Page 11 of Ruff and Tumble

“You will not promise that Mia gets to keep any of the puppies,” she said, pointing one of her bloodred fingernails at him. “You will not take her to the pet store afterward and buy her a consolation puppy. There will be no puppy acquisition of any kind.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” he promised but with a wink at Mia. Regina saw it, of course, but there was little she could do by this time. Mia had wriggled her way down, all thoughts of tears and despair forgotten.

“She didn’t say anything aboutmenot getting a puppy,” he said in a low voice that was clearly audible to all. “Come on, Mia. You can help me pick the cutest one.”

“Promising to adopt that woman’s litter isn’t going to make her like you,” Regina warned.

“Probably not,” Cole allowed. “But dangling this cute face at her will. I’m sure of it.”

* * *

“You can’t come in.”

Hailey slipped through the crack in her front door before pulling it shut behind her. There wasn’t enough room on the small wooden platform that served as her front porch for herandCole Bennettandthe young girl he’d brought with him, but she had no other choice. Under no circumstances could she let this man inside her house.

“Good morning to you, too,” Cole said, his low voice brimming with laughter. If she dared to look into his eyes, she was sure they’d be equally brimming—and equally laughing.

So she didn’t.

“I’m sorry if that came out wrong.” She stared at a space a few feet to the right of his head. “You took me by surprise, that’s all. What do you want?”

“That’s not a very nice question. How do you know we’re not selling Girl Scout cookies?”

“Oh dear.Areyou selling Girl Scout cookies?” She allowed her gaze to fall on the little girl, who shared Cole’s gorgeous bone structure and deep-blue eyes.His niece.She knew Cole’s manager was also his sister and that the sister was a single mother, so it all checked out.

Not that she was going to admit as much out loud. Knowing a man’s detailed family history wasn’t the sort of thing one liked to roll out and shine a light on.

“I’ll take two of everything,” she said. “Except the coconut ones, please. I’m allergic.”

“I’m not a Girl Scout!” The little girl crossed her arms and stared up at Hailey. “Are you the lady with the puppies?”

“Oh. Um. Yes.”

There was no choice but to meet Cole’s eyes. As expected, they danced with amusement. Also as expected, that amusement was directed at her. It was too much. She was atherhouse, onherown time, and somehow she was the one who felt like the ground had been pulled out from underneath her. What kind of a man lied about selling door-to-door cookies?

“Two of everything, huh?” he asked. “Someone’s ready for second breakfast.”

“I was being polite.”

“Do you buy that many from every girl who stops by, or just the ones who come attached to football players?”

“I’m a strong supporter of young female entrepreneurs.”

Cole leaned on the porch rail as if he hadn’t a care in the world. He was dressed much as he had been yesterday, in a way that screamed casual but obscenely rich. She wasn’t sure how it worked. They were both in jeans and flannel, Seattle chic at its finest. But while she looked like she’d just rolled out of a discount clothing store, everything about him was elegant and put together.

And attractive.There was no denying it. Even without the bright lights of the football field overhead, he walked around in a haze of gilded glory. The muscles were what accounted for it. Even though she couldn’t technically see them, they were everywhere—in the powerful way his thighs strained against his jeans, in the way his shoulders extended much more broadly than any human being’s should.I am perfect, those muscles said.I am strong.

They didn’t need to be so obvious about it. She already knew.

“If we come back with cookies, will you let us in to see the puppies?” Cole asked.

“No.” Hailey didn’t mean for the word to come out like that, but it was issuing from a deep, dark place that she couldn’t control. The idea of Cole Bennett inside her house—this tiny, storybook cottage that was all she had left of her dad—was overwhelming enough on its own. Add in the fact that her decor was somewhat…questionable, and this was the result.

A strong, visceral negative.

Cole straightened and frowned, obviously taken aback by the force of her reply. “Oh, God. I’m so sorry. Are we interrupting something?” He ran a hand through his hair and cast an anxious look around. “My sister said I should probably call first, but I thought…”

“Who gave you my phone number?”