Page 44 of Taming Grumpy Dr. Beast

I spun on my heel, attempting to flee. Until Lily spoke again and I turned back around, drawn to the timber of her voice, craving more of it.

Ms. Ketill and Lily sat together by the large window overlooking part of the garden. The sun streamed through the panes of glass, highlighting Lily’s dark brown hair with gold and red highlights.

Her pursed lips sipped from the mug she held in both hands. As she lifted the mug away, a small bead of liquid spilled from the corner of her mouth, her tongue darting out to catch it. I held back a groan as a bolt of heat raced through me.

My hands clenched in tight, hard fists, digging into the side of my thighs. For good measure, I began reciting baseball statistics to force my errant cock back down.

“Thank you so much for the coffee break, Angela,” Lily said, the warmth in her voice unmistakable. The two of them were growing closer, it seemed.

“I had a lovely time with you, Lily.” She smiled. Neither had noticed I was there yet.

Lily’s watch beeped, and an eager grin filled her face. “Oh, it’s almost time to go.” She gave off an excited squeal that turned into a squeak the moment she saw me.

“Jaxon, so lovely of you to join us.” Ms. Ketill raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow at me. She stood and gathered the coffee pot and cups, placing everything neatly on a nearby tray. “I think it’s lovely you’re here to go with Lily to pick up Patches.”

I blinked. Pick up who?

“The dog,” Ms. Ketill answered, correctly interpreting my expression.

Lily drew in a quick breath, her words rushing out of her. “Only if you want to.”

A slow, satisfied smile tilted the corners of Ms. Ketill’s lips. “Of course he’ll go with you. Otherwise, why would you be here, right, Jaxon?” She knew I’d been avoiding Lily, but had left it alone. Apparently, she had decided we had enough time apart.

“I have far too much to do,” I retorted.

Lily’s face fell.

I cursed under my breath.

“Really?” I hated when Ms. Ketill used that tone. The one that said she saw right through me. “I have access to your schedule, and the online class you’re teaching doesn’t meet today.”

“I have other responsibilities besides the classes I’m teaching,” I said, holding my ground.

“Mmm,” Ms. Ketill hummed. “Well, isn’t it a good thing I could clear it all so you can go.”

I lifted my chin in a tight nod.Well played Ms. Ketill. While she did, in fact, have access to my schedule and helped me manage it, she clearly knew there was nothing of importance listed for this afternoon, and would not let me lie to get out of picking up the dog.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and pretended to scroll through my calendar. “Ah, you appear to be right, Ms. Ketill. I must have mixed up my days. Good thing I have you.”

Lily’s gaze volleyed back and forth between me and Ms. Ketill, most likely sensing the undertones of our conversation, but not what was causing them.

I heaved a sigh. “Lily, it looks like I’ll be joining you today to pick up—” I hesitated.

“Patches.” She bit her lip. “You know, because he has all those random black spots like patches all over him.”

I nodded.

“I hope you don’t mind that I picked his name.” She hadn’t moved from her seat and her wide eyes still stared at me.

“Mind? I don’t know why I would, since the dog isn’t mine.”

She gave a quick nod. “Right.” Lily stood and thanked Ms. Ketill one more time. “I’ll be ready in just a minute. I need to finish putting away my supplies from earlier.”

“Sure.” I crossed over to my desk to pull out various folders, notes about a new class I was putting together on sixteenth century poetry. I should bring it with me, so I had something to do, a reason not to engage with Lily on the ride to the veterinarian’s office.

Lily edged out of the room and soon the sounds of papers shuffling, and her moving about in the rare book library filtered out to me.

A throat cleared, making me jump. “Jaxon, you will not bring work with you,” Ms. Ketill said.