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“You, too. Hey, how’re your folks?” Georgia asked.

“They’re good.” She turned to Blake, about to apologize, but he spoke first.

“I’ll see you later, Hannah.”

Hannah was absolutely flabbergasted. The man almost blew a gasket because she’d taken the trash out alone and then turned around and took off before she could even properly digest it all. Was he for real?

She should be mad at him for being so all over the place with her, but as she followed Georgia back, listening with half an ear, she couldn’t seem to stop smiling.

Blake cared about her well-being. How could she be mad about that?

HE SHOULDN’T HAVE lost his cool there.

Blake watched Hannah disappear into the back with Georgia, the double doors closing behind the two women. He couldn’t fathom it. He had just been thinking about her, and then suddenly, boom, there she was, holding onto that yellow Lab puppy and looking just as good as he remembered.

Damn it, every time he saw her, it just made it that much harder to forget her.

“Hey, who was that? She looked familiar.” Best eyed Blake suspiciously, and he tried to appear casual, knowing Best was like a shark; if he smelled blood in the water, he would get frenzied.

“She’s a waitress at Dale’s Diner.”

“No, I’ve seen her somewhere . . . wait.” Best’s eyes widened, and he slapped Blake’s shoulder. “That’s the chick you saved. The one who was gushing about you on the news.”

“Shut up.”

“I will not, this is classic. That girl is in love with you, and you hate it.”

“She is not in love with me.”

And I only wished I hated the way she looked at me.

“No, but it’s a strong like.”

“Shut the fu—”

“Oh, shit.” Best was watching him closely. “Are you into her?”

“No. I’ve told you, I’m not interested in dating anyone.”

“That girl isn’t just anyone though, is she?”

Before he could respond, the receptionist finished helping the older man next to them and waved them forward. As Tyler paid, Blake kept checking the double doors, even as guilt gnawed at his gut. This attraction to Hannah seemed like a betrayal to Jenny, and he hated it. Hated feeling as if he was cheating on his dead wife by looking at another woman.

“All right, all paid up. You ready to head back?” Best seemed to catch the direction of his gaze and, in a surprisingly cool way, shrugged and said, “Or we can hang out for a bit. See if her dog’s okay.”

Blake was going to shake his head and say no, that they should get Charge back to Alpha Dog, but instead, he nodded. “Appreciate it.”

“Well, why don’t Charge and I go grab some coffees, and I’ll be back to pick you up in about ten, fifteen minutes?”

Blake was leery of Best’s suddenly chill attitude, but he really wanted to talk to Hannah. At least apologize for getting pissed at her about going out back alone. It was none of his business what she did or how she lived her life; he had no say in what she did or didn’t do.

But why did she have to be so reckless with her well-being? There was no reason why Kenny couldn’t take the trash out, or at least she could grab one of the other girls to go with her. He’d thought that after having a gun pointed at her, she’d show a little more caution.

And he really didn’t want to get into all that with her in front of Best.

“Sounds good. Black coffee.”

“Yeah, I know, dude. I’ve been getting your coffee for over a year.”