Page 148 of Cautious Love

My phone rings and I pick up, hitting the speaker button. “Hey, I’m five minutes away.”

“Okay, you shouldn’t be on the phone while driving, ma’am. But I wanted to tell you to pull into the garage,” Ledger says.

“Will do. See you in a bit.”

He hangs up, and I try to will the irregular heart in my chest to calm down and beat the way it’s supposed to.

I’m making this harder on myself, but I couldn’t say no. It wasn’t possible. I changed my outfit ten times and ended up with the jeans I know Ledger likes.I’m the worst.

The garage is already open by the time I pull up to the house.

The smell of home wafts into my nose as I come through the door and take my shoes off, setting them next to Ledger’s.

He has the dining table covered with a tablecloth, and there are candles lit everywhere. He must have gotten everything else fixed up from the vandalism because there’s a fresh paint smell, a new TV, and new flooring.

“Hey,” he rasps.

I look up from the floor. “Hi.”

He blinks, watching me carefully as I take in the romantic dinner setting. I should have known he was going to do this, but then again, even if I had. I still would’ve come, even though I shouldn’t have.

Dozer runs up to me and seeing his cute little face makes my eyes water. “Hi baby! I missed you so much,” I tell him, nuzzling my face into his. He wiggles his body that’s already gotten bigger in my arms and I squeeze him one more time before setting him down.

“Looks like you got everything fixed up,” I say, gesturing to the floor.

He looks around. “I’ve had some extra time on my hands.”

I huff. “I doubt that.”

He shrugs. “I hope you’re hungry.”

He sets the last plate on the table. It looks like pot roast with mashed potatoes.

“It smells amazing, but this is pretty fancy for a friend coming over for dinner.”

“Is it?” he asks and pulls back a chair for me.

Before I can sit down, he pulls me into a hug and kisses my temple.

I melt.

“How has Dozer been? How’s training going? I’m sorry I basically left him,” I mutter, gently pulling myself from his arms to sit down.

He helps me scoot in, and I don’t miss his lingering, large, warm hand on my shoulder.

“It’s fine. He’s great. He’s a smart dog. I take him to the station with me every day. Daisy helps me take care of him if I need to go out on a call or something.”

My breath falters.I should have seen this coming. I’m sure women throw themselves at him.I glance at his hand. His wedding ring is still on.

“I’m glad he’s not alone all day.”

He nods, but his expression is scrunched together. “Daisy,my assistant, has taken quite a liking to him. So it works out.”

Ohhh. Thank God.

Like you have any room to speak, you left him. You wanted to be friends, remember?

“So, can I get you anything to drink?”