“That’s what I say. But Stefanie—that’s my ex—she was a personal trainer. And was religious about eating, to the point where she’d scream at me if I ate a piece of chocolate, as if I were personally attacking her.”

  She stabbed a potato and slid it into her mouth, nodding as she chewed. “A little chocolate never hurt anyone. My ex wouldn’t let me eat carbs. He said they’d make my thighs huge and then he wouldn’t want to fuck me.”

  “Your ex sounds like a grade A asshole.”

  “Yes, he was. It just took me longer than it should have to see the light.”

  He took a long swallow of water. “I think it’s normal to want to believe we’ve made the right choice in a partner. And maybe we don’t want to admit we were wrong.”

  “You’re probably right. I was living in oblivion for way too long. Long enough for him to run off with all our money. Wasn’t I clueless.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe you just didn’t want to see it.”

  “You’re being very nice. It’s okay to say I was a dumbass for not seeing what was right in front of me for so long.”

  He shrugged. “Sometimes the most valuable lessons learned are the most painful ones. I’d say you’ve had yours, and you’ll never make the same mistake again.”

  “Thanks for saying that. My mother and my sister have always told me I’m too trusting. They warned me Andrew was all wrong for me, though they could never pinpoint why. But then after he jetted off for parts unknown with all the money, they said they knew it all along. Which they didn’t. But that didn’t stop them from saying, ‘I told you so.’ ”

  “Family.” He shoved his plate to the side. “They always have an opinion, and it’s usually wrong.”

  “Tell me about yours.”

  “My opinion?”

  She laughed. “No, your family.”

  “Oh. My dad died five years ago. As I mentioned earlier, my mom is a high school history teacher. I have two brothers, Warren and Eugene, also named after historical figures.”

  “I’m sorry about your dad.”

  “Thanks. It was sudden, and a shock to all of us. But Mom is the epitome of strength and resilience. She’s the glue that holds the family together.”

  “I’m sure it helps that she had you and your brothers to support her through it.”

  “We did our best, but she’s strong enough not to need any of us.”

  “She sounds like an amazing woman.”

  “She is.” He paused, then asked, “What about your family?”

  “My dad died my second year in college. My mom remarried a few years later. My stepdad is a great guy. Mom is a loan officer. My older sister, Natalie, is married to a radiologist and they have two kids. Natalie used to be an interior designer, though not so much these days. Now she’s into perfecting her family life and getting into my business as often as she can.”

  “Sorry about your dad. Something we have in common that really sucks.”

  “It does. I feel his absence all the time.”

  “Same. I mean, Mom is awesome and all, but not having a dad leaves that gap, ya know?”

  She nodded. “I do. My dad was a calming presence, especially with my mom, who has a tendency to be a little scattered. And she’s a lot like my sister, wanting to get into my personal life. Dad had always run interference on that, reminding them both to mind their own business. After he was gone they made it their personal mission to”—she held up her fingers to make air quotes—“take care of me.”

  Linc grimaced. “That couldn’t have been fun.”

  “It wasn’t. At the beginning it was okay because I was missing my dad and he was my comfort, so I felt surrounded by their love and concern. But then it never stopped.”

  “They still do it?”

  “All the time. Granted, I haven’t made the best decisions, so I understand why they feel like they have to constantly check up on me. But I am an adult and I’m trying to make my own way, even if sometimes it’s the wrong way. I don’t need them right on my heels telling me how I’m screwing up my life.”

  He reached across the table and grasped her hand. “You have a plan for your life, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you’re doing fine. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

  She wasn’t used to someone pumping her up, or telling her she was doing well. Plus, his hand on hers? Some zingy electricity thing going on that made her feel all kinds of things.

  “Thanks. I appreciate your confidence in me.”

  “Hey, I know how it feels to have people not believe in you.”

  “Oh? You have the same kind of family?”

  “They thought it was crazy that I left my cushy investment broker job to flip houses. They thought I was gonna fail and go broke. When the fact of the matter is, I’m—”

  He paused.

  “You’re what?”

  He smiled. “I’m having the time of my life, and I’m not broke.”

  “That’s great. And you should work at something you enjoy. Life’s too short to be stuck in some stuffy office if you hated it. Are you having fun doing this?”

  “I am. And I don’t flip every house I buy. I invest in some, I have rental properties, and I do commercial investments as well.”

  She cocked her head to the side, studying him. She learned something new about him every day. “Aren’t you just so busy.”

  “I like being busy. And keeping my body occupied as well as my mind.”

  “Then I’d say you’re living the dream, Linc. We should all be so lucky.”

  He took a long swallow of his water. “Aren’t you doing the same?”

  “Not exactly yet. But I have plans to get there.”

  He studied her for a few seconds, then asked, “What’s your dream, Hazel?”

  “To run my own rescue organization. To be able to take in as many unwanted and abandoned animals as I possibly can and find homes for them. Which I know isn’t going to make me a lot of money, but it’ll make me happy.”

  He nodded. “Admirable. And expensive.”

  “Yes. It’ll take me some time, but I’ll get there. And I have other ideas for how to make money. But I have to start somewhere, and finding a place for me and the dogs to live is the first step. We’ll get there.”

  “I like your confidence. You have to believe in yourself and in your dream to make it happen.”

  She stood and started gathering the dishes to take out to the guesthouse to wash. “Thanks. And I do.”

  Not once had Linc laughed at her or told her that her dream was impossible.

  She liked him more and more every day. Maybe it was because they both came from families who didn’t believe in their dreams. She’d watched the play of emotions on his face when he’d talked about his family. He’d treated it with a shrug, but she saw the hurt, knew what that felt like. They might be different in a lot of ways, but in this, they were very much alike.

  And that hand-touching? They had some chemistry. Because when he’d touched her, she’d seen the reaction in his eyes, in the way his lips parted, in how he’d absently rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand.

  That zingy thing between them? It might be fun to explore.

  When she was ready.

  And she wasn’t ready just yet.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Linc was elbows deep in wiring when his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket, rolling his eyes when he saw Warren’s name pop up. He clicked and pressed speaker, laying the phone on the floor while he worked.

  “What’s up, Warren?”

  “Just checking to see if you’ve worked your way into bankruptcy yet.”

  “Funny. And, no. But I am busy.”

  “I don’t know why you insist on putting in all that sweat and labor when you make enough money to hire people to do that. Hell, man, you’re a multimillionaire. You don’t even have to be there. You could be at the lake right now, on the boat.”

  He looked around to see if Hazel was within earshot of his brother’s remark about his financial status. He didn’t throw money around and didn’t like people to know about his wealth. It often changed someone’s perception of who he was, and frequently it wasn’t changed in the right direction. He liked Hazel, and he didn’t want her to think differently of him because he had money.

  “I like working with my hands. Sitting at a desk all day is boring.”

  “You’ve always been like that. That’s why you were always in trouble in school.”

  “Fuck off.”

  Warren laughed. “I see you’re doing fine. I just called to remind you the anniversary is coming up.”

  Linc sighed. The anniversary of their father’s death was never an easy one. And even though it had been five years, his parents had loved each other deeply.

  “How’s Mom doing?”

  “That’s why I’m calling. She usually gets quiet and morose this time of year, but actually, she seems fine. She mentioned something about going on a cruise with her friends during that time.”

  “Maybe it’s good that she’s moving forward,” Linc said. “She’s always wanted to go to the cemetery and then have all of us go out to eat and reminisce about Dad.”

  “I agree,” Warren said. “I see this as a positive step.”

  “What does Eugene think?”

  “Hell if I know. I can barely get him to answer his phone. He prefers to only text, and then it’s in some bro-language I can barely understand, littered with bullshit emojis.”

  Linc snorted out a laugh. “That’s cuz you’re old. Bro.”

  “Kiss my ass. I’m due to argue a case in court in an hour and I’ve got to prep. Talk later. Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  Linc clicked off, then stared down at his phone and smiled, feeling oddly warm and happy. Ever since their dad had died, the three boys had grown closer, not only with their mother, but with one another. The “I love you” thing had never been hard to say, since Dad had always been freely affectionate, and both of his parents had smothered them with unconditional love for as long as Linc could remember, sprinkled in with the discipline that the three boys had rightly deserved.

  And they always made sure the love they had for one another was spoken. It was important, because tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed.

  The back door opened and Hazel slid in, her clothes—all of her—totally drenched.

  “Did you get really hot out there and decide you had to take a dip right now, fully clothed?”

  She held up a finger, clearly irritated, then pointed outside where Penny stood at the door, her tail moving wildly. Without another word, she marched up the stairs.

  Linc looked over at the door. He grabbed his bottle of water, then stepped outside and took a seat in one of the chairs on the patio. Penny came over and laid her head on his knee, so he gave her some love.

  “You in trouble, girl?” he asked, smoothing his hand over her soft fur. “What did you do?”

  Penny didn’t divulge an answer, just put her paw on his leg to be sure he continued to pet her.

  About ten minutes later the door slid open and Hazel stepped out, having changed into dry clothes, though her hair was still damp.

  “Oh, sure, Penelope. Play all sweet and innocent. You know what you did.”

  Penny immediately ran over and parked her butt in front of Hazel, her tail wildly moving back and forth.

  Linc leaned back in the chair. “What happened?”

  “I was walking past the pool and Penny threw me in.”

  He arched a brow. “She threw you in.”

  “Well, obviously, she didn’t throw me. More like barreled into me like a linebacker. Next thing I knew I was in the water, with my clothes on, and there was Penelope looking down at me all innocent. But it was totally deliberate.”

  Penny looked utterly clueless and totally happy. “I don’t think she feels guilty.”

  Hazel sighed and reached down to pat the dog on the head. “Of course she doesn’t.”

  “Hey, you had a dip. That had to be refreshing.”

  She slanted a look at him. “Sure. Nothing like tumbling headfirst into the pool with all your clothes on when you’re not expecting it. You should try it sometime.”

  “I’ll pass. It’d take a week for these work boots to dry out.”

  “Then I’d advise you to keep your eye on Penelope. She can be very enthusiastic when she’s in the mood to play.”

  “Oh, you want to play, Penny? Do you?” He had a minute to spare, so he got up and threw the ball around the yard. Boo and Freddie got involved, too, and Lilith barked at them like a coach, letting them know they were doing it wrong. Gordon was content to monitor the activities from his favorite spot under the palm tree.

  After about fifteen minutes, Linc had worked up a sweat and the dogs’ tongues were hanging out, so he gave it up and headed over to grab his drink. The dogs did the same, going over to lap up water from their bowl.

  The doorbell rang.

  “I’ll grab that,” Hazel said. “You take a break from your . . . play.”

  He laughed. “Okay.”

  She was gone for a bit, and he wondered who had been at the door, so he went inside. Hazel was in the living room pushing boxes from the entryway into the room.

  “You got quite the delivery,” she said.

  He looked at the return address on the boxes. “Oh, those are actually for you.”

  She frowned. “For me?”

  “Yeah. You can open them.” He pulled the knife out of his pocket and sliced them open.

  She kneeled and opened the first box, her eyes widening when she saw all the dog toys, then looked up at him.

  “Keep going.”

  The second and third boxes contained dog food.

  “I don’t understand. Why would you do this?”

  He shrugged. “Their current toys are crap, and I’m sure food is expensive. Thought I’d help out.”

  She shifted, sitting on the floor. “This is a lot, Linc. I wish you hadn’t . . . You didn’t have to . . . I don’t know . . . Wow.” She dragged her fingers through her still-damp hair, then looked up at him. “I don’t know what to say other than thank you.” And then she got out her phone and made notes.

  He kept wondering what kinds of notes she made.

  “You’re welcome.” He’d seen the tears sparkle in her eyes. “Anyway, I should get back to work. Hope the dogs like their toys.”

  “Wait.” She walked over, threw her arms around him, and hugged him tightly.

  Since he didn’t want to seem as if her hug wasn’t reciprocated, he wound his arms around her. They stood there like that for a full minute or so, and he had to admit he didn’t mind having his arms around Hazel. Her body felt good, the kind of body he’d like to explore further, except he knew this was a “thank you” hug, not a “hey, grope me” kind of hug.

  She pulled back. “Thank you. This means a lot to me. And to the pups.”

  His throat was thick with emotion, so all he could do was nod. She finally walked away, so he blew out a breath as he made his way back into the kitchen, realizing if he wasn’t careful, Hazel—and her dogs—could worm their way into his heart.

  And that just couldn’t happen.

  * * *

  • • •

  Hazel unwrapped half the toys that were in the box—because good heavens, Linc had purchased so many—and put the rest at the top of her closet for later. She took the new toys outside, and it was suddenly like Christmas for the pups. Boo immediately claimed the stuffed bunny as his own, while Penelope and Freddie ran off to opposite shady corners of the yard to chomp down on their new bones. Lilith was currently killing a squeaky toy with utter glee. Gordon found a soft toy and marched over to the door for Hazel to let him in. She figured he’d had enough of the humidity and would lie by the door on his new toy. But then she saw him make his way to the stairs and stand there. Linc must have seen him as well because he walked over, scooped up him and his toy, and carried them upstairs.

  Her heart swelled with gooey emotion. She shook it off, because there was no way she was going to become attached to Linc. He was too fine-looking, and she’d already made the mistake once of marrying a good-looking man who seemed to be perfect on paper, and look what happened there.

  No, she had a life plan, and said life plan did not include getting all messy over some guy just because he’d been nice to her dogs. They just so happened to be cohabitating at the moment and that was all.

  Her phone buzzed and she took it out of her pocket. It was a text from the foster agency. She read it, her stomach dropping as she read the message twice, then fell into the chair on the porch.

  “Oh.” She knew this day could come, that it was what she wanted, what everyone at the agency wanted. But still, the thought of it hurt so much fresh tears sprang into her eyes.

  The door opened and Linc came out, smiled at her, then immediately frowned.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She swiped at the tears, then smiled. “Oh. Nothing. Good news, really. Someone is interested in meeting Boo for a potential adoption.”

  “That’s awesome, right?”

  “Of course it is.”

  He took a seat next to her. “You don’t seem happy about it.”

  “I’m totally happy. The whole reason I foster dogs is to make sure they’re safe and well taken care of until a forever home is found for them. This couple saw his profile on the foster group and they want an introduction and possibly a one-week trial of having him live with them.”

  “Wow. Big steps.”

  “Yeah.”

  “When’s that going to happen?”

  “Tomorrow. I have to take Boo to meet them. And if all goes well, he’ll go home with them for the trial period.”

  He reached across the table to take her hand. “You don’t want him to go.”