“Wow.”
One little word, and it burrowed through to the heart of her. Well, that little word and the precious, precocious glare of her feline subject. “Is she not adorable?”
“I have to admit, this is an amazing thing you’re doing. I’m not surprised they’re all adopted after you take their pictures.” He looked down at the cat, who scowled petulantly back. A telltale purr suggested she wasn’t as mad about the situation as she let on, and Rue and Ethan shared a grin. “More people should do this.”
“I’m glad you agreed to tag along,” she said.
“I almost didn’t.”
“Why not?” She asked the question in the haze of easy companionship they had going on, completely forgetting his earlier expression over the topic of animal rescue. Great.
But his gaze was steady, at least enough so that she didn’t immediately feel like an ass. However, relief came too soon.
“Because of my wife.”
Chapter Six
Rue’s face fell, and Ethan immediately felt like a jerk. “It’s okay,” he said. “I mean, I wasn’t sure at first, but it’s okay. Doing something that meant something to her is…good.”
“I swear I had no idea,” she said. Was she actually rattled? He had begun to think the woman was impervious to, well, anything, but the emotion in her eyes suggested otherwise.
And damned if he didn’t hate it.
“I know,” he said softly. “You couldn’t have. She had a thing for animals. When we were in high school, she’s the one who got us all involved with the Von Adler Rainforest Initiative. Or she got my mom involved, rather, and it trickled down to the rest of us.”
“Trickled with the force of a sledgehammer,” Rue said with a small smile.
He laughed. “You figured that out about my mom, did you? She does everything full force. I don’t know where she finds the energy.”
“After raising you and your brothers, she’s got to be bulletproof.”
A twinge reminded him that wasn’t entirely true. “Almost,” he said. “I think I broke her heart. I think I’ve been breaking it every day for years. But maybe not now. Maybe it’s a little better for her now because of you.”
In the silence that followed, she swallowed. Hard. “And here I just thought we were rescuing you.”
“We are.” And somehow that lump landed in his throat. He forced a smile. “But we’re down to less than three weeks now.”
For some reason, he wasn’t as grateful for that today.
“About Amy. I wouldn’t have gotten you involved in this. You have no idea how sorry—”
“Nope.” He cut her off with a mock stern-face and softened it with a grin. “I’m glad. I wouldn’t have missed seeing you this way for anything. I feel like a better man for knowing you, and for having a very small part in this big thing you do.”
Rue’s blue gaze widened, then fell to somewhere in the vicinity of his chest, where his heart skipped and hummed for no reason at all.
“Hey, you two. I have a literal basket full of puppies. Want to give me a hand here?” Kate’s voice cut through the thick silence, and only then did Ethan realize the actual riot of noise happening around them.
He turned away from Rue to the sound of dogs barking from another room. Kate stood not far from them with five squirmy golden puppies rolling around in a basket, and he heard Rue’s breath catch as she reached for the most intrepid of the group, who had his paws on the edge and his nose poked over the side. She scooped up the dog then looked at Ethan. “It’s a good thing I’m leaving because I’d probably adopt them all. I’d put this place out of business all on my own.”
He ignored the funny feeling in his chest and took the basket from Kate, who wished them “the best of luck” before retreating.
“Where should I put them?”
Rue stepped ahead of him and moved the bench the cat had been on. “Right here,” she cooed to the puppy. In a less sing-songy voice, she added, “We’re just going with the basket. That will be challenge enough with these guys.”
“Gotcha.” He placed the basket on the floor and settled down next to it. Rue returned the puppy to the group, then sat directly in front of them.
“Over here by me,” she said as one of the dogs rolled out.
Ethan captured the escapee and sat next to Rue. “This is going to be interesting.”
“Not the worst opinion you could have,” she said with a wink. “Your job is to try to get them to look this way. You’re probably not going to be able to do it, but we’ll see what happens.”
For the next few moments, Ethan recaptured one escapee after another while Rue shot nonstop photos. By his count, she was well into the hundreds by the time she lowered the camera and gave him a thoughtful, mischievous look. “Your turn.”
“I’m sorry?”
She smiled brightly. “Hold a puppy and give me that sexy, moody kind of scowl thing you do.”
His jaw loosened. “I’m pretty sure this marks the first time any woman has ever asked a man to be moody.” Clearly he had absolutely no understanding of women. None.
She gently scratched the puppy’s head, her hand making light contact with Ethan’s chest. The subsequent sensation made him feel shaky, like she’d spun him in circles and he wasn’t sure which end was up. “I didn’t say be moody,” she corrected. “I just want the look. The dark, mysterious, maybe dangerous and all the more delicious for it look.”
“Uh, huh. This reeks of one of your calendar shots.”
“Don’t be silly. You’re wearing a shirt.”
He rolled his eyes, but he did as she asked. Sort of. He mostly just stared at her, figuring his regular face must be the moody one she referenced. Which wasn’t so great in general, but if she thought it dark, mysterious, and delicious, then he could certainly stare.
“Now hold him up by your face and look sweet.”
Ethan scowled. “I don’t do sweet. What happened to moody?”
She grinned. “Don’t worry. I definitely see moody. Now just soften it up a little. Deep and sensitive.”
Did people really have so many expressions? He might, but not that he could pull up on cue. He had a feeling she was toying with him. “How exactly does one look sensitive?”
“You know, I had less trouble with the sharks.”
“That may be, but I have a feeling I know why one tried to take your camera. You probably told him to look moody.”
She laughed, and it was gorgeous. “Just hold the puppy.”
“Fine.” He lifted the little guy and stared at the camera. He had no intention of smiling, but then a rough little tongue curled against his cheek, and he broke into a grin.
“Perfect,” she said, taking a dozen pictures while he looked nothing like moody.
“Seriously?” He wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or the dog, but it didn’t matter. It kind of was perfect, puppy breath and all. He released the little monster and watched him trot back to his litter mates, startled when an unexpected weight landed on his shoulder.
Ethan turned his head enough to see Shaggy, who was slightly terrifying at such proximity, with her head on his shoulder. “Um…”
Rue drew her hand to her mouth, then without missing a beat raised her camera and start snapping photos.
“Don’t you dare move,” she said, her voice steeped with mischief.
He didn’t, not even when she lowered the camera and scooted right next to him and presented the display. “Is this not adorable?”
Ethan studied the picture. It was him, smiling. An unfamiliar sight, he realized with a pang. Shaggy, who was so ugly she was almost cute, had her chin resting on his shoulder, her eyes rolled toward him in a plaintive, pleading expression that was somehow as funny as it was pitiful. He gave Shaggy’s leathery skin a pat. Upon closer inspection, he found the dog did have a sparse patch of hair on her side, and he scratched it lightly. Her tail thumped a fast tempo.
“You guys are ganging up on me,” he said.
As he spoke, two of the puppies tumbled simultaneously from the basket. He and Rue made a grab for them at the same time, both of them missing. They bumped shoulders, and when Rue tipped to the side, he made a grab for her, only for them both to end up in a heap. In the immediate aftermath, no one moved, and he became blissfully, painfully aware of her warm curves pressed and nestled against him. It had been years since he’d felt that kind of body contact, and while guilt wasn’t the first emotion that hit him, it quickly followed, extinguishing all the warmth that preceded it.
Then the puppy assault began.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one lope, then tumble, landing in a tail-wagging, tongue-lapping ball of fur against Rue’s chin. She squealed and curled against Ethan, and he had little time to react before he felt a similar attack against his own cheek.
Until that moment, he’d forgotten just how ticklish he was.
Or how it felt to laugh. Really laugh.
By the time they extricated themselves from the ball of puppies, his face and stomach hurt in long-forgotten ways. He hadn’t felt so light in ages…at least not until his eyes met Rue’s, and an emotion he couldn’t identify socked him in the gut.
She smiled, and when his gaze tracked to her lips, he realized how close they were. Only inches separated them, and so few of those that he thought he felt her breath brush his face. Old feelings stumbled back from hidden corners of his heart. Like what it felt like for someone to look at him like that across a shared pillow, or to wake tangled in someone’s arms. But to his surprise, his mind’s eye hadn’t taken him back to Amy. Instead he saw Rue, blue eyes electric with laughter, mouth so perfect he couldn’t help but be drawn to it. Or her. He’d never met anyone like her. So much life. She made the somewhat smelly, decidedly unpolished back room of an animal shelter beautiful—not just because of how she looked, but for what she did.
“We should get back to work,” she said, breaking the moment. Not that it was a moment.
He’d probably freaked her out, staring at her like he had, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t help wanting that absolute zest she had for everything in life. He thought of her sharks and volcanoes and penguins. Definitely everything.
Not the kind of woman any man could hold.
Oddly, that made him feel better. He stood before he could give that too much thought. “I’m on puppy-wrangling duty.”
She drew easily to her feet. She had a great athletic body, muscles long and lean, but she still had curves. There wasn’t a man alive who wouldn’t notice a body like hers—especially not after the unexpected pleasure of finding himself pressed against it.
And he was staring again.
She cleared her throat. “I’ll just go see who Kate has ready next.”
Two hours later, they’d worked their way through every animal at the shelter. Even Shaggy, who thumped her tail relentlessly at the attention. Ethan was pretty sure the mutt actually smiled.
He knew he did. Amy had been a big supporter of animals, but her action had been in fundraisers and food drives. He’d never seen this side of things, and if asked, he probably wouldn’t have expected a photograph could make such a difference. But he saw now.
After they’d secured the last of the animals, Rue brushed off her shirt and packed up her gear while he folded the backdrop and stacked the props in the corner. When he finished, he looked up to find her watching him.
“What’s next?”
“Next?” One eyebrow lifted. “You mean you’re not ready to run?”
“I’m not much of a runner,” he said wryly. “I tend to hang on long after I’m needed.”
“So I’ve been told,” she said softly. “But I happen to think that makes you amazing. So next, I go back to my house and upload pictures to the rescue web site, and by morning, they’ll be viral.” She paused. “Want to come back to my place and help me choose files?”
“I’m covered in hair,” he said.
She cocked her head. “Really? I only noticed a happy trail kind of thing going on. Covered is a bit of an overstatement.”
“Yeah, I was talking about the animal hair.”
She bumped his shoulder as they walked toward the door. “You might be an animal for all I know. It’s usually the quiet ones.”
“Do I want to know what you know about the quiet ones?”
She stopped, leaving the two of them wedged in the doorway, facing one another. Impeccable timing. “I know you love hard,” she said, her voice almost a whisper in the darkened hall. “And a love like that is fierce, and it’s passionate. And it’s deep. And when you act on that, I bet it’s feral. Maybe not always wild, but always intense. Always earth-shattering.” She tilted her head, seemingly impervious to the terrible gnawing ache that she’d unleashed in him. “There’s not a woman in this world who doesn’t want to be loved like that.”
He swallowed. Hard. “You sound like you know.”
She looked away then, easing from the doorway in the same quiet motion. “No, I don’t,” she said as she walked away. “Never even close.”
He remained a step behind her as she said good-bye to Abbie and Kate, both of whom were also headed out. He watched as they departed, chatting about something that left them in frequent laughter.
Never even close.
He wanted to ask Rue why she sounded so sad about something she’d previously laughed off along with the story of her stolen underwear, but he didn’t get the chance. She spoke first. “I normally take the bus home.”
“Forget the bus,” he said, looking out over the humid night. “Cab’s on me.” Before the sentence had fully left his mouth, he’d flagged one down and scooted in after Rue. She gave her address and sat back against the seat.
He watched, entranced, as the city lights poured through the streaks on the cab window, painting her flawless face with uncharacteristic uncertainty. He’d never seen her anything close to defeated—not even by Boyd. Annoyed, fired-up, but this? This was different.
“Do you regret the whole relationship disaster thing,” he finally asked, “or would that just make it harder for you to get on a plane?”
She picked at a tear in the seatback in front of her. Her nails were the color of cotton candy. In that moment, even they seemed more cheerful than she. “It’s kind of hard to say,” she said. “I’ve never exactly been torn between staying and going. That model I dated for a year was doing his own thing.” She snorted. “Other than the boyfriend, I mean. His work took him from New York to Paris to Milan. He wasn’t in one place any more than I was. It worked. Or so I thought.”
He barely knew her, but knowing she’d never experienced a real, selfless love made him ache inside. Would that have been any different if she stayed put? “You’ve left the city a lot,” he said. “Why will this time bother your mom more than the others?”
“Because I’ve never been gone more than a few days at a time. If I’m awarded the internship, I’ll be gone for weeks. I’ll come back, of course, but never for long. Not as long as I have an option to be out there.”
Another piece fell into place. “I guess that explains why your house doesn’t look lived in.”
“I’m a minimalist by nature, but that’s probably not much of a coincidence.” She grinned, and the spark was back. “I do like the idea of having a home, but not having anything dragging me back.”
He frowned. “Dragging might be a bit harsh. The right guy will support your dreams. Lots of people travel for work.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want the ties. I want the freedom to run without having to answer to anyone.”
“Maybe if you met someone, you’d change your mind.” He couldn’t imagine her never falling in love. She would probably love better than anyone he knew. There was something about that wild, reckless, plane-jumping side of her that, wound with passionate love, would be bigger than anything.
“It’s not my mind. It’s my heart. It wants what it wants, kind of like yours does.”
Ouch
. He didn’t respond, and not just because she’d just performed a mic drop. Rather, he was still stuck on what kind of lover she’d be, and that wasn’t a place he needed to go. But still, he did. Playful, he decided. And wicked. That last part had his groin tightening.
She, thankfully, seemed oblivious.
“Logic can dictate the whole the right guy changes everything theory, but logic can’t change me. And neither will any man, or anyone else. People can want things for you all day long, but that doesn’t make it right for you.” She reached over and lightly touched the back of his hand. “You should understand that better than anyone.”
“I do.” And he hated to admit it, because he felt her emptiness. And her warmth. And he hated that she never planned on sharing that with anyone. Not wanting to feel that loss, he captured her fingers with his. When she gave him a hard look of surprise, he simply wound them tighter. And he didn’t let go until he had to pay for the cab. When he was done, he turned to find her watching him. No surprise there.
He followed her to the front door. “Why in the world do you take the bus when you have a car?”
“Parking is torture near the shelter. In fact, my driveway is probably the closest spot.”
He laughed as she unlocked the door and let him in. “Help yourself to a drink or whatever you want. I need to get out of this shirt.”
He quirked an eyebrow.
“And into another one,” she said pointedly. “This one has a wet spot of undetermined origin, and I’m not taking any chances that it’s not drool. I’ll grab my laptop and meet you back here in five.”
By the time she reappeared, he’d helped himself to a glass of water and snagged an iced coffee for her and was waiting for her on the sofa.
Her gaze landed on the coffee. “You’re officially the best date I’ve ever had. Thank you.”
He nodded, distracted. She’d changed from jeans to a pair of loose cotton shorts, and her T-shirt had been replaced with a tank top. He wondered if she would have gone so casual for anyone, or just poor, eternally taken him.
She settled next to him on the sofa, so close their thighs touched, and flipped open her laptop. After logging in, she inserted her memory card and looked up at him. “I really couldn’t have done this without you. You’re a lifesaver.” She frowned. “And that was a terribly unfortunate choice of words.”
The Three-Week Arrangement (Chase Brothers) Page 7
