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Gabe tugged at the neck of her tee, having clearly spotted Lori’s gaze sweeping over her. “I’ve got a fresh shirt in the truck if you want me to change before inviting me in.”

A ridiculous, and particularly vivid, slow-motion movie of Gabe stripping down so Lori could launder the offending shirt played in her head. “Don’t be silly. Come on in… I just won’t invite you to sit on my cream couch.” She chuckled, and Gabe laughed too. “This way.” Lori tried not to swing her hips as she walked to the open-plan dining and living area, and she resisted casting a backward glance to see if Gabe was appreciating the view. “No upholstery for you to get dirty.” She pulled out a wooden chair and gestured for Gabe to sit then poured her some lemonade.

Gabe smiled and nodded toward the cookies as she sat. “They smell really good. Did you just bake them for me?”

“No,” she said, praying her nose didn’t grow an inch or two. “I make a big batch every weekend for the field trip kids. You just got lucky with your timing, that’s all.”

Gabe’s smile twitched and her eyes narrowed slightly for the briefest of moments, perhaps embarrassed at her assumption. Or perhaps not buying Lori’s story.

Gabe took a long drink from her glass. “This might be the best lemonade I’ve ever tasted,” she said and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Did you make this yourself too?”

Lori didn’t have a quick answer this time. She was too busy watching the trajectory of the errant lemonade drop that had escaped and was about to drip from Gabe’s chin onto her chest…where it would travel down that deep V of muscle?—

“I bet the kids love drinking this as much as they love coming to see the animals. What’s your secret?” Gabe asked, when Lori didn’t answer the first question.

“Yes, I make it for the kids. And my secret is years of patience,” she said finally and pointed toward the plants lining the deck beyond the double doors. “I planted those six years ago when I first got here. I keep them in pots and bring them indoors during the winter. This is actually only the second year of them bearing fruit.” Too much information, Lori thought, but at least it wasn’t inappropriate information. She hadn’t missed Gabe’s smirk when she’d raised her gaze from Gabe’s muscular chest to meet her eyes. Since Gabe was just passing through, maybe Lori could indulge in a one-night stand. The lawyer might’ve broken her heart and her spirit and everything else she could break, but Lori still had needs she’d ignored for nearly a year now, and it had only been a few months ago that she’d even started to touch herself again. How the lawyer had managed to get in her head to stop that too was beyond Lori’s comprehension.

Gabe inclined her head. “That is patient.”

Lori widened her eyes. Had she said all that out loud? Nope, Gabe was still talking about her lemon trees. “I have to be.”

Gabe took a bite of a chocolate cherry cookie and made a sinfully delightful sigh, the kind Lori could imagine herself making as she slowly stripped Gabe’s clothes from her insanely strong-looking body. She mentally kicked herself; she was out of control. It had been a long time since someone had stirred this kind of interest, and she was overreacting—that was all. And after all the hurtful things the lawyer had said about Lori’s lack of prowess in bed, she definitely wasn’t ready even for a meaningless fling. Best then that she gently encourage Gabe to leave, watch her fine ass walk away, and then run upstairs to bed to take care of herself.

“Thank you for letting me spend so much time with Max,” Gabe said, looking serious for the first time since she’d arrived. “I really appreciate you giving me the opportunity to see him.”

“You’re very welcome.” Lori was glad that the conversation had returned to Max; perhaps she could stay focused on the safe topic and stop her mind from wandering around fantasy land with a half-naked Gabe. “It looked like he was very happy to see you.”

Gabe took a breath as if she was about to speak then paused. She rubbed her hand over her short hair and seemed to be studying the rest of the room rather than look at Lori. Her sudden change from being completely self-assured to slightly hesitant intrigued and baffled Lori, and she had no idea what could’ve initiated it. She ran her nails along the intricate pattern of the crystal glass in her hand and waited.

“When Toni told me that she knew of a place that Max could go to instead…instead of the alternative, I can’t tell you how relieved I was,” Gabe said.

Lori was glad for the break in the extended silence that was almost becoming uncomfortable, but Toni had also told her what the “alternative” had been, and the same anger stirred her again. “I’d hardly call destroying a perfectly healthy dog an alternative.”

“You don’t have to tell me that.” Gabe clenched her jaw. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have used that word. But Toni… I think I’ll love her forever for what she did for Max.”

Lori relaxed a little and smiled. “She’s a good person.”

“What does that make you for running this place? A saint?” Gabe placed her half-eaten cookie on a side plate and eased back in her chair. “Honestly, what you’re doing here is amazing.”

Neither she nor the rest of her family ran their sanctuaries for compliments and praise but hearing it occasionally didn’t hurt. “Thank you. That’s nice of you to say.”

“How long do you think it will be before Max is ready to be adopted?”

“That’s like asking how long a piece of string is, I’m afraid. He was doing well, but like I said, the Fourth of July celebrations didn’t help at all. It could be a couple of months. It could be a year or more.” She shrugged. “Why do you ask?”

Gabe did the breath and hair thing again, and it was adorable the second time around. Was there anything sexier than a stronger-than-Hercules woman showing vulnerability?

“I was wondering if you’d mind… I was hoping that you’d let me visit Max again.”

“Oh. Are you staying in Chicago for a few days?” With that prospect, Lori’s decision not to follow through on her frankly outrageous notion of a one-night stand with Gabe was even more sound.

“A few days?” Gabe frowned then grinned. “Didn’t Toni tell you? I’m starting a new business with some old Army buddies, so I’m staying in Chicago for good.”

Lori gripped the wooden seat of her chair tight. Lord help me.

CHAPTER FOUR

Gabe drove most of the way to Solo’s house on autopilot. Between the emotion of her reunion with Max and her instant attraction to the compassionate and philanthropic owner of the Sanctuary, her mind had little space to contemplate anything else. It was good that she’d had the forethought to get flowers and champagne for Janie before going to the Sanctuary, or she would’ve been late. As it was, she’d been forced to run out on Lori right in the middle of a very promising conversation, and she was sure the fascination had been mutual.