Page 13 of Sit, Stay, Love
‘It’s a fucking horse.’
‘Hey, watch your language! He’s just a baby. Anyway, what if you end up with a mastiff in your movie, likeTurner and Hooch?’
‘I was hoping for moreBeverly Hills Chihuahua.’ He backed away as Sera moved closer.
‘Mastiffs are far sweeter than chihuahuas. Those little guys can be a handful.’
He pressed against a tree. ‘And this thing isn’t?’
‘Do you want to learn how to handle a dog or not? Tick-tock, Ethan. Every cowardly retreat is costing you time.’
His jaw tensed and he pushed his shoulders back, standing a little taller. ‘Hey, I’m not being cowardly. I was just expecting a dog, not a… Kevin.’
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to…’ She smiled softly. ‘Toby just thought—’
‘Wait. Kevin was Dr McManus’s idea?’
‘He thought you’d like the challenge.’
‘Did he now? Then you’d better give me the beast.’ He tentatively took Kevin’s leash with an outstretched arm.
‘I’ll be right beside you,’ she said.
He nodded. ‘Okay, big guy, let’s just—’ But before he could finish his sentence, Kevin charged off full pelt, dragging Ethan behind him.
‘Oh. Shit.’ Sera gave chase, yelling, ‘Ethan! Let him go. I’ll catch him.’
But Ethan hung on.
Kevin loped across the grass, ducks quacking and flapping and darting out of the way as he thundered past. Ethan bumped and stumbled along behind him, yelling, ‘Whoa, boy!’ as if calling out to a horse.
Sera charged after them, sidestepping shocked mums with prams and an old woman feeding breadcrumbs to the birds.
‘Sorry,’ she hollered over her shoulder to the chorus of ‘Hey!’ and ‘Watch it!’, then uttered, ‘Oh. Please no,’ as she realised the wayward dog was heading towards the lagoon.
Ethan bellowed, ‘Kevin. Noooo!’ as the dog bounded off the shore and the two of them took flight. Man and dog soared through the air before landing with an almighty splash.
Sera skidded to a halt, her eyes wide and her mouth gaping. She’d just drowned Ethan James, movie star, on his first lesson. ‘I’m going to kill you, Toby,’ she muttered as she raced towards the edge of the grass.
Ethan sat in the lagoon’s silt, water up to his waist and Kevin by his side. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing the dripping mess back, then slowly rose, flicking lagoon slime from his fingers. His once-crisp white shirt clung to his chest, its soaked material now transparent enough to reveal the well-defined muscular frame beneath.
Sera froze, inhaling a sharp gasp, followed by a soft, ‘Oh.’ He was magnificent. His hair slicked back, his clothes glued to every gorgeous inch of him.
‘Oh my gosh, is that Ethan James?’ a woman beside her asked in a breathy voice.
‘Am I the only one having aPride and Prejudicemoment?’ another woman whispered from behind.
No, you’re not. He looked just like Colin Firth’s Mr Darcy, dripping and sexy as he stepped out of the pond at Pemberley.
‘A little help?’ Ethan said as he squelched through the sludge on the edge of the lagoon, tugging a wet and muddy Kevin behind him.
Sera rushed forward, saying, ‘Sorry. Sorry,’ and took the dog’s leash from his hand.
‘Ladies,’ he said to the four women watching him with their chins hanging. He flicked his hair back dramatically, wiped a hand suggestively down his wet chest, then turned to Sera and said, ‘You will note, I never let go.’
She laughed. ‘You probably should have.’
‘No way. I was in control the entire time.’ He grinned, his dimples on full beam and the tip of his tongue caught between his front teeth. Then he doubled over in laughter, his hands on his knees as his entire body shook.
