New York, Actually

by Sarah Morgan

He pushed away from his desk and stood up just as his cell phone started to ring and Harriet’s name popped up.

  He ignored the phone. If it was a warning, then she was too late, and right now his priority was handling Molly, not finding out how she’d discovered the truth.

  The annoying thing was that he’d been intending to tell her that morning, but she hadn’t shown up. He’d assumed that whatever had made her run from him the day before was still bothering her. He’d dropped Brutus back with his sisters and told himself he’d try one more time tomorrow.

  Marsha’s voice stopped him at the door. “She said to give you a message. Said she hoped she wasn’t ‘ruffling your feathers’ by showing up here. Does that mean anything to you?”

  Yes. It meant she not only knew the dog didn’t belong to him, she also knew his name wasn’t Brutus.

  Ruffles.

  “How angry is she on a scale of one to ten?”

  “Why would she be angry?”

  “No reason.” Every reason. Daniel strode out of his office and took the elevator down to street level to meet his fate.

  He didn’t have to look far to find it. A crowd of women were huddled together in the middle of the foyer and he could see a brown-and-black tail poking between their legs. It was wagging wildly.

  Traitor, Daniel thought, and made a mental note to have a severe word with Brutus later. If the dog had a grain of loyalty he would have sided with Daniel and refused to come into the building. After all those walks. All the sticks he’d thrown. All the belly rubs, and the dog hairs he’d picked off his clothing. He’d never witnessed such a display of canine ingratitude.

  Strains of the conversation wafted over to him.

  “He’s gorgeous.”

  “What an amazing dog, does he really belong to Daniel Knight? I never even knew he owned a dog. He doesn’t seem like the type.”

  “Oh, he’s a real dog lover,” came a bright, female voice that Daniel recognized immediately as Molly’s.

  Why didn’t she sound angry?

  And then he heard her voice again, sweet and a little breathless.

  “Didn’t you know? He walks his dog every day in Central Park. It’s how we met. So romantic.”

  So that was the way she was going to play it. Clever.

  What she had in mind wasn’t rage, but revenge.

  During one of their conversations he’d told her that he never took his private life to the office, so she’d brought it right here to his door, and from the looks of it she was determined to cause him maximum embarrassment.

  Ready to perform damage control, he strode across the marble floor toward the little group. “Molly! This is a surprise.”

  Molly rose to her feet and for an infinitesimal second her eyes met his. And then she smiled.

  It was the first time in his life he’d been afraid of a smile.

  “Daniel! Darling.” She reached up and kissed his cheek, and his last coherent thought before his senses were caught in the blast was that he wished she meant it. As her lips brushed his jaw he was transported back to the weeping willow, her body pressed against his, his pulse pounding as he felt the erotic slide of her tongue against his.

  He wanted to power her back to the reception desk and flatten her to the smooth glass surface, but fortunately for his reputation Brutus intervened. The dog gave a delighted bark and leaped on him, clearly thrilled to see Daniel. Daniel was surprised to discover the feeling was mutual, and not simply because the animal had stopped him from risking arrest for indulging in obscene behavior in a public place.

  “Hi, Brutus.” He bent to greet the dog, ridiculously pleased that his sisters hadn’t yet found a new home for him. The dog licked his hand and wagged his tail so hard he almost lost his balance on the slick polished floor. “This is a surprise.”

  Molly gave him a playful smile. “But a good surprise, I hope. Don’t ‘ruffle’ his fur, Daniel.” The emphasis was faint but impossible to miss. “You know he always likes to look his best.”

  Daniel straightened, assessing how far she was prepared to go to humiliate him. “I wasn’t expecting the pleasure of a visit.”

  Her smile told him she knew exactly how much of a “pleasure” this visit was.

  “I know we’re not supposed to bother you at work, but Brutus—” she emphasized his name “—was missing his daddy so badly.”

  Daniel winced at “daddy.” Clearly she was prepared to go all the way. From what he knew about her she was smart and professional. He was pretty sure the word daddy wasn’t usually part of her vocabulary, especially not in this context.

  She dropped into a crouch and held Brutus’s face in her hands as she talked in an exaggerated baby voice. “Tell daddy how much you were missing him, you poor baby,” she crooned. “You wanted him to snuggle with you and tickle your tummy like he does when he’s home, isn’t that right?”

  The three girls from reception who had left their posts to fondle Brutus were all gaping at him. Clearly the image of him “snuggling” with anything was as alien as thinking of him as “daddy.” His reputation was disintegrating in front of his eyes. He didn’t care about that. He did care about the major client who was stepping out of a car outside the building. He estimated that he had about two minutes to execute damage control or he’d have a bigger problem than a few dog hairs on his suit.

  “Brutus is struggling on the shiny floor, so why don’t we take this outside and—”

  “We’ll be really quick. Brutus brought you a present.” She used the same ridiculous voice. A voice he’d never heard her use before.

  A voice that told him he was royally screwed.

  “Molly—”

  “Did you bring your daddy a special present? Shall we give it to him now or make him wait until later?” Her singsong voice carried across the stark, businesslike interior of his office building and Brutus, whipped into a frenzy of excitement by her tone, whined and wagged his tail so hard he almost sent one of the receptionists flying.

  Daniel grabbed Brutus’s lead, intending to take him out onto the street where they could continue the conversation in some modicum of privacy, but Brutus was so excited to see him that he leaped up and planted his paws in the middle of Daniel’s chest.

  Recognizing the ridiculousness of the situation, Daniel laughed. If he ever had decided to get a dog, he would have chosen a dog exactly like Brutus, who had a healthy disregard for people’s opinions and society’s conventions.

  “Oh, he is so pleased to see his daddy.” Molly sounded delighted and Daniel decided to play her at her own game.

  Sometimes, when you were caught in a fast-flowing current, the best thing to do was to stop fighting it.

  “And I’m so pleased you dropped by. I left early this morning and didn’t want to wake you.”

  Her eyes widened and color streaked across her cheeks.

  Over her shoulder Daniel saw his client close the car door.

  One minute until he walked into the building.

  He had to find a way to make Molly run, and he only knew one way.

  He tugged her against him and she swayed off balance and landed with her palm flat against his chest. She gave a gasp, but before she could protest, he kissed her. He’d intended to keep it brief, but the moment her mouth opened under his he lost track of time. He slid his hand into the silk of her hair, cupping the back of her neck and holding her head steady for his kiss. He explored her mouth, absorbing her, tasting her.

  It was only when someone cleared their throat, that he remembered where he was and reluctantly let her go.

  They stared at each other, dazed. It was hard to know which of them was most thrown by the kiss.

  “I’ll see you later.” Somehow he managed to speak. “I should be home by eight. Don’t cook. I know you have a lot on your mind right now…” Like a thousand different ways to kill him. “I’ve got this.” He saw the look of alarm on her face as she realized she was no longer the one in charge.

  “There’s no n
eed to—”

  “I insist. It’s my thank-you to you for looking after Brutus while I’m working.”

  The client walked through the door and Daniel decided it was time to end this encounter. “Rebecca?” He turned to one of the girls who worked on reception. “Ask Marsha to call Rob and get him to bring the car around. He can take Molly and Brutus home.”

  “Of course, Mr. Knight.” She hurried back to the desk and the rest of the women gradually dispersed, no doubt to spread the gossip that unattached, incurably single, man-about-town Daniel Knight was finally involved with a woman. And enjoying sole ownership of a dog.

  He suspected office life was about to take a turn for the complicated.

  Acknowledging the client with a lift of his hand, Daniel took Brutus’s lead and led him out to the street.

  Molly turned, a dangerous spark in her eyes. “You borrowed a dog.”

  “I did.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ll tell you that if you tell me why you ran away after that kiss in the park.”

  She took a step backward, flustered. “That has nothing to do with anything. You used a dog to meet me.”

  “Yes.”

  “Were you intending to tell me at some point?”

  “Today. But you didn’t show up.”

  “I was busy. I have a meeting with my publisher later, and—”

  “And that kiss yesterday freaked you out. Admit it.”

  Her breathing was rapid. “It was—”

  “Yes, it was.” He dropped his gaze to her mouth and wondered whether to complicate things by kissing her again right now. He had a client waiting, so probably not the best idea. Next time he kissed Molly he didn’t want a time limit.

  “You didn’t only borrow the dog. You changed his name.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re not even going to deny it or make excuses?”

  “It’s the truth. I’m pleading guilty to all of it. Why did I do it? Because I wanted to meet you. You intrigued the hell out of me, Molly. You still do. And I’m answering all of your questions, but you still haven’t answered mine.”

  She ignored that. “I couldn’t work out why he never seemed to know his name. At first I thought he was disobedient and then I wondered if he had hearing issues, but all the time it was because Brutus wasn’t his name! That’s shocking.”

  “Brutus!” The dog’s head whipped around and Daniel crouched down to make a fuss over him. “He knows his name now.”

  She scowled at him. “That isn’t—”

  “Which name do you think suits him best? Ruffles or Brutus?”

  She stared at the dog and then at him. “That’s not the point.”

  “It’s exactly the point.” Daniel straightened. “He’s a strong, male dog. He needs a strong, male name.”

  “That’s sexist. And a person’s name has no bearing on their identity.”

  “You really think he’s a Ruffles?” He stepped to one side to let the flow of pedestrians pass.

  Her mouth opened and closed. “You have to win every argument.”

  “I’m a lawyer. Arguing is part of my job, just as analyzing behavior is part of yours. But I’m going to save you a job, Molly. You want to know what’s going on here? I’ll tell you. When I want something badly, I go for it. And I want you. It’s that simple.” He watched as her breathing turned shallow.

  “You don’t think it’s a touch unscrupulous involving a dog?”

  “Brutus was happy enough to join me in Central Park. Happier, I suspect, than he was joining you on a jaunt across New York City when the sole purpose wasn’t a run in the park but for him to play a key role in embarrassing me in front of my colleagues.” He saw guilt flash across her face.

  “I took good care of him.”

  “You know what I think, Molly?” He leaned closer. “I think you’re relieved this happened because now you have an excuse to back away.”

  “I don’t need an excuse. I can simply tell you to back off.”

  “I mean with yourself. You can tell yourself that you’re backing away because I borrowed a dog. But we both know the dog isn’t the reason.” His phone buzzed and he cursed softly. “I have to go. I have a meeting. But I’ll try and get away early. Hopefully I’ll be free by eight.”

  “What? No.” She pushed her hair back, flustered. “Daniel, we’re not meeting up later.”

  “There are things you need to say and it isn’t good for a person to bottle them up. So I’ll drop by later and you can say everything that is currently bubbling up inside you and threatening a major explosion. Give me your address.”

  “You don’t need my address. I’ve said everything I came here to say.”

  “Somehow I doubt that.”

  “You made me think you were a dog person!”

  Daniel glanced from her to Brutus, who was wagging his tail, a dopey expression on his face. “Turns out I might be a dog person, which is a tad confusing for both of us.” He stooped and talked firmly to Brutus, man-to-man. “Look after her on the way home, do you hear me? You’re in charge. No running across roads. No drinking from dirty puddles.” Brutus nudged his leg and whined with delight. Daniel thought to himself that if half his clients were as relaxed and easy to please as Brutus, his working day would be a lot less stressful.

  Molly glared at him. “I suppose you think you’re off the hook?”

  “No.” Daniel straightened. “But we can talk about it tonight. And we can talk about that kiss.” He nodded toward the road. “Rob will take you home, or to my sisters’ apartment, or wherever it is you want to go.”

  “The car will be covered in dog hairs.”

  “Rob is a man who can handle most things. I can’t imagine a few dog hairs are going to throw him off his stride. Your address?”

  She hesitated and then told him. “If you show up, I might kill you.”

  Daniel smiled. “I’ll see you at eight, Molly. That should give you time to figure out a few million ways to achieve that objective.”

  Ten

  She did not need to figure out how she felt. She knew how she felt. She was mad at him! He’d lied to her. Did he seriously think she was going to get involved with him after the stunt he’d pulled? And as for the suggestion that she was using what had happened as an excuse to push him away. It wasn’t an excuse, it was the truth.

  No woman in her sound mind would get involved with a man who borrowed a dog to meet her.

  She simmered as the sleek car purred through the traffic that clogged midtown Manhattan.

  When she arrived at the twins’ house, Harriet opened the door, looking guilty. “I don’t know what to say to you. I feel terrible about this. If you don’t want to speak to us ever again, I’ll understand. I’ll recommend new dog walkers.”

  “You’re the best dog walkers in Manhattan. I don’t want anyone different. How’s my best boy?” Molly waited for Valentine to come bounding to meet her but instead he stayed where he was, head on his paws, uncharacteristically lethargic. “What’s wrong?”

  “I was going to ask you about him. He seems a little off-color.” Harriet closed the door and then removed Brutus’s lead. “Was he fine yesterday?”

  “Yes. And he was fine when I took him to the park this morning.” She watched as Brutus nudged Valentine. When the other dog wouldn’t play, Brutus lay down next to him.

  “They’re so darling together,” Harriet breathed. “Could Valentine have eaten something? He often tries to do that, doesn’t he? It’s one of the reasons I don’t usually walk him with another dog. I have to keep a close eye on him.”

  “He didn’t eat anything. We weren’t even there for long.” Molly thought back. She’d been lost in thought, preoccupied by Daniel. She hadn’t been paying as much attention as usual. Guilt punched her in the stomach, and underneath the guilt was anxiety. It wasn’t like Valentine to lack energy. “I suppose he might have eaten something. It’s possible.”

  “I’m sure it’s nothing. I’ll ke
ep an eye on him and if I’m worried I’ll call the vet.”

  “I’ll cancel my meeting.” She started to hunt for her phone but Harriet shook her head.

  “Don’t do that. You’re not far away and I’ll call if I’m worried. How did it go with Daniel? I hope he apologized.”

  Molly dropped to her knees next to Valentine, anxious about him. “He’s saving that for tonight.”

  “Tonight?”

  “He’s coming round to have a conversation.”

  Harriet’s face brightened. “Oh, well that’s—”

  “It’s not anything.”

  “That’s a shame. You’re the first woman who might actually be able to handle him. Daniel is used to women falling all over him. It happened the moment he hit puberty. Girls came up to Fliss and I, wanting to know how to attract his attention. He’s always had the pick of the bunch. I honestly don’t think he has ever heard ‘no’ from a woman.”

  “Well, he’s heard it now.” Except that he didn’t appear to be listening.

  “You’re totally mad at him. I don’t blame you at all.”

  “What upsets me isn’t only that he pretended to own a dog that wasn’t his, but the convoluted story he made up about his background. Can you believe he actually told me Brutus was a casualty of a bitter divorce case? He told me the man only kept him to punish his wife because he knew how much she loved the dog, and then when he realized he didn’t want the dog the wife wouldn’t take it back because she thought he deserved it. I believed him. I was upset for Brutus.”

  “Oh, that part wasn’t a lie. Daniel really did rescue the dog from that vile divorcing couple up in Harlem. That was the truth. The only bit about that story he conveniently missed out was that he didn’t keep the dog—he brought it straight to us.”

  Wrong-footed, Molly stared at her. “But why would he even have known about the dog?”

  As if aware he was the topic of conversation, Brutus stood up and wandered to the sofa to take a closer look at the puppy Harriet was fostering.

  Harriet watched him. “Daniel acted for the man in that case, but they parted company in the end because they had a difference of opinion. I don’t know why. Daniel can be picky about the cases he takes. He specializes in difficult cases, particularly when they involve child custody.”