Page 55 of Sit, Stay, Love
‘To see if me and the dog have chemistry.’
‘Really?’
He nodded. ‘Really. The dog they’re looking for is border collie in size, but fluffier. For some reason, that makes me feel better. I don’t know what I would have done if they said a brown German Shepherd-type.’
‘You would have been fine. Think of Ernie.’
‘Lord Jasper,’ he corrected.
She laughed.
‘One more thing. My publicist wants to confirm a date for your fundraiser. She’s planning midweek, just before I head to the States, which is less than a month away now. Let me know if there are any days that absolutely won’t work, otherwise she’ll slot something in.’
She nodded as her heart sank. Less than a month. They had less than one measly month.All the more reason to keep everything on a work basis.She forced her eyes away from his bicep.
‘In that case,’ she said. ‘We should get busy.’
He held out his glass and grinned. ‘To us… getting busy.’
After dinner they cleared the dishes and Ethan poured the rest of the delicious, expensive wine into travel mugs.
‘No one would ever call me classy.’ He grinned.
They made their way towards the beach, down the long stairs and onto the sand as Buffy charged ahead. The sun had already dipped behind the dunes and the moon shimmered across the ocean. The surf gently lapped at their feet as they walked along the shore, and Sera shivered and pulled her cardigan in closer.
‘Are you cold?’ he asked, and wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders. Without hesitating, she slipped her arm around his waist. They strolled along in silence, leaning into each other, sipping from the travel mugs.
It felt good to be nestled against his body, his warmth soaking into her skin. Then her mind flashed to Toby’s wounded eyes, and how he’d never texted her back when she messaged him saying she was sorry, and her stomach sunk with a thud.
Ethan nudged her. ‘What are you thinking?’
‘Nothing. Just watching Buffy.’ The dog’s brown backside bounced happily ahead of them.
‘Would you like to sit for a bit?’ he asked.
She nodded, and he dropped his arm from her shoulders and threaded his fingers through hers.
They sat on the cool sand of the dunes, watching the surf roll gently in and out.
Ethan took a deep inhale of the briny air. ‘I love it here. My agent is always pressuring me to move to Los Angeles, but I don’t think I can. Because of this.’ He waved a hand in front of him.
‘They have beaches in LA.’
‘They don’t have this beach.’ He took a sip of wine. ‘And they don’t have you.’
Her breath quickened, and she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He was still gazing at the ocean, the light of the early moon glowing onhis skin. ‘You’ll be fine,’ she said. ‘Another few weeks and you won’t need me. You’ll see.’
He quietly said, ‘That’s not what I meant.’
‘Oh,’ she answered on a breath.
‘I know it’s only been a week. A week tonight. Happy anniversary.’ He chuckled. ‘But I like you, Sera. I can’t stop thinking about you. And I know I’m going away and the timing sucks.’ He sighed. ‘I don’t know.’
Sera stared at her hands. Her throat tightened, almost stopping her breath. ‘I… uh…’ she stuttered.
‘You don’t have to say anything.’ He ran a circle in the sand with his foot. ‘I shouldn’t have said anything. We’re working together. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. Just forget what I said.’
Sera gulped down a mouthful of wine, swallowing over the lump in her throat. ‘I like you too, Ethan. But as you said, you’re going away. We should put all our focus on our plan. Don’t you think?’ She gazed at him, her eyes searching for his answer.
