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I’d planned to watch her for a while, see how she makes conversation and delay the payoff of talking to her, but Athena has other ideas.
She drags Raeann right to me. By the way Raeann runs to keep up with her, I get the feeling she never does that. The floppy-eared beauty gives me her usual greeting, two paws on my chest. Raeann gasps. “Athena, no.”
“We have to stop meeting like this,” I tell Athena, sneaking glances over her head.
The reality of Raeann realizing it’s me is better than my imagination ever could’ve conjured. All the color drains from her face and is replaced with a fierce blush across her cheeks. “Micah.”
“Miss Gorman.”
She stares at me for a few long seconds, and I wonder if she won’t be able to speak like our last two meetings. Surprisingly, she shakes off her discomfort and says, “I swear, she loses her mind when she’s around you.”
Athena sits down after that, looking very innocent.
Raeann brushes my lapels. “I hope she didn’t get any paw prints on your nice suit.” Her voice dies in her throat, her breath catching when she takes me in.
I do the same to her. A black dress with blue piping hugs her body. Athena matches, with the addition of a ruffle around her collar, and it’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen in my life. The leash she’s using today even has the same stripe of blue down the center to match their fabrics.
“You’ve outdone yourself,” I tell her. “You two look beautiful.”
“I…um…” She peers around nervously like someone will save her. Then she stares at the floor. “It’s from our dress-up line. And thank you.”
“No, thank you.” I place a finger under her chin and lift it so she meets my gaze again. “I needed this sight of you after a hard day of practice and team meetings.”
Her gaze flashes with interest, but then she quells it. I want to pull out whatever thought just popped into her head. I want her to be so comfortable around me that she tells me anything. Everything. “I didn’t realize you were going to be here.”
“I knew you were,” I tell her straight. “That’s why I needed to be.”
She presses her lips together, the shiny lipstick disappearing with the movement, then they pop free, full and sexy. “Tab thought you might have texted me.”
“Tab thought, huh? What did Raeann think?”
“I thought maybe you’d show up at the store again.”
“Did you want me to show up at the store again?”
Her blush is back in full force. I lean down like we’re co-conspirators. “You can tell me,” I whisper into her ear. “Would it help if I tell you that I almost did a couple times?”
She swallows, throat working. “I was hoping you would.”
“That’s what I want to hear.”
This game of seduction is intoxicating. It’s like luring a scared kitten out of her place of shelter. I get the idea that Raeann likes things safe, and since learning about her past, I can’t fault her for that. But I don’t want halves. I wantallof her.
“Tab is closing up the store, then she’ll meet us here.”
“I like the sound of us.”
Raeann lets out a nervous laugh. “I meant me and Athena.”
“Oh, I know you did, but I like the idea of you and me better. And Athena.”
A soft smile teases her lips. “You just don’t stop being charming, do you?”
“Especially now that I know you think I’m charming.”
She grins and looks away, but then a horrified expression crosses her face.
“What?” I ask, glancing in that direction to see the group I left all staring our way.