risk being awkward and rude. Oh, God, the sexiest man she’d ever met was about to glimpse more of her forty-one-year-old body than any man ever had.
“Hey! It’s no problem at all. We’re just hanging out.” Whoa, the combination of alcohol and sun had her feeling a little tipsier than she’d realized. To say Nancy had was a heavy-handed pourer was like saying her dogs kinda liked bacon: major understatement.
The moment Curly’s eyes landed on her, his steps faltered, and his eyes darkened. Beside her, wrapping a towel around her waist, Nancy, the traitor, snickered. “Someone likes what they see,” she muttered from the corner of her mouth.
Brooke swatted her friend’s arm. “Shut up.”
A horn honked from her driveway. The dogs started barking and zoomed toward the gate once again.
“Oh! That must be David. Gotta run. Don’t wanna keep my man waiting. Toodles, you two!” With a cheery wave, she practically sprinted out of the lanai. After gifting smooches and rubs to all the dogs in the yard, Nancy vanished, and Brooke was left alone with Curly, who hadn’t taken his eyes off her.
His gaze traveled every inch of her skin, heating her flesh more than the scorching Florida sun. He wasn’t attempting to disguise his blatant perusal of her. Beneath the damp cups of her bathing suit top, her nipples tightened, and she prayed there was enough padding in the suit to keep him from noticing. From the way his eyes lingered at chest level, she wasn’t feeling too confident in the bathing suit’s lining.
Brooke cleared her throat. “Um, just let me dash inside and get dressed. Then I’ll gather everything you need to get your new baby home.”
“Take your time. These guys can keep me company.” He strode back out into the yard.
“Okay.” She turned and speed-walked toward her house, aware of his gaze on her ass the entire time.
“Hey, Brooke?” he called out just as she reached the French doors leading inside her home.
“Yeah?” She turned.
“Nice bathing suit.”
“T-thanks,” she squeaked.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
She scurried into the house and rested against the door with a hand over her pounding heart. Was it fear? Excitement? Who the hell knew? All Brooke knew was that the man sent her heart racing, her stomach fluttering, and her head spinning.
But it wasn’t in a bad way. More in an overwhelming, tingly kind of way.
Ten minutes later, fully clothed and appearing much more professional, she’d gathered all the supplies and paperwork Curly would need for his first few days of puppy parenthood.
“You know,” he said as she emerged back outside. “You didn’t have to change on my account.” He winked.
Her stomach flip-flopped as she waved away his comment. “Oh, no problem. I was done anyway since Nancy was about to leave. Okay, so here is her current vaccination—”
“Long as you didn’t change for me. I was enjoying the view.”
How the hell was she supposed to respond to that kind of comment? Was he flirting? Being kind? Being creepy? Gah, she was beyond out of practice. “Uh, thanks. So as I was saying, here’s her shot record.”
Curly chuckled and, thank God, let her get down to business. They ran through everything quickly since he mentioned this wasn’t the first dog he’d owned.
“My phone number is on there. Please feel free to call or text if you have questions or problems. And I’m more than happy to help with training or anything. I’ve been working with her a bit, so she knows basic commands, but she’s still a little gal who needs a ton of reinforcement.”
“Thanks, Brooke. I might do that.”
Her stomach flipped again. Not because she was excited, he might call her. Too much liquid in her belly. Had to be.
He sat on the concrete floor of her lanai with his new puppy crawling all over him. When he smiled, his face transformed from cautious and untrusting to open and happy.
“My pleasure. So what are you going to call her?”
“I’m gonna keep her as Harley. Don’t wanna confuse her since that’s what you’ve been calling her, and it fits pretty damn well.” The puppy discovered a frayed string on his jeans and went to work attacking it. He laughed and scooped her into his arms, staring her straight in the face. She licked his nose. “Right, Harley? You like that name, don’tcha, girl?”
The dog yelped as though she understood him, and they both laughed.
So often, she related to her abused and neglected fosters, but never before had anyone looked at her with