Page 21 of Sit, Stay, Love
Toby nodded. ‘You know where I am if you need me.’
Smiling, she said, ‘Always.’ She hesitated for a second then leaned in and dusted her lips across his cheek.
He looked at her, a swirl of surprise on his brow.
‘That was for dinner. Because I had a lovely night.’
‘Me too.’ He rubbed his chin. ‘We should do it more often.’
‘Agreed. Let’s make a habit of it.’ She slammed the door and leaned back in through the window. ‘I’ll call you after my lunch and tell you how everything goes.’
‘Remember to charge him triple for the dog training. And don’t forget you’re organising a lunch so I can check him out. I mean, so you can turn me and Ethan James into besties.’
She grinned. ‘Did you just saybesties? When did you start sayingbesties?’
‘I haven’t. And I’d appreciate you never mentioning it again.’
‘Okay. Goodnight,bestie.’
Chapter Five
‘OMG, look at you,’ Tia said, her hand to her heart.
Sera did a spin and material fluttered around her in a wide circle. ‘Do I scrub up okay? Is it too much? I don’t have a lot of choices.’ She had precisely two dresses and she’d tried on each one twice before settling on her powder blue fifties swing dress with puppies around the hem. ‘Is there any dog hair on me?’ She fidgeted and wiped her hand down the front of her skirt.
‘Probably, but no one will notice, you look too pretty.’
She beamed. ‘Should I put my hair up or leave it down?’ Her auburn hair hung in soft waves just above her shoulders. ‘And I have to remember not to rub my eyes, or I’ll smudge my makeup and wind up looking like a panda.’ She puffed out a breath. ‘I’m so out of practice.’
‘Definitely down, and definitely don’t rub your eyes.’
She nodded and lifted a foot off the floor to show Tia the sole of one of her sparkly black Doc Marten boots. ‘Any poop?’
‘Not that I can see,’ a deep voice behind her rasped.
‘Ethan. Hi!’ Tia tittered, blushing.
Sera spun around and inhaled sharply. He swamped the doorframe in a fitted midnight blue shirt – which his chest and arms filled to perfection – black jeans and a pair of fancy-looking Nike sneakers.
He gave a low whistle. ‘Wow. Sera, you look amazing. But I have a feeling you can pull off anything, because you look as good in your dog walking clothes as you do in that adorable dress.’
‘Hopefully not quite as good,’ she said, fluffing her skirt. ‘Or I needn’t have gone to all this bother.’
He grinned, his teeth teasing his lip. ‘You bothered? For me? I’m honoured.’
Sera’s stomach did a three-sixty.Oh no. Are we flirting?‘Should we go?’ she asked, her voice weirdly high again.
‘Have fun, you two,’ Tia said, clapping her hands and beaming as she looked from Ethan to Sera, then back again.
‘It’s a business lunch,’ Sera said.
‘Though I’m sure we’ll still have fun,’ Ethan added with a wink.
They walked up the long driveway to a black town car.
‘I booked a driver,’ he said. ‘That way we can have some champagne to celebrate our new partnership.’
Ethan opened the door for her, and as she slid onto the back seat, her phone dinged.
