ever happened to me. I adopted him right before the Fae trilogy started and would bring him to set with me, and he and Magnus became the best of friends. So whenever I’m in the same city as Noah, I tend to drop in unannounced so they can have a doggy playdate. And speaking of Noah, Magnus managed to get outside again and he’s trying to coax him back in. He’s quite the escape artist. Noah asked me to entertain you until he returns.”
“Should we go help?” I asked.
“There’s no one quite so capable as Noah. He’ll wrangle him back in. He always does. It helps that the man is enormous and strong and could probably drag a polar bear inside if he had to. So how long have you known Noah?”
“We met last week. We only spoke for a few minutes.”
Lily’s eyes sparkled at me. “Really? How fun.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s the kind of man who will exchange pleasantries with you and then two minutes later he’ll ask about your relationship with your father. He loves to go deep and ferret out your emotional baggage and uncover your deepest secrets.”
My heart lurched to one side. That wasn’t good. I couldn’t let that happen. I would remember that this was strictly business.
I was going to be strong when I saw him again. I wouldn’t think of him as a gorgeous, delicious beast of a man. He was just a dog owner and he had hired me, nothing more. I would not melt like an icicle in the desert. I wouldn’t.
Her phone buzzed, and she picked it up. If her smile was infectious before, it was downright dazzling now. “That’s Todd, my husband. He’s wondering if I’ve left already. I should get going. Will you be all right?”
She was just going to leave me here? “Of course.”
“Great. I’m in and out of LA, and if you don’t mind, I’d love to use your services in the future. I could always use a good dog groomer that I can rely on. And if Noah’s letting you come to his home, well, it says a lot about your trustworthiness.”
It did? “I’d love that.”
“Brilliant.”
It was then that I remembered the business cards Shelby had put in my back pocket. She was like some kind of seer. “I have a card, if you like.”
“Oh no, it won’t do you any good to give it to me, because I’ll lose it. So I’ll just get your number from Noah. Toodles!” She picked up Blueberry and made her way to the front door. I heard the door close and sat on the couch in silence. I was tempted to get up and explore but figured that would be rude and probably the worst way to start out our professional relationship.
I did look around, and from where I was sitting, I could see part of the kitchen with its orange cabinets and mustard-yellow appliances. It hurt my eyes to look at it.
I heard a sliding glass door opening and a dog barking and a man grunting. Something large hit a wall. It sounded like he needed help. I followed the noise and found them in a massive library that was filled with hundreds of books.
My breath caught when I saw him. Noah had on a black T-shirt and jeans and was covered in as much dirt as Magnus was, like they’d been wrestling around outside. He was every bit as overwhelming as the last time I’d seen him and somehow sexier as he held his very large and heavy dog in his strong arms with ease.
Every single bit of my resolve to be strong fled.
I was in trouble.
CHAPTER FIVE
“You made it!” he said, his deep voice tinged with exhaustion and amusement.
“I did. Hi. Um, Lily Ramsey let me in and we talked and she introduced me to Blueberry and then she explained about Magnus and then I heard you come in and it sounded like you needed some assistance, so I came in here . . .” I let my voice trail off. I sounded like I was having a stroke. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Yes. Can you shut the door and lock it?”
“Sure.” I had to step around him and found myself struggling to breathe as I got close to him, feeling all of the warmth he was emanating. I cleared my throat and slid the door back into place, finding the lock in the handle and flipping it up. I backed up quickly.