Out of My League - Sarah Sutton Page 0,23

tether to trip over.

“Come here, pretty puppies,” I cooed to them, hoping my tone sounded soothing enough to calm their craziness. “Hold still—ow!”

A laugh bubbled through my frustration, and I looked up to glare at Walsh, who seemed to enjoy the view of me struggling. He had his hands in his sea-foam green shorts pockets, utterly relaxed.

Yeah, sea-foam green. I didn’t know they made such monstrosities. “I know you said you didn’t need help—”

“If you helped me, it wouldn’t be fair.” I blew a stray hair from my face, trying to pull dachshund number one, Dina, away from her sister, Tina. Dina took a sharp left and nearly pulled my arm from its socket; Tina didn’t like Dina’s proximity and bit at her collar. “Even though these are hellhounds, I can manage.”

“I don’t mind, really,” he insisted for the tenth time, trying to grab a leash.

I tugged the dogs away. “No, Walsh, I mean it. My job, my responsibility.”

“But—”

“Mine.”

He continued to reach, but his hand bypassed the dog leashes. His fingers caught ahold of the strand of hair that’d been bothering me, tucking it underneath my headband. I didn’t want to even think about the sweat he must’ve felt at my hairline.

Walsh’s eyes met mine, tone teasing. “You’re welcome.”

“My hero,” I quipped, trying to be lighthearted. “This must be the perfect place for you, Walsh. Among your own kind.”

“You know, I wondered why I felt so comfortable.”

I finally managed to get Tina’s teeth from Dina’s collar, but their leashes still tangled together. They’d manage to wrap themselves around Walsh’s ankle, but he didn’t seem to notice. In fact, he seemed well at ease in this moment, in this company.

As much as I struggled to understand it, I had to admit that I felt much of the same.

This wasn’t a park I frequented often since it wasn’t really a dog park, but Walsh had suggested the route. Asking him to come walk dogs with me was a foreign compulsion, one that I had no idea where it’d come from. Maybe it was because I wanted to see if he’d know anything for my article, or maybe I just wanted to get out of the house and wanted company.

We’ll go with the former.

“Smile,” Walsh said, and I realized he’d pulled his cell phone out, aiming the camera at me.

“What?” I immediately looked down at the dogs, averting my face. “No. I’m gross and sweaty.”

“No, you’re glowing.” He pulled his cell phone down and peered at the screen. “I’m going to caption it ‘Puppies aren’t the only thing I love.’”

Uh, wait, wait. “You’re going to post it?” I did not sign up to be plastered on Walsh’s social media page. Especially looking like an armpit. “You’re not seriously doing that. You’re not posting that.”

He glanced up from his phone, gaze innocent. “How else are people going to know we’re dating?”

“Fake dating,” I corrected, grabbing onto the words and launching them at him. “And no one needs to know. We’re only carrying this on for a month before we’re breaking up.”

Or fake breaking up. Or real breaking up our fake relationship. Ugh. So confusing.

I found Walsh smiling. “A month is a long time, Sophie. And if no one needs to know, why did you invite me to come with you this morning?”

“Because I’m just dying to hang out with you,” I said as sarcastically as possible, trying to hide the truth.

Quite honestly, I’d been surprised Walsh even agreed to come out with me today. Scott never went with me; he said he wasn’t really an animal person. Having company felt strange, but not unwelcome. Crazy as it sounded, spending time like this with Walsh was easy.

Someone alert the media: Sophia Wallace could stand next to Walsh Hunter without exploding into annoyed comments or angry eye rolls. Go figure.

I squeaked as the leashes constricted against my wrists, clenching tighter even though I fought to separate the two. Dina’s own legs tangled with it, tripping her as she tried to avoid her sister’s teeth. “Okay, you know what? I changed my mind. Take Tina. She’s evil.”

“Oh, sure, give me the mean one,” he sighed dramatically. “I see how you are.”

Us spending time together, alone, still had my brain in a blender because never in a million years would I have seen this coming. Like I’d been plunged into an alternate universe. On Friday, I’d been nothing but annoyed with him. Patting my shoulder in the hallway, misusing my name, butting in at the party. And maybe