Page 46 of Puppy Love

“Yes, actually. I would. At least she came out from under the bed willingly this time.” Sophie got to her feet with a brush of her knees and a squaring of her shoulders. Already, Harrison was looking less like a man who’d been pulled back from the edge of a cliff. “And she didn’t try to escape, which is a plus. She follows a pattern when she’s scared. Patterns are good. Patterns are predictable. I can work with patterns.”

“Abject fear is not a pattern. It’s a problem.”

“Not paying taxes is a problem. Yelling at your very expensive and highly professional dog trainer is a problem.”

His lips began their telltale quiver. “I wasn’t going to yell.”

“Yes, you were. You’ve been wanting to do it all day. Think about how much you hate knitting. Think about all those eensy-weensy loops and tangles in your big man hands.”

“Nice try, Sophie, but you can’t break me with yarn.”

She thought she heard a chuckle from her sister’s direction, but she didn’t dare pull her gaze from Harrison’s. This wasn’t at all how she’d choose to break down Harrison’s walls, but there was no denying that they were crashing down around them.

“I, on the other hand, am an amazing knitter,” Sophie continued. “I could make you and Bubbles matching rainbow glitter sweaters by tomorrow.”

“I wish you would. I love rainbows.”

“Hats too,” she warned. “And I can make you wear them as part of your training. If I tell Oscar it’s necessary for bonding purposes, you know he’ll back me up. Matching hats and sweaters for every day of the week.”

“I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s not going to work.”

“Are you sure about that? It sounds an awful lot like it’s working.”

And it did. The more they stood there talking, the more Harrison’s smile widened, his eyes lighting with laughter. If they had time, she would have turned around and demanded that Dawn take a good look at those eyes. Her sister might think Harrison’s smile was dangerous, but Sophie found that lurking twinkle to be much more powerful.

He could be happy, if only he’d let himself. If only he’d let me in.

He squared his stance to meet hers, Bubbles held under one of his arms like a football. With his broad shoulders and menacing air, he might have been preparing to tackle any number of oversize defensive linemen.

But he wasn’t. He was preparing to tackleher.

And if the look on his face was anything to go by, he knew he was up against a formidable foe.

“You, Sophie Vasquez, are nothing more than a tyrant.” He took a step forward, drawing so close their toes bumped. His were encased in steel-toed boots and big enough to give Sasquatch a run for his money; hers were daintily shod in ballet flats with vibrant teal bottoms.

“A tyrant?” she echoed. “Me?”

“Yes, you. You’re a tyrant and a deceptively innocent tormentor who delights in making me dance at her bidding.”

“Getting better.” She tilted her head up to his. “Keep going. What else am I?”

“A devil. A fiend. A hellhound in puppy’s clothing.” Each word was quieter than the one before, as though he was wooing her with sweet nothings. They felt like that too, his gruff voice causing a ripple of delight to shiver up and down her spine. “In other words, you’re my worst nightmare.”

She swallowed heavily, unable to look away from the intensity of his gaze. She’d thought his kisses by the barn had devoured her, but they had nothing on this total engulfing of her soul. In all her life, she’d never felt this powerful, this beautiful.

This strong.

“Anything else?” Her voice was hoarse.

“It’ll never work.” For the first time since this whole conversation had turned, he didn’t sound playful. Nor was he his usual rough and grumble self. In fact, he’d never sounded more earnest. “That’s the one thing I can guarantee. No matter how hard you fight or how many times you try, I’ll never be anything butthis. The sooner you realize it, the better it will be for both of us.”

A gasp from the doorway caught her attention before she could process anything Harrison had just said. She turned, prepared to scold Dawn for what had to be the worst timing known to womankind, only to find that two of the ladies from the knitting circle had joined her. Her sister appeared to be doing her best to usher them out of the room, but it would take someone much more determined than Dawn to get rid of a busybody like Paulette.

“Well, I never,” Paulette said, a hand clutched to her throat. She wasn’t wearing a pearl necklace—she was more of a New Age, healing-crystal sort—but the idea was the same. “Sophie, honey, we came to ask if you needed any help with that puppy. I can see we’re not a moment too soon.”

Sophie bit back a groan. “I’m fine, Paulette. Hey, Hilda. As you can see, we found Bubbles safe and sound. Is the kitchen fire all cleared?”

She’d hoped the change of subject would encourage the women to move on, but Paulette pushed past Dawn and planted herself in the center of the room. She wasn’t a large woman, but she was a formidable one. It was the result of forty years working as the charge nurse on the pediatric cancer ward. She mothered and bullied in equal proportions.