Page 36 of Lawton

She shoved the bag closer. "Go on," she urged in that same breathy voice. "Take it. I made it just for you."

This, I had to see. Slowly, I opened the thing. I looked inside. In it, I spotted two whole eggs, along with a handful of what could only be doggie treats. Steak-flavored. I'd have bet my life on it.

It was fucking hilarious.

But laughing would be a mistake. She was obviously pissed. And for a good reason. Still, it was so cute that I could hardly help myself. Trying to keep a straight face, I looked up, meeting her gaze. "Really," I said, "you shouldn't have."

Her face froze. She looked down to the bag, still in my hands. She said nothing.

I reached into the bag and pulled out a doggie treat. I held it up and gave it a sniff. "I think I'll save this for later."

Chloe's eyes were still trained on the bag. She looked suddenly uneasy.

I didn't want her to be. This was my fault, not hers. I flicked my head to her pajama bottoms. "Penguins. Nice."

From the look on her face, she didn't think so. The morning was cool, but her face was looking suddenly warm, with a hint of pink creeping across her cheeks. She turned away. "I've gotta go."

"Wait," I said.

With obvious reluctance, she turned back to me.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the dog's tag. "I found this in my car." I held the tag out to her and waited.

She looked at the tag for a long moment. "Oh." Her voice was quiet. "Sothat'swhy you stopped by?"

Mostly, it was just my excuse. But she was obviously uncomfortable and maybe only half-awake. Hell, she wasn't even dressed, not in normal clothes anyway. Selfishly, I wanted to wait and see what played out.

I could work with this. The way it looked, she felt bad about her reaction. If she felt bad enough, maybe she'd invite me inside for coffee.

All I had to do was wait. I wanted to. But that would be a dick move on my part. She deserved better.

"It was one of the reasons," I said. Grinning, I held up the bag. "But hey, thanks for breakfast."

She gave the bag a worried look. "Uh, sorry about that." Her gaze shifted to the silver medallion, still waiting in my outstretched hand. She cleared her throat and slowly reached for it.

At the feel of her warm fingers on my palm, I felt myself swallow. When she pulled away, the morning felt ten degrees cooler and not half as nice.

She gave me a smile, a real smile this time. "And thanks."

"No problem." I glanced toward my car. "Anyway, I better head back. See you around?"

Silently, she nodded, looking cute as hell, even with that messed-up hair and no makeup.

Reluctantly, I left her there, standing on the porch, still holding the pink hairbrush. The way it looked, she didn't even realize it was there.

Once inside my car, I fired up the engine. I waited just long enough to make sure she hadn't gotten herself locked out. And then, I backed out of the driveway and headed downtown, feeling a stupid grin settle across my face.

She was full of surprises. I liked that. And now I had a secret weapon, doggie treats. Woo the dog, win the girl. It could work, right?

Chapter 18

A familiar male voice broke my concentration. "What are you doing?"

Sitting in my study, I looked up. It was Bishop, looking half-amused, half-annoyed. I hadn't heard him come in. Then again, I never did. The guy was silent as a shadow.

He strode in and claimed the seat opposite me. He glanced down at my desk. "What the hell is that?"

I looked down. Scattered across my desk were a dozen small piles of doggie treats – different brands, different flavors. I reached for the nearest pile and plucked a treat off the top. I held it up. "I'm trying to match this."