the front door pulled her from the slider.
She didn’t even get halfway to it when she saw Ben’s face appear in the sidelight, big brown eyes on hers.
Her feet slid to a stop, and she swallowed hard.
He held her gaze as he knocked again.
“Right,” she whispered, moving to the door. Nothing had changed, even if he’d come back this time. There would be a time when he wouldn’t return or would tell her to go and . . .
She wasn’t going to open that door.
She’d drawn her line in the sand.
He held up something in the window.
No, not something, but a fur baby. Sweetheart and her cute little black eyes peered through the glass, her white body looking so tiny in Ben’s large hands.
And she knew she was fucked.
Her feet began moving, and she reached the door, hesitating again until there was another knock, Ben’s voice saying, “It’s cold out here.”
“Right,” she muttered, unlocking the door, knowing that she should just walk away and make him go back to his car.
But . . . Sweetheart.
But . . . Ben.
Her vulnerable, desperate heart wanted him for just a little longer.
She unlocked the door. Ben pushed it open.
Sweetheart wriggled her way out of his arms and into hers and began licking Stef’s chin with enthusiasm. Not sleepy this time, not calmly cuddling after a burst of protectiveness. She was a writhing ball of fluff, and Stef found her heart squeezing, her lips turning up into a smile.
“Hi, baby,” she murmured, stroking a hand down her back.
Her fur was so soft, and she couldn’t help but cuddle her closer. Ben slipped by them when she was distracted, and it took her a moment to realize he’d made more than one trip.
A backpack. A crate. A tote bag printed with Sweetheart’s face.
A paper bag with grease stains on the side.
The air filled with a delicious scent that went along with that paper bag, something fried, something that made her stomach, that had a week’s worth of boring salads ahead of it, rumble.
She needed.
“Dinner,” Ben said, unnecessarily.
“Right,” she whispered.
He closed the door, locked it, and ran his knuckles down her throat. “How do we do this?”
For a moment, she thought he meant her and him.
Then she realized he meant how did they introduce the dogs to each other. “Let me grab Fred’s leash.” Just in case her boy got a little rambunctious. She shoved Sweetheart at Ben, reached into her wall organizer for Fred’s leash, and then moved to the slider, opening it a fraction so that she could clip it to Fred’s collar.
“Okay,” she said. “You can let her down.”
Ben’s face was a study in concern, but he merely held her eyes for a second, as though reading her resolve, and then he nodded and put Sweetheart on the floor.
Please, let this go okay.
Sweetheart glanced around then her gaze came to her, to Fred.
And . . . it went horribly.
She sprinted over toward Fred, barking and snarling and becoming the beast Ben had accused her of being. But this wasn’t Stef’s first rodeo. She held tight to Fred’s leash, positioned herself between them, and waited for Sweetheart to reach them.
She’d already slowed by the time she came within five feet.
Then stopped at three feet away, her body quivering in fear this time.
Fred didn’t pull at the leash, just slumped to the floor in a movement that made Sweetheart jump and growl.
Silence filled the room, Sweetheart eyeing Fred like he was evil incarnate.
Then she tentatively took a step forward.
Fred didn’t move, merely opened one eye as she took another, and then another until they were nose-to-nose and Sweetheart was sniffing delicately. Fred huffed out a breath, flopping to the side and making her jump again, minus the growl this time. He held perfectly still as Sweetheart made her way around him, sniffing every blade of hair, it seemed.
Her eyes came to Stef’s, and Stef slowly reached a hand down to scratch Fred then her little head.
Sweetheart rumbled in contentment this time.
For just a moment before she surprised everyone but seemingly herself, and curled up between Fred’s outstretched legs, a tiny white ball amongst golden fur. Another contented hum, her eyes closing. Fred glanced at Stef, who gave him and Sweetheart another scratch. Then, he too, shut his lids.
“I’ll be damned,” Ben murmured.
Stef set down his leash, making sure to stay within reach, just in case there was an issue, but her gut told her there wouldn’t be.
Not with how relaxed Fred was.
“He shares your superpower?”
A