Mistletoe Magic (Paradise Place #6) - Natalie Ann Page 0,37

Ever.

“We’ll let you get back to your shopping,” Patrice said, taking her husband’s arm and pulling him away.

“That was awkward,” Brian said.

“Tell me about it. It’s not their business who I date, but they seemed pretty uncomfortable with it all.”

“It’s a hard situation, but it’s in your past.”

“You’re right. It is. And that is where it’s staying.” She threaded her fingers through his and pulled him along. “Let’s get that shopping done.”

Brian had recognized Patrice and Richard Fischer right away but had hoped they wouldn’t notice the two of them together or at least call Robin out.

He didn’t get that wish.

At least Robin didn’t seem upset over the interaction.

They hadn’t talked about Alex anymore since Tuesday when he’d slipped and made that comment about Alex putting a front on for everyone and Robin thought she was a fool.

From the two times he’d seen Alex’s parents they’d seemed genuine. Richard never said much, but he gladly deposited the money in Robin’s account with no questions asked. Richard just wanted to put it all behind him and Brian suspected that he had no problem with Robin not wanting to stay in communication with them.

But like Robin just said—it was in her past. He was her future and he wanted her to know that.

“So are you going to let me pick out some decorations for your house? Maybe you can get some for mine too.”

“I’d love that,” she said. “Can we stop and see your house after here? I haven’t seen it yet.”

He hadn’t thought much of it, but she was right. They hadn’t been to his house once. Normally he went to hers because of the dogs.

“We can do that. You don’t need to get home to Luke and Leia?”

“It’s only a few hours. Not a big deal. They like being in their crate and napping now.”

“Okay. Then let’s finish up and get some decorations for my house.”

“I can’t wait.”

An hour later they were pulling into his driveway. “This is much bigger than I thought it was going to be.”

“Average for this area.”

He went in the garage. She got out and followed him. “Are you going to give me a tour?”

“You know I am,” he said, laughing. “If you wanted to see my house before now you could have just asked.”

“I guess I didn’t think much of it until now. But I’m glad we are here.”

“Am I going to be able to get you in my bedroom?” he asked.

“Why don’t we start there now,” she said, laughing.

He grabbed her hand, they dropped their bags, and raced upstairs.

Yep, this was his future right here and he had to find a way to make her see that.

16

My Boyfriend

On Tuesday, Robin walked into the shelter and saw Cooper Winslow there already.

“How are the puppies doing?” Cooper asked.

“Good. They are pretty acclimated now. The biggest problem I’m having is the Christmas tree. I had to put a gate around it. It looks silly, but my other option is to have the decorations all over the place and destroyed.”

“Puppies like to get into everything. Is the little girl more outgoing now?”

“Leia,” she said. She’d told him the puppies’ names the next time she’d seen him. She tried to cut him some slack though since he saw animals all day long. Except he’d been flirting with her and hinting for a date the entire time she’d been volunteering here and yet couldn’t remember something simple like that?

“That’s right. Star Wars. Luke is the other.”

Okay, she should take back her negative thoughts. “Yep. He’s not so protective of her as he was in the beginning.”

“That’s great. Maybe you wouldn’t mind speaking at the Christmas party in a few weeks.”

“Christmas party?” she said.

“Oh yeah. This is your first year here. The Saturday before Christmas we have a big holiday party. More like a celebration to get people in to adopt some puppies. It’s a big fundraiser too. It’s only our second year. Last year was a hit. Anyway, we like people to talk about success stories with adoptions.”

“Oh, I’d love to.” She felt like a fool for not realizing this was going to be happening, but she’d been so absorbed in her own personal life and just coming in to help out. She wasn’t even here last Thursday because she’d gotten a call saying there wasn’t anything to do, they didn’t have a shipment coming in.

So she took the day off and spent it playing with her pups and tinkering around the house. She even went to the mall again