Page 16 of How Not to Mess with a Millionaire

“Houdini?”

“Seems fitting, because he keeps escaping.”

“I know who Houdini is. Or was.” He stepped outside, closing the sliding doors behind him. “It’s not the name you chose that I’m questioning. It’s the fact that you named him at all.”

“He’s one of God’s creatures. He deserves a name.” Her eyes darted around the terrace, completely enclosed by a wrought-iron fence. “How does he keep getting in? This place is like a fortress.”

“He squeezes between the bars. Eventually, he’ll get too big and have to find someone else to bother.”

Houdini picked that moment to let out a long, loud fart.

Zoe held the pig away from her and wrinkled her nose. “It’s a good thing you’re cute, because you stink. We’re going to have to work on that.”

“You realize you can’t keep him, right?” Dante parked his scantily clad ass on a nearby lounge chair. “Mr. Abruzzi will want him back.”

She cuddled Houdini close to her. She was becoming way too attached to the little guy way too quickly. He needed her. And in a strange way, she needed him, too. She might have travelled thousands of miles to put some distance between herself and her overly dependent family, but she was a nurturer by nature. And it turned out you couldn’t take the nurture out of the nurturer.

“That depends.” She sucked her lower lip between her teeth. “What’s Mr. Abruzzi raising him for? He’s not going to send him to the slaughterhouse, is he?”

“Don’t tell me you’re some sort of radical animal rights activist.”

Dante laid back on the lounge chair, stretching out his long legs and crossing his arms behind his head.Gah. Did he have to be so attractive? It should be a crime. Animal magnetism in the third degree. Strike that. Make it first degree.

“I like a BLT or a nice medium-rare burger as much as the next gal.” She held the pig up to Dante, forcing him to stare into the animal’s all-knowing, all-seeing eyes. “But look at that face. How could you condemn him to death?”

“That’s a low blow.”

She gave him what she hoped was a sinister smile. “I’m not above a little emotional blackmail.”

“Clearly.” He smiled back, his grin wide and self-satisfied. “But I’m not easily blackmailed.”

“Or you don’t have any emotions.”

Dante sat up and leaned forward, elbows perched on his muscular thighs, his eyes boring into hers so intensely she thought she might spontaneously combust. “If you won’t return him to his rightful owner, then I will. This isn’t a home for wayward livestock.”

“No.” She stood, tucking Houdini under her arm. The squirming pig farted again, and she tightened her hold, tears starting to swim in her eyes. Dammit. Fliss was right. She was too sensitive for her own good. Why else would she be crying over a flatulent farm animal? “I’ll do it.”

Dante’s eyes seemed to soften for a second before going back to their usual cool appraisal. “If it makes you feel any better, Mr. Abruzzi’s not planning on killing them. He wants to sell them as pets. Apparently, they’re all the rage. Even George Clooney had one.”

“You couldn’t have told me that in the first place?”

“That wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun as watching you get allworked up.”

“I am not worked up.” She switched Houdini to her other arm—he might be small, but he was surprisingly hefty—and bent to pick up her phone. The yoga mat would have to wait until later. “I’m righteously indignant.”

“Has anyone ever told you your cheeks get all flushed when you’re righteously indignant?”

He rose and crossed to her, coming too close for comfort, his toes inches from hers. He clearly had no concept of personal space. His just-out-of-bed scent—musky and male—swirled around her, and her fingers itched to run through his morning-mussed hair. Good thing she had her hands full or who knew what she might do. First his hair, then those massive shoulders and beefy biceps, then his—

Stop. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars.

“No, no one has told me that.” She lifted her chin, determined to remain defiant despite the heat creeping up her face. “Because they don’t.”

“Yes, they do.”

He raised a hand to touch her cheek. She sucked in a breath and held it. Time suspended for a heartbeat as he trailed one finger from her ear to her jawline, leaving a series of delicious little tremors in its wake.

Houdini squealed, breaking the spell. Zoe let out the breath she’d been holding in a hiss and took a step backward.