across the living area to a box on the floor near the kitchen. “Hazel’s things. Her favorite toy, some treats,” he said, rummaging through it. “Plenty of food, too.”
Carly stared at the box in disbelief. “You were really hoping this worked out, weren’t you?”
“I really was.” He carried the box under his arm and went to the back door, opened it, and whistled. Both dogs came running.
“I am taking them now?” she asked incredulously.
“Our flight is at seven in the morning. I thought it would be easier this way. I could drop her off in the morning if you like.”
She covered her face with both hands, her red nail polish stark against her fair skin. “How do I get myself into these things?” She dropped her hands. “Well, all right, then, if we’re going to do this, let’s do it.”
A bubble of maniacal relief was building in Max’s chest, but he pushed it down before it escaped into a deranged laugh, then walked to the front door. When he opened it, Hazel shot past him and out onto the flagstones. Baxter ran behind her. He actually looked like he was grinning.
Max followed Carly to her car and put Hazel’s things in the back, stuffing the box down between yards of fabric and what looked like two carved wooden circles. He loaded the dogs in the back seat and asked for her phone. “I’ll enter my contact number. Text me or call me if you have any problems.”
“Don’t think I won’t.”
He entered his number, then rang his number with her phone so that he’d have her contact as well. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
“Don’t you even want to know where I live?” she asked curiously. “I could live in a rusted-out bus next to the highway. You really have no idea where you’re sending your dog.”
“I considered the rusted-out bus theory, but since you and I had the same dog walker, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that you don’t. I think you probably live around here somewhere.”
“On the other side of Mopac,” she said, pointing in the direction of a highway that ran north and south on the west side of town.
“See? You can tell me exactly where when I get back from Chicago. I’ll text you from the airport.”
She opened the driver door.
“Carly?”
She paused and looked back to him.
Inexplicably, his gaze went to her mouth. For a single breath he had the wildly inappropriate thought of kissing her goodbye. It was such a wayward thought, popping up like a weed between all the logistical thoughts in his head, that it shook him a little, and he reached around her and opened the car door a little wider. “Seriously. Thank you so much.”
“Okay, stop thanking me. It’s starting to get weird.” She got in, pushed two overeager dogs off the console between her seats and to the back. As she backed out of the drive, she paused and through her open window shouted, “I can’t believe you talked me into this!” then rocketed out of his drive onto the main road.
Max couldn’t believe it either. And for the first time in days, he could actually breathe a sigh of relief.
But as he walked back in his house on that wave of relief, that weed of a thought, the idea of kissing her, wouldn’t wither away like it was supposed to.
Six
Carly told the dogs on their way home that she was an idiot. “This is what happens when a handsome guy asks me for a favor—I end up with you two. I mean, let’s be real. Everyone in this car knows that if Brant had asked me, I would have laughed in his face.”
The dogs surged forward to lick her with agreement.
“It was that business with the brother that did it,” she muttered as she pushed the dogs back. Note to self: invest in a car harness for the dogs. Dog. “He’s handsome and he’s taking his brother to a dog show. You can’t even find that guy in a romance novel, am I right?”
They had reached the gate to her house. She pulled through and turned down the long drive to the cottage in back.
She loved her quaint little two-bedroom cottage with its front porch and red chimney. She loved the location, too—it was almost exactly smack-dab in the middle of town. She’d stalked the cottage for months before it was available, and when the FOR RENT sign had finally gone up, she