Page 13 of Taking the Pitch
So, after a few tweaks, we decided the dogs should arrive first and settle in and then the kids follow suit about a half hour later. It seems to work better for both parties this way.
“I’m going to let Bruno out before the other dogs get here.” I tell no one in particular, standing from my chair and stretching. Hearing his name, Bruno’s ears perk up and he jogs happily over to me from where he was laying and sits nicely in front of me, waiting for me to clip his leash onto his collar.
Once he’s sniffed and done his business multiple times, we head back to the side door just as the van from the shelter shows up. Hoping out of the front of the van and greeting me with his megawatt smile is Jeremy, who runs the shelter side of the program. Without him, we wouldn’t have the dogs we need for it.
“Millie! You’re back!” he says excitedly, kneeling down and giving Bruno some attention. “How was the book tour?”
“It was great, but we’re happy to be home,” I tell him, watching Bruno continue to lap up the attention he’s getting. “Some of us more than others, apparently.”
Jeremy laughs his deep baritone laugh, bringing a smile to my lips. I’ve always thought Jeremy was attractive with his sandy-blond hair that always looks like it’s in need of a trim,and his cornflower-blue eyes. He looks up at me, giving me his boyish smile, and I expect the butterflies I normally feel when he smiles at me. But nothing takes flight.
Must be the jet lag.
After giving Bruno one last pat, he gets up and heads to the back of the van and opens the doors, revealing six dogs waiting excitedly in their kennels to be let out.
Letting Bruno back into the fenced area, I walk over and grab two of the dogs Jeremy just put leashes on and take them to sniff around and do their business. Hearing the side door open behind me, I turn to hand the dogs off to Gladys or Irene, only to see Judd standing at the entrance.
“Need some help?” he asks, holding his hand out for the leashes.
“Uh, sure,” I say, handing off the dogs. “Just let them sniff around for a few minutes. If they go number two, bags are there,” I tell him, pointing to the bags near the gate to the fenced area.
Judd nods and takes the dogs. Returning to the van, I grab the next two dogs Jeremy hands me and he follows me out with the remaining two. When we enter the little grassy area, I see Judd kneeling down and giving belly rubs to Ruby, a beautiful tan and white 3-year-old pitty-mix and my favorite dog of the group.
My heart stutters at the sight and my feet freeze. While Ruby is a complete mush ball for the kids, she has a hard time trusting men. It took Jeremy months to get her to come to him without her cowering with her tail between her legs, which is why she hasn’t been adopted yet.
Something slams into my back, and I stumble forward, almost tripping over the dogs, knocking me out of my trance.
“Oh shit, sorry Millie!” Jeremy exclaims, reaching out and grabbing me by an arm before I tumble to the ground.
Righting myself, I huff a laugh. “Thanks Jeremy. Sorry, I shouldn’t have stopped so quickly.”
“That’s…” he starts, but the words die off as he looks ahead of me. “Holy shit, is that, is that Judd Davis?”
“Unfortunately,” I mutter, letting the dogs pull me ahead.
Jeremy follows beside me, still in awe over the baseball god, his words not mine, in front of us. When we reach Judd, he looks up at me and smiles a wide, carefree smile, and my heart does a little flip-flop.
Stop that.
His eyes flick to Jeremy and he stands, much to Ruby’s disappointment. He towers over Jeremy, dwarfing his almost six-foot frame. Holding out a hand, he introduces himself. “Jeremy, right? Judd. Nice to meet you.” Realizing she’s not going to get anymore belly rubs, Ruby rolls back to her feet and shakes.
Jeremy snaps to his senses and returns the shake. “Jeremey, uh, I guess you already knew that, though,” he says with a little chuckle. He nods down to Ruby. “That’s impressive. She’s never let a strange man pet her, let alone rub her stomach. It took me months to earn her trust.”
“I have a way with the ladies,” Judd says, looking right at me and giving me a wink. A fucking wink. Who the fuck does this guy think he is?
Rolling my eyes, I turn and head back toward the door. Needing to be far away from this man.
CHAPTER FOUR
judd
Jesus.She’s beautiful.
No, not just beautiful. She’s fuckingenchanting.
The thought keeps popping into my head since the moment I saw her walk into the coffee shop. Ashen-blonde hair, long enough for me to wrap around my hand a few times. Blue eyes so sharp and bright; I feel like she’s staring straight into my soul. Andfuck, her smile? Her real smile, not the fake one she plastered on when she ‘apologized’ to me. No, the one she gives the people who mean something to her. That one would light a whole town on the darkest night.
I wonder if this is what Kessler felt when he first saw Lucy? Because fuck, I’ve never felt this before. Like she stole the breath right out of me. But I can’t seem to stop saying stupid shit. Which is the reason she’s storming off right now, giving me an amazing view of her tight little ass.
