Puppy Love for the Veterinarian

by Amy Woods

  She wanted to think she knew the answer—Lord knew she did—but at the back of her mind there was still an inkling of fear that, contrary to what Ethan said, he might just walk out that door and not come back. She hated that fear, and recognized it for what it was—Clayton’s last hold on her—the last little piece of her trust he’d stolen. No apology could return it to its rightful place, she knew, but giving her heart to Ethan, letting him teach her to trust again, would be a pretty good place to begin.

  Ethan leaned forward and took her face in his hands. “Absolutely, I would still be here, June. Absolutely. I am still here, and I’m not going anywhere if you don’t want me to.”

  “Oh, Ethan, I’m so glad to hear that.”

  “Jessica broke my heart, too, not in the same way as yours but close enough. She abandoned me in a different way.”

  “Do you mind if I ask how?” June whispered.

  “No, not at all. I want to tell you everything. After we’d been together for a while, I found out that she was engaged and had been cheating on her fiancé with me. I know it’s not the same, but it hurt so much, and I really thought I’d never be able to trust a woman ever again. When I found out she’d been lying to me the whole time, that I’d been played like a damn fool, well, I decided then and there that I was done giving my heart away.”

  June nodded, her heart aching for him, but glad he’d felt close enough to her to share what had happened to him. Everything made more sense in light of that knowledge.

  “So when I met you—” he smiled “—when you came crashing into my father’s clinic with those two puppies under your coat, I was instantly attracted to you, and it only grew from there. I thought that if I put boundaries around our relationship, I could keep that attraction from becoming something more, but I was powerless from the beginning. I see that now, and my only regret is ever trying to keep you out.”

  He squeezed her hands, kissing her cheek before continuing. “I should never have compared you to Jessica in my heart, June.” He shook his head. “You’re nothing like her, in all the best ways possible. You are kind, sweet, openhearted and brave—so very brave—to have put your life back together after that asshole took everything from you. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I admire your courage. I also should never have tried to keep from letting you in, because ever since I did, I’ve been happier and a better man than ever before.”

  His eyes bore into hers as her own moistened with tears of joy. He was saying everything she’d wanted to hear since she’d met him, and it was all she needed it to be.

  “I love you, June. I love you with everything that I am.”

  “Oh, Ethan,” she said through tears, “I love you, too. More than anything. And, just as importantly, I trust you one hundred percent, with my whole heart.”

  He grabbed her hands then and pulled her up from the couch and straight into his arms, swirling her around like a movie heroine. But it was better than a movie because Ethan was real. By being trustworthy, honest and willing to open his heart to her after having it broken so badly, Ethan Singh was all the hero she could ask for.

  Finally, he set her back down and kissed her long and hard, his lips conveying all the passion that had built up between them, stronger and fiercer than the first time they made love.

  “One more thing, June.”

  “Yes?”

  He looked down at her with twinkling eyes. “I’d like for you to give the puppies names. You can call them whatever you like, and they’ll be ours to keep.”

  Her heart nearly burst. “I was so afraid you’d given them away at the adoption event... Wait, what about Neena?” June’s hands flew to her mouth. “I love those puppies, and I feel like they’re my babies, but I’m not going to be the kind of woman who takes a puppy from a child who’s been promised one.”

  Ethan looked at her with enough warmth to heat her entire apartment building, plus the whole block. “That’s something I was going to tell you. I got a call from Harry earlier today and he gave me some news.”

  June clenched her hands until her nails dug into her palms.

  “It turns out Neena is severely allergic to dogs and we just had no idea.” Ethan let out a deep laugh.

  “Oh, my gosh,” June gasped. “How awful!”

  “No, no, sweetheart. It’ll be fine. Harry and Amani are going to get her a rabbit instead.”

  Now it was June’s turn to laugh. “So I really get to keep the puppies, then?”

  He nodded, brushing a finger along her cheek. “You really do. And I’m sorry I was such a jerk. I was so focused on trying to figure out how to keep myself from loving you that I completely missed the fact that you’d fallen in love with those little fur balls. And I have to admit—I have, too.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close for as long as she could stand. When she let go, he pressed his lips against hers, igniting a spark in her belly that she knew could only be quelled by spending the rest of her life with him.

  “Well,” he said, pulling his breathless mouth from hers. “You know what you have to do now.”

  “What?” she asked between the kisses she was busy dotting along his deliciously-scented neck. “Take you back to my bedroom and have my way with you?”

  “Obviously that, yes,” he growled, the low, throaty sound sending sparks to her groin. “But first, something else.”

  “What?”

  “You have to name the puppies.”

  June threw her head back and laughed, all the tension and pain from the past flowing out of her. “What should I name them?” she asked.

  “I can’t tell you that,” he said. “I was the idiot trying for so long to get you to give them away. They’re ours now, but you’re the one who gets to decide what we’ll call them.”

  She bit her lip, looking up at the ceiling as she considered all of the possibilities.

  “It’s so hard,” she said, grinning. “Naming one puppy would be difficult enough, but two?” She tossed up her hands. “That’s going to take a while.”

  He looked down into her eyes, his own reflecting all of the joy that threatened to burst out of her. “That’s absolutely fine, June. Take as long as you need.”

  He kissed her.

  “We have all the time in the world.”

  Epilogue

  One year later...

  The weather for their wedding could not have been more different than the season in which Ethan and June had met.

  There wasn’t a snowflake in sight as June walked down the aisle toward Ethan, her smile shining brighter than the July sun. He didn’t even try to contain the grin that spread over his mouth as he watched her draw nearer, going a little too fast—adorable—as though she could not wait to start their life together.

  He could not have agreed more. Their hearts were absolutely on the same page.

  She joined him underneath the archway her bridesmaids had covered in her favorite lilies, and he took her hands in his, joining them together forever as they exchanged vows.

  The next hours whizzed by in a blur as they were congratulated by one family member after another. Even though the official ceremony was that day, the wedding had lasted far longer in his father’s Indian tradition.

  Ethan had enjoyed every moment, his heart alive and full to bursting, surrounded by family, friends, their two growing puppies, Salt and Pepper, and the most wonderful woman in the world, whose beauty in a sari was beyond all imagination.

  But a part of him had to admit that he’d be relieved when it was all over and he could take his bride home.

  They’d been discussing their next move for months, Ethan having accepted a new position as department head at a university in Montana. Although he hadn’t pr
essured her, June had jumped at the chance to join him, sad to say goodbye to her hometown and the people that loved her there, but excited about the new chapter they planned to start together.

  She still carried a dream of opening a bakery of her own, but she’d been willing to put that on the back burner so that she could be with him in his new state, which made the surprise he had for her that day all the more special. June wasn’t expecting it at all, and he couldn’t wait to tell her the news.

  Finally, after they’d eaten dinner and had a moment of quiet to themselves amid the storm of attention, he managed to pull his new wife aside. The light in her eyes was incredible as she looked up at him, glowing even beyond their normal brightness.

  “You look beautiful, Mrs. Singh,” he said, taking her hand and leading her out to the gazebo in his parents’ backyard. Fairy lights—numbering in the thousands, he was certain—had been strung up for the occasion and twinkled like June’s eyes.

  He pulled her close against his chest and held her there as they swayed back and forth in a slow dance. They had done the classic first dance as husband and wife, but that had been in front of everyone. This special moment, he wanted to share only with her.

  “June, I will never be able to properly thank you for agreeing to be my wife.”

  She gazed up at him for a second and then tucked her face back into his chest. She felt so right, there against his heart, and he vowed, as he had hundreds of times before, to always keep her safe and, to the very best of his ability, as happy as she made him—though he wasn’t sure such a thing was possible.

  “You’ve made me the happiest man alive, my June, and thanks to you, I always will be.” He felt her lips curve into a smile. “And you’ve already shown me more support than I’ve ever had the right to ask for.”

  She raised her head as they continued dancing. “What do you mean?”

  “Everything,” he said. “But right now I’m talking about your agreeing to come with me to Montana.”

  “Of course,” she said. “But why wouldn’t I, Ethan?” Her pretty ruby lips parted in a grin. “If that’s where you’re going, and that job will make you happy, then there’s nowhere else in the world I would rather be.”

  “And I’m so thankful for that, June.”

  They moved slowly to the music as he enjoyed the warm night air, the stars sparkling above and the feel of a beautiful, happy woman against his body.

  His woman, forever.

  The joy he felt at that knowledge was almost too much to keep inside, so he twirled her around and around until she laughed for him, the sound of her voice as refreshing as a cool spring on a hot day.

  “There’s something else I want to share with you, though, Mrs. Singh.”

  Her nose crinkled adorably as she grinned at the sound of her new name.

  “You like that, do you?”

  “I do,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Very much.”

  “Good, because I can’t wait to say it to you when we’re really alone.”

  She swatted him, then, moving her arms to his neck, pulled herself up so she could kiss him.

  It was nearly impossible not to be aroused by the feel of her warm body against his. She was so beautiful in the ivory dress she’d chosen, the heart-shaped neckline showing off her gorgeous curves.

  “I can’t wait to get this incredible dress off you,” he said. “But there’s something else I wanted to tell you.”

  She stopped dancing and opened her eyes; they were like emerald gems when she glanced up at him. “What is it, my love?”

  “June, I know we’ve been talking about you opening up a bakery someday, somewhere near my work and the home we’re building.”

  “Yes?” Her expression was a mixture of apprehension and excitement.

  “Well, I hope you won’t be upset with me, but I’ve sort of taken the liberty of...buying you a bakery.”

  She jumped back, her arms flailing to her sides. “Ethan! Are you serious?”

  “Completely. And, June, it’s truly amazing. Ready for operation, stainless-steel, top-of-the-line appliances, the works.”

  Her hands flew to her mouth. “Oh, Ethan.”

  She threw her body into his torso and squeezed his waist. “Thank you so, so much. I’ve wanted this for so long.”

  Unable to contain his joy at her pleasure, Ethan pulled his cell phone from the back pocket of his tuxedo pants. “Here,” he said, sliding a thumb over the screen to unlock the phone. “I’ve got pictures for you, and specs, and everything else.”

  She thumbed through the photos, making approving noises at each one. He’d spent ages looking for places online, calling folks in the area to see if they thought it was a good place for the kind of business his wife wanted to run. Everyone he’d spoken to had been ecstatic about the idea of a new bakery coming to their area.

  And now he had confirmation that June was happy with his choice.

  It wasn’t possible for the day to get any better; he would have bet money on that.

  “So, you like it?” he asked, needing her to put into words what he could already see on her face.

  “Like it? Ethan, it’s the best gift anyone’s ever given me, with the one exception of this.” She held up her wedding ring, tilting it so that its angles caught the light.

  He’d chosen an ample round emerald circled by seed diamonds because it reminded him of her lovely eyes.

  “I’m so thankful, and so happy, Ethan, but I do have one question.”

  “Go for it.”

  Her eyebrows knit. “Why did you do this, when you know I got the money back from Clayton and it’s more than enough to buy a bakery?”

  He’d thought long and hard about the answer to that question well before she’d asked it. He knew her money was earmarked for a bakery, and he’d taken a risk in buying the place himself, aware that she might be disappointed she hadn’t done it completely on her own.

  But that was just it. She wasn’t on her own anymore, and he wanted her to know that without a doubt.

  “I know you could have bought the bakery yourself, June, and I hope you’re not angry with me for doing it as a surprise. But the thing is—I wanted you to know that I’m all in, one thousand percent. Buying that place for you, in the town we’re going to call home together, was the best way I knew to show you how committed I am to this marriage.”

  “Oh, Ethan, how could I be angry? It’s the most wonderful thing anyone’s ever done for me and I am over the moon about it.”

  “I thought it would be a symbol of how much I love you. Your dream was stolen before, and I wanted to give it back. I wanted you to know that you can trust me to love you well.” He grabbed her hands. “Do you trust in me, June?”

  “With all my heart, Ethan. With all of my heart.”

  With that, he swirled her around the dance floor once more.

  When he set her back down, though, June looked up at him, a mischievous grin on her lips. “I have a little surprise for you, too, Ethan.”

  He held her out at arm’s length and caught the split second her eyes flickered to her midsection.

  “You’re not...”

  June nodded, biting her lip. “I am.”

  “I’m going to be a father?”

  “You are,” she said, bursting into tears and laughter all at once.

  As he lifted her into his arms to carry her off into their future, Ethan realized he’d been wrong about one thing
that night—it definitely could get better.

  In fact, now that they had the promise of everything they’d wanted in a life together—it was the very best.

  * * * * *

  Find the next installment of Amy Woods’s

  PEACH LEAF, TEXAS miniseries,

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  Officer Wyn Bailey has found herself wanting more from her boss—and older brother’s best friend—for a while now. Will sexy police chief Cade Emmett let his guard down long enough to embrace the love he secretly craves?

  Read on for a sneak peek at the newest book in New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne’s HAVEN POINT series, RIVERBEND ROAD, available soon from HQN Books.

  Riverbend Road

  by RaeAnne Thayne

  CHAPTER ONE

  “THIS WAS YOUR dire emergency? Seriously?”

  Officer Wynona Bailey leaned against her Haven Point Police Department squad car, not sure whether to laugh or pull out her hair. “That frantic phone call made it sound like you were at death’s door!” she exclaimed to her great-aunt Jenny. “You mean to tell me I drove here with full lights and sirens, afraid I would stumble over you bleeding on the ground, only to find you in a standoff with a baby moose?”

  The gangly-looking creature had planted himself in the middle of the driveway while he browsed from the shrubbery that bordered it. He paused in his chewing to watch the two of them out of long-lashed dark eyes.