Page 6 of Playing Santa

As the door closes behind the larger-than-life man, all the life goes out of the room with him—or it could be just me that’s deflated. I hug Jimmy to me and promise myself to find a way to get him his own puppy. Soon. By Christmas.

Chapter 3

Sean

“Did you get her number?” Chloe asks me.

“Aren’t you going to ask me about Dasher?”

“Dasher? You’ve already named the puppy? Where is he?” she says, holding onto her kitten.

“She’s a baby girl puppy. I stowed her in the back of my SUV. I came in to say good-bye.” I lie my ass off. I came back in to see if I could catch another glimpse of Ronnie. We’re standing near the front door of the Shelter’s lobby and my eyes roam the place. The crowd has thinned, but I don’t see her. She must still be in back prepping the pets to go.

“Sure,” Tate says, infusing the one word with a fuck-load of skepticism like only he can.. He knows me. “Answer the question. Did you get her number?”

Flicking my gaze between them, Chloe looks more hopeful than mocking, so I admit the truth.

“Nah. It’s not like that. I don’t know what it is, but something tells me I need to warm up to her and Jimmy slowly. She’s wary of strangers and super protective of her son.” This much she managed to communicate in a surprisingly feisty way. A smile curls my lips as I realize how warm that makes me. She’s damn gorgeous and her coltish behavior on top of her sexiness does something to my insides beyond the usual hormonal spike.

“Really?” Tate scoffs. “You’re taking it slow?”

I shrug, prepared for the taunting, but Chloe nudges him into submission and I laugh.

“Really. I’ll see her again. She lives somewhere in the neighborhood. That’s where I’ll be walking Dasher.”

“How do you know she lives in the neighborhood?”

“I listen. Carefully.” Jimmy mentioned that they walk home from the animal shelter.

“You’re going to stalk her? Good move, man,” Tate says, snickering and enjoying my rare vulnerability. Normally I make bold moves to hit on a woman and normally they jump at the chance. I’ve never had to go slow or put thought into pursuing a woman. I’ve never had the desire. Never met a woman who gripped me with this unrelenting tug. It’s like we have some kind of elemental connection. Never met someone I need to get to know because I’m so drawn from the first meeting.

“I’ve never met a woman who I’m attracted to for so much more than her looks,” I say out loud as we step through the doors and head back to the parking lot.

“Dude,” Tate gives me a look like I must be someone else and he’s not sure who. “You’re shitting me, right? You don’t know anything about her,” he says. “The only thing that could be attracting you is her looks.”

“You’d be wrong about that,” I say. “Like I told you, I listen. I observe. With her, I’m so attuned I can’t help myself. I’ve noticed everything about her. The way she is with Jimmy, loving and protective. The way she’s caring with the animals, her deference and respect for her boss and others, her quiet grace—”

Tate throws his hands up. “Enough. I get it. She’s an angel and she has you hooked. Somehow, in one afternoon, she has the player of players, Sean Patrick, wrapped around her pinky.” He grins and I don’t even care that he’s mocking me.

“And she doesn’t even know it,” I say. She’s gorgeous and doesn’t flaunt it. Unlike her friend Gwendolyn who looked ready to throw herself at me if I didn’t get the hell out of there. Damn.

We reach my SUV and Dasher is sleeping in her cage in the back. I want to scoop her up and put her in the seat next to me, but I know she should stay in her cage until she gets used to driving.

“She’s a cutie,” Chloe says and I’m not sure if she’s talking about Dasher or Ronnie. “So, your plan is to run into Ronnie some time and see how it goes?”

I shrug. “I may drop into the animal shelter,” I admit.

“Stalker,” Tate says, snickering.

I punch his arm. “I’ll be cool.”

“Since when?”

“Since I have a good reason to be,” I insist.

“What if she’s not interested?” he says.

My mind goes blank. “Not going to happen,” I insist. There’s a connection between us and I’m certain it’s not one-sided. Whatever passed between us is mutual. I’m sure of it. “She’s interested.”