bramble’s owner have a name?”
He laughed. “Oops. I’m Joel.” When another cry erupted, calling for Finn, Joel grinned. “Obviously a guy in demand. Well, next time you see me, wave. I’ll know who it is.” He held out his hand, and Finn shook it. Joel had a firm grip. “And now I’ll get back to walking Bramble, but this time, I’ll keep a tighter hold on the leash.” His eyes sparkled with humor.
Damn, he was sexy as fuck.
Hoots from across the road cut short Finn’s observations, and he hurried back to the truck to collect the nails and the hammer. As he crossed the road, Lewis stood there with his arms folded. “Please, don’t let us stop you if you have something important to do, like flirting.”
“I was not flirting. I was helping him.”
Lewis’s sole response was a quirk of his eyebrows. Then he gave a mock glare. “Hey. We need to talk. Don’t ever diss the dick, okay?”
Finn pouted. “Aw. Did I hurt its feelings? I guess that’s not so hard to do, given that it’s already dealing with a massive inferiority complex.” He handed over the hammer and the receipt. “Give that to Jon the next time he stops by. He can add it to my paycheck. He might insist you pay for your own hammer though.”
Lewis gave it an experimental swing, smacking the head against his palm. “Hey, not bad. I guess you really do get what you pay for.”
Finn glanced at the beach where Joel was strolling along, throwing a ball for Bramble, the leash extended as far as it would go.
“Talk about a gift horse. You couldn’t have planned that better if you’d tried. So now you’ve seen him up-close-and-personal, is he as gorgeous as you thought he’d be?” Lewis asked quietly.
Finn didn’t glance at him, but kept his gaze fixed on Joel. “He’s even better. Unfortunately, he’s spoken for.”
“How do you know?”
“Because on Saturday, he walked by my house with his wife and kids.”
“Well fuck. Better luck next time.”
Finn watched as Joel bent down to stroke Bramble. A fantastic dog, and a very sexy owner, who was definitely not available. Lewis had nailed it.
Well fuck.
Joel closed the front door behind him before unfastening Bramble’s leash. “You had to go running off, didn’t you? You had to go talk to your doggy pals.” Bramble gazed at him with those liquid brown eyes, his tail thumping on the floor, and Joel realized he was fighting a losing battle. He could never stay mad at this dog for long. He rubbed Bramble’s ears. “Just don’t do it again, okay?”
Bramble’s soft woof might have been Okay, but Joel would lay even money it was more a case of hey, why are you complaining? You got to meet a hot guy, didn’t you?
There was no denying it—Finn was hot, from the sweep of his hair off his brow, to those gunmetal eyes, the color of the ocean during a storm, to that scruffy beard and barely-there mustache. And then there was his build: the heavy coat might have hidden his frame, but it was obvious Finn was not a slight man, capable of being blown away by a stiff breeze.
It was no surprise to Joel that the word stiff came to mind. And now that he knew where Finn lived, Joel would keep an eye out for him when he took Bramble for a walk.
Down boy. You don’t know anything about him—except that he’s hot.
Joel went into the kitchen and set up the coffee pot. His work was already on the table, awaiting him. As the coffee dripped he gazed at his surroundings. After almost a month, the cottage