Page 92 of Puppy Love

Harrison threw up one hand, his other arm wrapped around the sling holding Bubbles. “Of course I’m not. It’s what Sophie wanted from the very start, what she’s been plotting since day one. She gave me this…this…” He trailed off and glanced at the puppy before heaving a reluctant sigh. “This beautiful little nugget, and now I’m trapped.”

The beautiful little nugget licked his fingers obligingly.

“I won’t put her in harm’s way before she’s ready,” Harrison said. “Or myself. I’m sorry, Oscar. I’d like to spend a few more weeks here on the training field before we start tackling the real fires. You’ll have to fight this one without me.”

Oscar showed no signs of pleasure or distress at this, merely dismissing them both with a nod and a grab for his phone. Sophie decided to take a similar approach. Turning on her heel, she made it three steps into the hallway before she realized Harrison was right behind her.

“Sophie, wait,” he called, his voice rough.

Although it would have been so much more badass to keep walking, her head held high and her pride intact, she slowed her steps to wait for him to catch up. After all, Harrison was technically still her client. At least, he was until she gave him the ownership papers.

She reached for them now, tucking her hand into her canvas bag to extract the puppy’s vaccination records and the certificate of completion they gave all their clients. “Here,” she said as she held them out. “This finalizes any and all business between us. She’s your dog now, free and clear.”

He didn’t take them. He didn’t speak either, just stood there glowering at her.

Shifting from one foot to the other, she searched for something to say. “I’m sorry you won’t get to start your air force training today.”

That got him to speak. “Bullshit.”

“Excuse me?”

“You aren’t sorry. In fact, you’re the exact opposite of sorry. You’re loving this, aren’t you?”

“Um.”

“You know what this damn puppy did all weekend?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “I’ll give you a hint—it involves raisins.”

“I hope you aren’t going to tell me that she ate any, because grapes are highly toxic to dogs. You should take her to the vet before her kidneys shut down.”

The muscle at the corner of his mouth twitched. “No, she didn’t eat any raisins. It’s her eyes. She keptlookingat me.”

“You’re complaining because your service animal looked at you? I hate to break it to you, but she’s going to be doing a lot of that over the years. If you’ll note, she’s doing it right now.”

“You know very well what I mean!” He ran a hand through his hair, sending it into attractive disorder. “Shemissedyou, Sophie. You did the training all wrong, spent too much time at the house helping me. Somewhere along the way, she got the idea that you’re supposed to always be there. And now she blames me because you’re gone.”

His voice cracked at the end, but that was the only sign of any opening in his hard exterior. The rest of him was as unyielding and wall-like as ever, the harsh lines of his face unwelcoming, his stance squared and closed off.

Sophie knew, in an instant, that the moment was right for her to tear down the wall. Even though the argument from the other day was still fresh enough to hurt them both, her sisters had given her enough confidence to claw through those bricks and find her way back to him.

She knew how she could do it too. All she had to do was kiss that hard, stony wall of a man. Hug him. Hold him. Force him to understand that nothing he said or did would ever make her love him any less than she did right now. In other words, she couldpush.

And then she could keep doing it every day for the rest of her life.

But that wasn’t love. That was a prison sentence. If Harrison wanted to escape from that locked hold inside his heart, if he wanted to wake up from the long, deep sleep that held him in its spell, he was going to have to do it himself.

“Because fairy tales aren’t real,” she muttered aloud, unconcerned with how strange she must sound. “Because there’s no reason why the princess can’t pick up a sword and meet the dragon halfway.”

“What are you talking about?” Harrison asked. “What princess? I’m talking about my dog, Sophie. You broke her. I think it’s only fair that you fix her.”

Despite her better judgment, she gave him one last chance. Shifting her weight to one leg, she cocked her head and stared at him. “Are you sure it’s the dog who needs my help?” she asked.

It didn’t work. Harrison held her look, his gaze pulsating with intensity, but he didn’t yield. “She likes you,” he said. “She trusts you.”

“And I likeher,” she retorted. “But that isn’t reason enough for me to come back. Good luck with your new service dog, Harrison. And on behalf of Puppy Promise, thank you for your business.”

Chapter 20

Harrison didn’t know what woke him up while the moon still hung heavily in the night sky, but he knew all the things it wasn’t.