Page 30 of Too Fast To Fall
“I don’t see why not. The area is completely fenced in.”
Piper let him loose and Gus zoomed down the grassy hill, then back up and down again. “He’s such a happy dog,” Piper saidas they walked along slowly, keeping Gus in their sights.
“Have you ever met an unhappy dog?”
“Sadly, yes. Dogs that don’t have a good life. Or that have been mistreated. You’ve given him a very happy life. You shouldbe proud.”
“All I do is love him.” Emilio heard his voice crack, and he had to swallow back the emotion. Sometimes his love for Gus wasso overwhelming. Like it had no limits, but also like it was the only thing keeping him whole.
“I’m so glad you two have each other. I’m sure he’s made your struggles easier. Everything with Victoria. Your parents. Changingteams. There’s nothing like the love of a dog. It’s pure and unconditional.”
Piper had perfectly captured everything he was thinking. He was not only fortunate to have Gus, he was also lucky to havefound Piper. His only concern was how effortlessly she was becoming part of his life. Sometimes it felt like they’d knowneach other for years, even when he knew very little about her. “Does working with dogs help you through hard times? Like yourbroken engagement?”
“Absolutely. But also, my family is everything. We’re so close. My mom, my dad, my two sisters. We’re a very tight unit.”
He understood now in a much greater sense that she had truly made a sacrifice to take this job. He might be paying her well,but she was cut off from her support system. It made him realize he should probably stop trying to be so rigid about maintainingboundaries between them. She’d demonstrated more than once she only had his and Gus’s best interests in mind. “That’s nice.I’m glad you have that to go home to.”
“Me, too.”
“I wanted to tell you, Xander and Mia are going to come over to the house next week for dinner. Probably Tuesday. Are youokay with that?”
Piper scratched the back of her head and scrunched up her nose. “Sure. Gus and I can stay out of your hair. Or if you wanthim there, I can stay upstairs.”
Of course she’d assumed that. He’d told her to keep to herself, even though they were living under the same roof. Travelingtogether. “Piper. No. You’re invited to join us. I’m going to cook.”
“You are?”
“Don’t act so surprised. I’m pretty good at it.”
“Oh, right. I forgot Mia did that interview with you last year where you talked about Spanish food. The part that had me confusedis you hadn’t fully moved into your kitchen.”
He nodded. Maybe he needed to start living more of hiswholelife, not just the racing part. “Yes. True.”
“Oops. Hold on. My shoe’s untied.”
She bent over while Emilio stood next to her, watching Gus, who was acting a bit like a crazy man, running around in circles.Around and round. Then suddenly he stopped, jagged to one side and began charging back up the hill. At breakneck speed. Hewas heading straight for them.
“Gus! Stop!” Emilio shouted. “Piper—” It was too late. Gus collided into her the instant she stood. Emilio’s lightning-fastreflexes sprang into action. He braced for the impact as Piper slammed against his chest.
“Are you okay?” he frantically asked, his arms wrapped around her.
“Um. Yeah. Wow.”
Gus ran in circles around them, leaping like a demented reindeer.
“What in the world has gotten into him?” Emilio asked, trying to ignore how good Piper felt in his arms. It’d been a whilesince someone had been there, and he’d really missed this human contact. Plus, she was warm and soft and smelled so good.Her heart was racing, and his was falling in step with the beat. Even their breathing was in sync now. “Gus, why did you knockPiper over?”
“He really beaned me, didn’t he?” She caught her breath then peered up at Emilio, eyes scanning his face back and forth, herlips mere inches from his. It would be the easiest thing in the world to kiss her. Turn at least one tiny part of that dreamhe’d had into reality. “Thank you for catching me. I guess that’s the advantage of hanging out with a Formula One driver,huh? Your reaction time is basically zero seconds.”
“I’m so sorry. I don’t think he knows his own strength.”
Gus slowed to a trot and beelined to Piper, nudging her hand with his nose and casually wagging his tail.
“Gus, youhaveto be careful.” Emilio reluctantly let go of his hold on Piper.
Piper stepped back. “Remember, he doesn’t really know English.”
Emilio glanced over at her, only to see a wide smile on her face. “Very funny.”
