Spying Under the Mistletoe (Love Undercover #2) - Stina Lindenblatt Page 0,15
we’re all maxed out on pets right now. Otherwise, I’m positive one of our staff members would. Interesting choice of name, but it’s also very fitting.”
She tells the woman behind her, wearing cartoon cat scrubs, that we’ve come for the puppy. The woman disappears through the doorway and re-emerges a minute later, carrying him in her arms.
“Oh, aren’t you the just the cutest bundle of fluff?” Chloe coos, letting him sniff her hand, then scratching him behind the ear.
The puppy releases a little bark and attempts to lick her face.
“Looks like you’ve already won him over,” I say. Now I just need him to win her over enough so she takes him off my hands.
The vet assistant gives me directions on how to care for Whiskey’s wound and answers all my questions.
“And you’ll let me know if the situation changes and a foster home becomes available?” I’ve already left a description with the humane society in case someone turns up there, searching for the puppy.
“Yes, we have him on the list.”
“And if you hear of anyone looking to adopt a puppy…”
“We’ll give them your contact information. But are you sure you don’t want to keep him? Given his rough start, he really is a sweet little dog. And this breed is a great family pet.” The woman’s gaze shifts to Chloe.
“I’m positive.” I’m the kind of man who likes to be in full control of his life—and something tells me Whiskey is the opposite of what I need.
I take him from her, and after the woman has said her good-byes to him, Chloe, Whiskey, and I head out for the next part of my mission: a date with Chloe.
Whiskey’s going to be the perfect sidekick for that. Chloe will have a hard time saying no to being my girlfriend when I have him in my life. She’s already opened her heart to him, so the rest of this should be easy.
I practically high-five myself for the stroke of genius in rescuing the little dude and deciding to be his foster home for the short term.
Chloe helps me put Whiskey into his crate, and I load it into the back seat of my jeep. It only takes ten minutes to arrive at my place, and I park in the garage.
Chloe parks on the street in front of my town house and joins me in the garage.
“Look familiar?” I ask Whiskey. “I found him by the bush,” I tell Chloe, pointing to the plant. “I have no idea how long he’d been there or where he came from. I only know he doesn’t belong to any of my neighbors, and they didn’t recognize him.” I lower his crate to the ground and open the trunk to collect his supplies.
“Let me help,” Chloe says.
“That’s okay, I’ve got this.”
She doesn’t listen and grabs the big bag of puppy food.
“I can get that. It’s heavy.”
“It’s not that bad. I can manage. I’m stronger than I look.”
Strong isn’t the word I’d use to describe Chloe. She’s all soft, warm woman.
“I’m sure you are, but how about you bring his bed instead? Or maybe the bag with the toys I bought him?”
She shifts the oversized bag to one arm, grabs the handle of the cloth bag containing the puppy-friendly toys, and tosses me a smug, get-over-it-caveman grin.
Shaking my head to myself, I remove the rest of the supplies from my vehicle and close the trunk.
Once we get everything into the town house, I put Whiskey’s crate in his temporary bedroom and open the wire door. Happy to bail on it, he climbs out and places his paw against my calf.
“You’re supposed to rest,” I tell him. Vet’s orders.
I scoop him up, taking care not to hurt his leg. He gives me a little puppy bark, and I carry him into the living room like he’s a football, one hand supporting him under the belly, the other carrying his dog bed.
I set it on the hardwood floor and carefully lower him on top of it. “Stay here while I get dinner started,” I tell him. To Chloe, I ask, “Would you like some wine?”
“No, I’m good.”
“You sure? I’ve got an open bottle of Zinfandel from Enchanted Springs Winery.”
If the winery name sounds familiar, Chloe keeps the recognition off her face.
“I love wine, but I prefer to save it for the weekend.”
“Do you have a favorite brand?”
She shrugs. “Not really. We might be in wine country, but I really don’t know much about wine. I always order Riesling from