used for brushing. He was a heavy beastie, easily 150 pounds, if not more. I did manage to get him up with the offer of another treat. “Expecting me? Other than Shelby? No.”
“So . . . you’re not seeing anyone? No boyfriend?”
“Uh, no,” I said with a laugh that was tinged with a bit of frenzy. “No, definitely not.” Never had, never would.
Wait. Why was he asking me that?
He immediately shot down any notion that he meant something more by it by adding, “Good. I felt bad about calling you over here last-minute, and I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t infringing on your time. I’m going to grab a shower if you’re okay here.”
Maybe he’d felt obligated to ask me about my dating situation because I’d kind of asked him first. I went for some humor to relieve the tension I was feeling. “So what you’re saying is that you’re about to get groomed, too . . . Nope, I hear it out loud and I take it back. Too lame of a joke. I’ll just see you in a little bit.”
That hint of a smile was there, and I wondered what it would take to get that dimple of his to reappear. Not that I was going to try, but I did wonder.
He opened and then closed the van door, and I let out a sigh of relief. It was like my entire body tensed up around him, and I was glad to be able to calm down and focus on the job I’d come here to do. “We’ll get you clean and shiny and soft, won’t we, Magnus?”
Magnus barked in response, and I concentrated on making him beautiful. Muscle memory made it easy to go through the motions quickly. That Magnus was so cooperative helped, too. Which left me time to think. Like, would Noah come back out here to the van? Or would he expect me to come to the front door? It wasn’t something I’d ever considered before with other clients, but it suddenly seemed important.
Shelby sent me a text.
I took a picture of myself and Magnus’s tail. Noah had always come across like a private person in his interviews, and I got the feeling he wouldn’t want me to be taking pictures of his dog.
I saw the three dots as she typed.
I wasn’t going to get into an argument with her over it, because the last time I did that, she had turned out to be right.
What if she’s right this time, too? a little voice whispered. Okay, universe, I said. If he likes me, he will come back to the van. If I have to go to him, he doesn’t.
It was childish, but now that I’d set up an imaginary test, we’d just see what happened next.
And I’ll admit that now I was taking my time with Magnus, because a part of me was hoping Noah would come back to the van, but he didn’t.
Giving in and acknowledging the sign the universe had just given me about Noah’s lack of interest, I asked Magnus if he’d like a bow. I held up a blue one and he sniffed it, and so I took that as approval.
I tied it on him, and since he didn’t rip it off immediately, I considered it a win. “Come on, boy, let’s get you back inside before you mess up all my work.” I attached the leash to his collar again and led him to the front door. I rang the doorbell, and even though I knew what was going to happen, even though I’d been expecting it, I still felt bowled over when Noah answered it.
Especially since his hair was wet and slicked back from his strong face. Although I’d always had definite opinions regarding what I preferred in men’s haircuts (clean-cut), when it came to him, I didn’t care what he did or didn’t do. I was a fan of it all.
He’d changed into a different pair of jeans and a black hoodie. He smelled clean, like soap and shampoo, and I stopped myself from dragging in a deep breath.
“All done!” I said, too brightly.
“I can see that.” His burning gaze floated down over my soaked clothing. Self-conscious, I pulled the wet cloth away from my body. “Do you need to come in and dry off?”
Heart pounding loudly in my chest, I said, “No, I’m good. It’s all part of the job. Thanks.” Not to mention that if he kept looking at me like that,