Page 79 of I Hate You More

“I probably should have mentioned that the replacement judge I chose and my brother have a somewhat…torrid history,” that voice said near her ear. Spencer was so close that Ruby could feel the vibrations of his breath tingling up and down her spine. “I don’t know all the details, but from what I understand, Jada once threw his television out a window. I can’t say I blame her. I’m often tempted to do the same.”

Ruby felt her lips start to twitch.

“I wanted to make sure you didn’t feel like I was favoring you in any way, so one of Caleb’s angry ex-girlfriends seemed like the best way to go. There were several to choose from, but Jada has always been my favorite.”

The twitch of her lips became a bona fide smile.

“Sorry about this, your honors.” He gave the judges a small wave before stepping forward with a cheeseburger in his hand. “I’ll have him cleared away and out of your hair in a second.”

Eva and Lawson could tell what was coming next, but Jada only stood and stared as Spencer dangled the cheeseburger at Wheezy with a complete lack of irony.

“What are you giving that dog, Spencer?” Jada demanded. “He’s already fifteen pounds over show weight.”

Despite all her mother’s admonitions echoing inside her head, the laughter finally escaped. In the past hour, Ruby had withstood a useless show dog, a restlessly agitated crowd, and a torrent of abuse from the harshest judge she’d ever met—and without so much as a blink of her false eyelashes. The sight of Spencer luring Wheezy out of the gym with a cheeseburger, however, was the thing that was going to break her.

“Don’t worry,” Spencer said cheerfully. “I’m not going to give it to him. The carrot in my pocket is the only treat he’s getting today.”

Spencer proceeded to make light work of removing Wheezy from the center circle. Ruby could have sworn the two of them must have planned it ahead of time, because Wheezy sprang to his feet and trotted out of the room with barely a second glance at the food in Spencer’s hand.

Since her work here was unarguably done, Ruby lifted her hand in her most pageanty wave and followed them to the utility hallway, the crowd roaring with laughter behind them.

“I hope you’re happy with that little performance,” Spencer said as she shut the gym door. He tossed the cheeseburger to the dog, who promptly wolfed it down. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything less dignified in my whole life.”

She paused a moment to give her eyes a chance to adjust—and for her heart to adapt to the sudden tightening that enfolded it. That sounded exactly like the Spencer she knew, the Spencer she’d fallen in love with. A little bit stern and a whole lot sexy, refusing to settle for anything other than the best.

“I hope you’re talking to the dog right now, because my execution out there was flawless,” she said.

He turned, his eyes widened in surprise. “Ruby! I didn’t know you followed me.” He lifted a hand to reach for her before dropping it again. “Of course I was talking to Wheezy. I would never say that about you,couldnever—”

“I repeat,” she said carefully, “my execution was flawless. Obedient and beautiful and everything you look for in a contestant.”

Wheezy must have noticed the tense note in her voice because he finished his snack and cocked a quizzical head at her. The golden retriever understood what Spencer hadn’t yet—that what she needed from him weren’t flowery compliments on how she looked and sweet nothings about her performance. Those things were fine in a man she dated casually or saw only on weekends, but when it came to her partner—her equal—she demanded a lot more.

She didn’t move, not even to blink, her breath suspended as she waited for him to respond.

It was worth the wait.Hewas worth it.

“If you believe that, then you don’t know anything about me.” He took a step closer, drawing so near that the air around her was displaced. There was no touching, but she could feel the warmth of him, the familiar comforts of his strength and solidity. “Anyone—any animal, I mean—can learn how to follow the rules. When it comes to arealwinner, what I like is a combination of personality, strength, and resilience.”

“Oh?” Her heart thumped heavily, her stomach settling somewhere between knots and butterflies. He was doing it. He was playing the game. He was meeting her exactly where she needed him to be.

“It’s not an easy combination to find, especially in the more decorative breeds.”

“Who are you calling decorative?” she demanded.

“Not Wheezy, that’s for sure.” He leaned close, his lips not quite touching hers. She could taste the outline of them, sense the quiver as they drew near. “I had a different creature in mind.”

“Tell me more,” she said. “What else do you like?”

“Well, the shape of the head is very important.”

Considering that their mouths were almost brushing, their bodies drawn like magnets toward each other, this was a moment for eloquence and sexual promise—for the eternal language of love. Instead, something perilously like a giggle rose to her lips.

“I like a good set of haunches, too,” he said. She felt the curve of his smile. “Strong and firm—something you can feel pulsing under your hand.”

“This is starting to sound like an awfully tall order.”

“It is,” he said, and this time, all the humor went out of his voice. “About five foot nine, is my guess.”