by Emma Nichols
No one had ever told her to shut up before. That's for sure.
Kacie carefully washed Skipper's face and ears. “I loved the expression on Ashley's face when you told her to shut up.” Kacie couldn't suppress her huge smile. “I'll never forget it.”
“She had it coming.” Greg looked down at the half–asleep dog covered in soap bubbles. “Isn't that right, boy? That nasty, mean woman needed to go.”
Kacie's hand massaged the soap around Skipper's back. Her fingers accidentally brushing up against Greg's strong hand as he held Skipper in place.
Her eyes locked onto his. For the briefest moment, time stood still. Greg's suit coat was off, and his shirt sleeves were rolled up. He was a wet mess from bathing Skipper, yet he looked adorable.
Perhaps it was the love he felt for Skipper reflecting in his baby blues.
Perhaps it was his kindness of heart for taking the dog in and seeing to his needs.
Perhaps it was more.
He washed Skipper's tail with one hand. Ashley had shaved the tail and left a tuft of fur at the end. It resembled a lion's tail. She hadn't been careful enough and had, unfortunately, left little nicks and cuts all the way down. Greg was gentle.
“Is Skipper going to be all right?”
“He'll survive.” Her voice cut through the sound of the running water. “If Ashley prattled on so much, and you didn't listen to her, how could you be with such a monster?”
His eyelids lowered in what she thought was shame. “I don't even know anymore.”
Ashley looked model beautiful. Kacie knew why men would put up with such a woman. What she didn't understand was how it could be worth the price. They’d still have to wake up with the she–devil the next morning.
She cut off the water. “We need to dry him and put some medicated cream on his rash and cuts. He should stay the night.”
“I'll get him out of the tub.”
Greg placed a towel over his dog and then picked him up. Skipper's half–shut eyes stared up at Greg full of trust and love.
And that was a test Kacie firmly believed in. If an animal trusted you, you were a good person. She placed a pad into a cage. “This warming bed will keep him cozy until he dries. I'll also start an IV if you can put this cone around his neck.”
Greg glanced at the plastic cone. “He's going to hate this thing.”
“We’ll remove it once the rash dies down. Maybe in a day or two.” She placed the IV and closed the door of the cage.
“I'll watch him until he falls asleep.” Kacie wiped her hands on her vet smock and then removed it. Skipper's needs aside, she had enjoyed spending time with Greg. He had spent more time in her clinic than Braiden had over the last few years, and Greg took an interest in her career and trusted her with his dog.
It seemed foolish, but this evening felt special to her. She knew it couldn't last, though. She wanted him to stay, but said, “You're free to leave if you want.”
“I'm sorry about the reunion.”
The reunion was the last thing on her mind. She was a vet first and had a patient. Nothing else mattered. “It's fine. I got to see the people I wanted to see.”
“We never finished our dance.” He glanced down at his soaked shirt. “I'm a little wet, but I'd love to have another turn around the dance floor with the prettiest girl at the reunion.”
It was a bold move, but Greg wasn't ready to call it a night just yet.
He pushed the Pandora app button on his phone and brought up music from when they were teenagers. “I hate the music of today. We had the best songs back then.”
He walked to the light switch and dimmed the lights before reaching out his hand. “May I have this dance?”
The shy smile she gave him was all Kacie. It was the same one she had given him when she won the science fair their junior year, when she had told him she'd be interning for the local vet her senior year, and when he hugged her goodbye and left for college after graduation.
His heart pounded and sounded as though it were stuck in his ears. Hopefully, she wouldn't notice his sweaty palms. She'd probably think the slickness was only due to Skipper's bath water and not because he felt terrified.
He was asking another man's fiancée to share a dance. A private dance. It had been easy to dance with her at the reunion in a room full of witnesses, but this was different.
It felt more intimate.
She closed the distance between them, and he held her tight in an embrace. The ballad the app had played was their prom theme—slow and seductive. It was only by chance that the song had been selected, but it was perfect for the moment.
He hadn’t danced with her at the prom. It had never occurred to him to do so, even after the dance had been moved to the football field after the flooding rain. Now, their private “vet clinic” dance became all–consuming.
Her soft hand held his, and lightning shot through him. This was Kacie. His Kacie. The girl he used to make fun of as a child, the one he would tell all his secrets to, and the one he could always be himself around.
She let out a small sigh, and her breath brushed against his neck.
Do it, he thought. Just lean down and kiss her.
Her warm body swayed, pressed flush against his as they danced. The chorus repeated once more, and the song was nearly halfway done.
Don't be stupid, he thought. Kiss her.
She glanced up at him, her blue eyes piercing the dimly lit room and melting his heart. He only smiled back.
Stupid.
He had kissed so many women in his life. Why would kissing Kacie be so difficult? He had the perfect opportunity, and he’d just let it slip by.
He didn't know when she'd be tying the knot. But time ticked away. He didn't know her fiancé, didn't care. She wasn't married yet, and there was an opportunity, however slight, that he could make Kacie see him as more than just an old friend.
He didn't kiss her, but he allowed his hands to slip lower and curve around her thin waist. A slight moan escaped her, and he took it as a good sign. Another few inches and he would be cradling her firm backside.
Being already half–hard just having her this close was torture enough. He didn't need to be thinking of her bottom, or her long legs, or the fact that her chest now pressed firmly against his own.
Right now, he just wanted a kiss.
Wanted to taste her full lips. Devour her mouth and kiss her so hard that she'd forget all the past men in her life. Forget about her fiancé.
He licked his lips. The chorus began to repeat, and he knew the song would soon be over.
He felt like a kid playing hide–and–seek with the person who was it already up to nineteen out of twenty in counting, and he still hadn’t found a place to hide.
Why did his heart have to pound so hard?
“Greg?” Her soft eyes caught his, and then her gaze lowered to his lips.
He stopped swaying to the music. This was it. This was their moment.
He leaned down and kissed her. Tenderly at first, but then matching the pressure of her desire. Her hands entwined in his hair, and he gripped her firmly, allowing the passion to sizzle between them.
16
Kacie had been busy over the last two weeks. She checked her list once more. She had already found an apartment, opened a new bank account, and moved her few personal items out of the house. There was one more thing left to do.
She stared at the last item remaining on the list. Break up with Braiden and return his house key.
It would have been easier to do if he had been home over the last two weeks, but no. His so–called ‘business trip’ was followed by, what she assumed, was a legitimate business catastrophe that had him suddenly leave town.
And, according to the app on her phone, he actually did leave town this time.
She paced the hallway at the vet clinic. His plane would be landing now and she had a good hour before seeing him. Her hand clenched in a fist. She wanted to teach the lying cheat a lesson, but, right now,
just wanted the ordeal to be over with.
“I can lock up,” Derrick said as he walked past her carrying a sack of diet dog food. “I’ll finish unloading this prescription food and close up. Everyone else has already left.”
She followed him to the back room. “I really should leave, but I’m not really in a hurry tonight.”
Derrick put down the food, stacking it on a pile of others. “Are you thinking of taking Braiden back?”
Her job dropped. There was no way in hell that was going to happen. She gave him her best ‘are you kidding me’ expressions.
His hands went up in surrender. “I’m just making sure.”
She sat at the tiny table in the back of the room and glanced at the day’s mail. “It would be nice to torture Braiden a little first, but I’m tired of games.” Letting out a deep sigh, she then said, “I’m ready to get this over with so I can…”
“Start dating Greg?” Derrick’s eyebrows waggled. “I know you have had some dinners out, but you’re not calling him your boyfriend just yet.” He took a seat next to her. “Is something wrong with Greg?”
“No.” Her cheeks flushed. Derrick knew everything about her; there were no secrets, so she said, “We’ve gone out a few times, but until I officially break it off with Braiden… nothing can really happen yet.”
“You’re too good of a woman, Kacie Preston.” He shook his head. “Most women I know would have already had that man a dozen different ways—and in Braiden’s bedroom no less.”
She rubbed her head and then stared upward, letting her shoulders droop. “I’ve been so tempted. I can’t even tell you.”
It was killing her. Greg had been a perfect gentleman, and that fueled the flames even more. His understanding, his gentleness, his downright rugged, handsome good–looks. If that man smiled one more time and said, ‘you’re worth the wait’, she’d strip down and take him where he stood.
She was already feeling the heat of her body just thinking about him, so, in an effort to get her mind on something else, she thumbed through the mail.
Bills, bills, more bills. A letter in a brown envelope caught her attention. It was from her high school friend Steve. Her lease on the vet clinic was nearly up and she had contacted him about possible locations.
An email from earlier in the day was from Grady with some estimates on advertisements once she moved her clinic to a different location. She grinned thinking about how much Greg had supported her and the clinic. Even his friend Ned was going to help out with social media ads.
Things were moving so fast. And Greg was so sweet to talk to Grady on her behalf. He really had her best interest at heart.
“What else is bothering you?” Derrick took the letter from her hands and set it down. “Something else is wrong.”
There had been something eating away at her, and she didn’t like it. It was more than just relocating the clinic and breaking up with Braiden—even though those two items played a huge part of her life right now.
No. What really bothered her was how much she felt she needed Greg in her life. She never thought of herself as a woman who defined herself by the man she was with, but all she could think about was how lucky she was that he had come back to town. “Am I turning Greg into a rebound man?”
Derrick let out a boisterous laugh. “Kacie, you are one woman who has always been cautious. Cautious to a fault, honey.” He held her hands. “Most of the women I know have no clue what they want or how to get it. They just rush into everything—especially romances.”
“You don’t even date women, Derrick.”
“Uh–huh. That’s no accident.” He cleared his throat and leaned in. “You are not someone who makes life changes easily. But you are someone who has always followed her heart.”
“And look where it’s gotten me.”
“People get cheated on. That’s not on you. That’s on Briaden.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Can I trust my heart? Or am I looking for an easy way out of one relationship by jumping into another one?”
“Kacie, your heart has never let you down.” He glanced around the tiny room, his arms fanning out. “You followed it when you chose what career to have. You followed it when your mother was sick all those years ago. And you’re following it now to dump that lame–ass Braiden.”
All of those decisions had been the right ones. But was Greg different?
“What is your heart telling you about Greg?”
The loaded question lay heavy on her chest, but in all honesty, she knew she wanted to be with him. “I want to date Greg. See where it takes us.”
“Then follow your heart, honey.”
Epilogue
One Year Later
“Greg, the puppies need more water out front.” Kacie walked past him with a fluffy, white cat in her arms and a big smile on her face. “Mr. Whiskers just got his forever–home.”
That was the tenth adoption today, and it was only noon.
“We can refresh the water bowls, Dad,” Greg’s son said, grabbing one of the buckets of fresh water. His sister grabbed a second one, and the two went to the front of the store.
“Thanks for having the kids help out. This place is packed.” Kacie walked to the register and gave the cat to Derrick. “This one is ready to go,” she said, smiling at the young couple waiting to adopt him. “Remember to give them a coupon book for the hospital's grand opening.”
She glanced around the clinic, now turned into a non–kill animal shelter and full hospital. Location made all the difference. Her old friend Steve had been right about that. He’d managed a great deal on a corner lot for them where an old fabric store used to be. The building was huge, and the advertising Grady and Ned offered proved invaluable. The clinic, now called Bisset Animal Clinic, was doing well.
“Honey, we got some more donations.” Greg carried a box of puppies to her. “Six weeks old. I'm not sure what breed they are, but the man that dropped them off said he didn't want them.”
Two of the puppies poked their heads out of the box and yipped in her direction. “People need to spay and neuter their animals if they don't want a litter of little angels.” She patted one of the Yorkie pups, and the diamond in her wedding ring caught a ray of light from the overhead lamps, reminding her of how happy she had been the last year. “I'll give them a quick examination. Maybe we can get them out in the playpens for adoption this afternoon.”
She reached for the box, but Greg stopped her. “Let me carry them to the back for you, sweetheart. You need to take it easy. You're seven months pregnant, after all.”
She rubbed her belly and was thankful that she had built the life she wanted and hadn’t settled. Greg's kids were spending the summer with them and would be there for the birth of the baby. A houseful of five, plus the three puppies she’d adopted over the past year, made their house a home.
THE END
About the Author
Regina Morris is a part-time writer who would love to quit her day job and become a full-time novelist. Tea and chocolate fuel her so that she can write at night and on the weekends whenever she can find the time.
She has lived in many different parts of the world, and grew up on military bases since her father was career military. She moved to Austin, Texas to attend the University of Texas, where she got her degree many, many years ago. Austin is such a great place, that she has lived there for more than three decades.
Most of her short stories are contemporary romances, and they are all sweet with a low heat level. Her paranormal vampire stories in her COLONY series have a higher heat level.
She is a busy wife, mother of two, and puppy owner who loves to write and connect with fans through email and social media. Once a month she sends out a newsletter containing author news and fun stuff. Please visit her at www.reginamorris.com and consider connecting with her through her newsletter: newsletter.reginamorris.com.
Reunion Fling
Bethany Lopez
Reu
nion Fling Copyright © 2018 by Bethany Lopez
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Reunion Fling
When the invitation to my ten-year high school reunion came in the mail, I thought, why on earth would I go to that?
I’d only gone to Linwood High my freshman year, so what was the point?
I certainly didn’t have anything to brag about… I was a recently divorced, single mom who managed an Applebee’s and hadn’t had an orgasm that wasn’t self-induced in too many years to count.
That’s when it hit me.
I could go to the reunion and be whoever I wanted… Maybe even have a little Reunion Fling.
1
Linwood High Class of 2008
Molly Murphy
“Why are you even going to this reunion anyway? You went to that school for like, what, one year?” my best friend, Thalia, asked.
We were having coffee a couple of hours before my flight to Pennsylvania. I’d asked her to meet me because I needed to know if I was being completely crazy. I hadn’t even gotten to the real crazy yet, and she was already freaking out.
“I actually wasn’t planning on going, but then I had this idea, and, well, now I’m kind of looking forward to it.”
“What idea?” she asked, her eyes narrowing on me as she lifted her mug to her lips.
“Okay,” I said, excited to tell her, but nervous about her reaction. “So, yes, I did only go there for one year, my freshman year, which is why I was surprised to get the reunion invitation and didn’t figure I’d go. But, then Michael told me he was taking the kids and Sasha to the beach for two weeks, and I thought, why should he be moving on and having all the fun? What about me? Don’t I deserve more than a sink full of dishes, employees who treat me like I’m an idiot, and kids who think I’m a pushover? Where’s my fun?”
