Page 14

TANNER

“Come on, boy, we got lucky with Marlie letting me bring you. Don’t do anything bad, like fart and stink up her whole house, okay?

” I tell Tim before climbing out of my truck.

Having the forethought not to come empty handed, I picked up flowers, wine, and dessert.

Sure, I had to call in another favor to get an idea of what Marlie likes besides the champagne she drank at Ridge and Taylor’s wedding.

So, now not only do I owe Ridge and my sister, I owe Taylor, too.

Tim barks his consent, but we’ll see if he actually adheres to the stipulation.

Shit, I’m lucky Marlie is even letting us still come over today.

The job site I was only supposed to work on for a few hours turned into closer to seven and had me taking a break to call Marlie to let her know what was going on.

Christ, this woman, she even offered to switch it to tomorrow without batting an eye.

There was no damn way I was going another day without laying my eyes on her, let alone getting one of her sweet-as-fuck kisses.

I let Tim out of the truck first, grabbing the purchases for Marlie,“Tim, stay.” Thankfully, he listens well and isn’t one for going off half-cocked without a leash on and will stand beside you with commands.

“Hey, I saw you pull in and figured I’d come out to join you.” My eyes whip over to Marlie. Tim barks, and then my traitorous dog wags his tail, walking sideways to greet her.

“Sweetheart,” I reply, taking her in. She’s in some kind of matching set of a sweater like top, hanging off one shoulder, draping loosely, and shorts that show off her thighs and legs. The deep burgundy color makes it perfect against her flawless complexion.

“Hi, big guy.” She squats down to give Tim more attention, petting his head, and when he gets closer, Marlie sits down all the way. My big old lug of a dog thinks he’s a lap dog when he practically plops on top of her, well, as much as he can at least.

“Shit, I’m sorry. He usually has more manners than that.” I shut the passenger back door of my truck that Tim just jumped out of and make my way towards them.

“He’s okay. My parents’ dogs are the exact same way. The second they see someone new, or I make it back home, their inner puppies come out.” I move the items to where I can help Marlie up, even when Tim decides to roll over on his belly and beg for more attention.

“Tim.” My hand reaches for Marlie’s. Once he realizes the tone of my voice, he rolls over to stand up. He doesn’t miss out on giving us his puppy dog eyes, though.

“Thanks for having us.” She stands up. My arm moves from her hand to glide around her back, my head dipping the moment hers tips up, and her soft lips meet mine. I wasn’t sure Marlie would give this to me so freely, which is why I don’t take it farther, not on her front lawn at least.

“Thanks for coming over and bringing Tim. I was just thinking about going to the animal shelter and looking at either a dog or a cat to adopt, more than likely a dog, though.”

“Best thing you’ll ever do. Tim was rescued from a puppy mill.” I remember my mom sending me a text telling me to get to the pound as soon as possible to get my name on the list. That was all she wrote. Two weeks later, Tim was mine.

“Maybe I’ll do that tomorrow, then. Come on, I’ll show you where to put those, which by the way, I see you’ve done your homework.

” Marlie winks at me before walking in front of me, hips swaying with every step, and I’m not the only one following her.

Tim is hot on her heels behind her, tongue lolling out. Shit, not that I blame him.

“A smart man always does. If you want to go to the shelter tomorrow, I’ll go with you.

I have nothing going on until the evening.

Even then, if you want to hang out, you’re more than welcome to join me and the family for dinner.

” Marlie is fucking gorgeous and one hundred percent going to be mine.

Clearly, my thoughts have done a complete one-eighty when it comes to relationships, and I’m ready to see just how things play out even though she hasn’t responded to my last statement.

That’s okay because by the end of the night, Marlie will definitely know my intentions are solid when it comes to her.