Page 36 of Taming Grumpy Dr. Beast

“Yes.” I didn’t know how Dad would react to having a pet, but I’d deal with that when I got home and pray for the best. “Paul?”

“Yes, Lily?”

“Can you take us to the nearest pet store? We’ve got some shopping to do before we bring the newest addition home.”

“Jaxon?” Paul asked.

I held my breath. Surely he wouldn’t say no.

With a slight lift of his chin, Jaxon gave the okay.

I shifted my position so I faced him, thinking maybe I could get him to talk to me. Instead, his long legs stretched out in front of him, his hips slightly forward on the seat, completely distracted me from what I was about to say. I swallowed and tried not to think about his legs or his hips or what was between them.

I drew in a sharp breath, quickly averting my eyes. He glanced over at me for a second before going back to scrolling through his phone and typing out responses every few moments. I really needed to play this cool. I mean, the guy was a jerk ninety-eight percent of the time I was near him, but just when I decided he was a total asshole, he did something unexpected. Something nice. Like help me save a stray dog.

I stared out the window, the silence in the car weighing down on me. My knee bounced as I contemplated one topic after the other to bring up. Without anything interesting to say, I pulled out my phone and read through articles about how to best care for injured and malnourished dogs. When I was done, I looked at Jaxon, hoping he might turn his head my way at the same time.

No such luck.

I have a hard time with silence. When I was alone reading or working, it didn’t bother me. I enjoyed the quiet. Although, as soon as someone else entered the room, it became uncomfortable. I had this incessant need to talk. Maybe to make up for how awkward I really felt inside.

When I was little, it was hard for me to relate to kids my age. What I learned through observing other children was that once I asked questions about them, they opened up and ended up carrying most of the conversation. I wondered if that would work with Jaxon?

“So, have you ever had a pet before?” I knew he was against having a dog, but maybe it was because he lost a beloved pet long ago.

“No,” he answered, not even looking up from his phone.

“Ah, well, I had a cat growing up.”

His silence had me chewing at my bottom lip.

“Even though I didn’t have a dog, my best friend has one. I’m around him all the time.” I was afraid my admission of not having a dog would make him think I couldn’t care for one.

“Okay,” he answered. This time, he at least looked up. Even if it was to throw a confused glance my way.

“I sent her a text just to double check all the things we’d need at the store.” Why was I sharing this with him?

“I’m sure an employee there can help us.” He turned his attention back to his phone.

I frowned. Maybe him being silent was better if these were the type of responses I was going to get. “Right. Of course, but it’s still good to be informed before we get there. I also read at least three articles about how best to care for dogs who’ve faced starvation once they’re home. And, um—”

He put his phone down. His eyes fixated on me as though he were trying to figure me out.

My cheeks grew warm from his open appraisal. All the facts I was about to spout off flew out of my head. His deep blue eyes drew me in and I thought I saw an answering heat in his gaze.

His pupils darkened. “Lily?”

I pressed the backs of my hands to my cheeks, hoping to cool them down. “Nothing. It’s nothing important.” Honestly, I couldn’t recall what I wanted to say to begin with.

Thankfully, he let it go and turned back to his phone. Soon Paul let us know we’d be arriving at the store in a few minutes. I needed to pull myself together, or Jaxon would kick me and the dog out before our time was up.

***

“MS. KET— ER, ANGELA, I can’t wait for you to see him.” I gushed about what I believed to be the most adorable animal in the world.

Her loud, boisterous laugh bounced off the walls of the hallway as we made our way to the dining room. “Istillcan’t believe Jaxon agreed to let you bring the dog back here.”

“Yeah,” I responded softly. Angela didn’t need to know how I twisted Jaxon’s arm to make it happen. “He wasn’t so terrible about it. I mean, he did save the dog.”