smile, then her gaze fell to the little guy at my feet who greeted her with a tilted head and wagging stubby tail like he’d lived here all his life, not less than twenty-four hours.
“Archie!” she squealed and fell to her knees right inside my doorstep.
He barked and twirled enthusiastically in a circle before planting both paws on her lap as she showered him with love. Yet again, my heart ached as I crouched beside her, soaking in the pure joy on her sweet face.
“How—?” she started then laughed when Archie licked her hands then darted to her handbag, nudging to get inside. “How is he here?” She looked at me with disbelief, still petting him.
“Believe it or not, Miss Savoie, I’m an upstanding citizen, and some people deem me responsible enough to adopt a dog.”
“I just… I can’t believe he’s here.” She scooped him into her arms and hugged him tight, then looked at my curiously. “I didn’t know you even liked dogs.”
I shrugged. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
While petting Archie, her focus on him, she added, “But who will take care of him when you’re off doing Stygorn business? Or Bollywood business?”
Hmm. Lots of tells there, sweet Isadora.
I crouched down next to her and scratched him behind the ear. “I’m sure I can find someone to puppysit for me.”
“So everywhere you move, you’ll have to find someone new to watch him? That seems difficult to manage for someone like you.”
“What do you mean someone like me?” I watched her face while she avoided mine.
“You’re just very, you know, busy. Moving a lot can also cause animals stress. Did you know that twenty to forty percent of dogs suffer from separation anxiety? I mean, Archie will get attached to you, then you’ll go off on business or pleasure or whatever, and I just wouldn’t want him to be lonely. At least at Angel Paws, he had his canine friends and my weekly visits.”
Bloody hell. She was working her way up into her own fit of anxiety.
“Well, there’s an easy fix for that. You’ll just have to come over for frequent visits, won’t you?”
She finally glanced up at me. I was on my knees, sitting on my heels, hands fixed on my thighs so I wouldn’t grab hold and kiss the hell out of her to stop her insane cycle of what-ifs.
She let out a sad little laugh, sounding similar to how she did last night before I left her. “Sure. I could do that. Until you move off to Bolivia or Nepal or something.”
“Why would I move to Nepal?”
“I’m sure there are bad vampires to chase in places like Nepal.”
Her predictions of specific far-away destinations almost made me smile. Except she actually believed I was about to ship off thousands of miles away to remote, exotic locales.
“I suppose I’ll just have to stay here in New Orleans then.”
Her eyes rounded. “Why would you do that?”
“Can’t you guess?”
Her pulse quickened, thumping faster as she held my gaze, a frown forming as her mouth hung open in confusion. How could she possibly be confused by that? Didn’t she know I was crazy about her? I wasn’t ready for this to end anytime soon. I just needed her to take a chance on us.
“Devraj, we don’t fit…long-term.”
Acid burned in my stomach. But that had nothing on what her words had done to my heart, slicing it with soft, little syllables.
“Why not?”
“Seriously?” She raised her brow, looking at me like I was a child. She petted Archie absentmindedly who was now curled quietly in her lap, her gaze sweeping the living room beyond the foyer. “You drive million-dollar cars and collect ancient relics and marble statues and hang around with movie stars. Hell, you are a movie star. While I like to plant pansies and make herb bundles and visit dogs in shelters. I mean”—she scoffed in disbelief—“come on.”
“So you’re saying I’m too shallow and materialistic?” Though my words might’ve been biting, I kept my voice soft and calm while a storm raged inside.
“No!” Her frown deepened. “That’s not what I’m saying. We just don’t match, don’t you see?”
“I think we’ve been matching rather well.”
“That’s just sex, Devraj.”
“Really? Is it?”
Again, her face flushed with confusion and a deep blush. “It’s good.”
“It’s better than good,” I said with conviction.
She nodded. “I’ll admit that. But you’ll get bored eventually. This is exciting because it’s new, but over time, you’ll see we don’t mesh beyond the bedroom.”
She was literally tearing me apart. I