“Sorry. Sorry. That startled me.”
He didn’t laugh, which was more than most men she knew would have done.
“It startled me, too. We former Army Rangers try to be a little more manly and do our girly screaming on the inside.”
“We should probably find where he belongs. Come here, boy.”
In the small circle of light from the reproduction streetlamp, the dog looked to be a chocolate Lab. He had a frayed collar but no tags. “Oh, dear. Where did you come from?”
The dog licked her, tongue lolling and tail wagging. He smelled like wet dog, sharply pungent.
“I’m not exactly a dog expert but he looks like a purebred,” Sam said.
She had to agree. He had very elegant lines and beautiful hazel eyes that glowed in his dark face in the starlight. “I can’t imagine he’s a stray, even though that collar looks pretty mangy.”
“How do you expect to find his home tonight?”
“Good question, especially without tags. I’m trying to think if I know anybody with a chocolate Lab. Nobody comes to mind. He doesn’t look familiar.”
“You can’t know every dog in town.”
“Not every dog, no,” she admitted. “But I’m sure I would remember a good-looking guy like this one.”
The dog licked at her hand again and she rubbed his ears. She loved dogs. Claire and Riley’s morosely adorable basset hound, Chester, was one of her favorite creatures on earth. If her life weren’t so chaotic, she would definitely have one of her own.
“Any suggestions?” Sam asked. “Is there an animal shelter in town where we can take him for now?”
“There is, but they’re usually pretty packed.”
She considered her options and came up with only one viable possibility. “Looks like I’m going to have company for the night.”
“You’re really going to take him home with you? What if he’s rabid?”
“He’s not. Look at how sweet he is. I can’t just leave him to run wild on the streets. He could be hit by a car or even attacked by a mountain lion. I can call the shelter in the morning and see if they’ve had any missing pooch reports that match his description.”
“What if they haven’t?”
“I’m pretty connected,” she said modestly. “I can get the word out through the police department and even put a few posters up at the bookstore and Claire’s place. The owner will probably hear through the grapevine that I found a chocolate Lab. I should only have him for a day or two. It will be fun to have company, won’t it, bud?”
The dog woofed at her and licked her hand a third time, almost as if he understood.
“Take off your belt,” she ordered.
Sam angled a sidelong look at her. “I do believe that’s the first time I’ve been propositioned on a public sidewalk.”
She snorted. “That you’ve heard out loud, anyway. I’m sure plenty of women have wanted to proposition you, public sidewalk or not. Seriously, I need a leash and I’m not wearing a belt. I need yours. Don’t worry, you’ll get it back.”
He shook his head. “This is the most interesting evening I’ve had in a very long time.”
“Don’t get out much, then, do you?”
She tried not to ogle as he unfastened his belt and slipped it out of the loops. As he handed it over, his finger brushed hers with a shock of warmth against the chilling night temperature. With one hand, she pulled the belt through the dog’s collar and drew the end through the metal loop.
“There. Now I just need to hope it doesn’t slip through my fingers, but you’re not going anywhere, are you, bud?”
The dog wagged his tail, his haunches firmly planted on the sidewalk.
“Clever.” Sam looked amused.
“I can be. Your pants aren’t going to fall down now, are they?”
“I believe I can manage to avoid that horrifying eventuality for the few minutes it will take me to walk you to your car.”
Oh, she liked Sam. It was really a cruel twist of fate that the planets were so far out of alignment for them.
They walked through the quiet streets of town in a companionable silence, broken only by the dog’s snuffling as he investigated each crack in the sidewalk, the spring flowers blooming in baskets outside the storefronts, each streetlamp, signpost and fire hydrant.
“What’s your name? Hmm?”
The dog gave her a goofy grin in response.
“I think I’ll just call you Dude for tonight.”
“Oh, please,” Sam protested. “Leave the poor guy a little dignity.”
“Okay, okay.”
She considered ideas as they crossed the street again and headed back to The Speckled Lizard. The perfect name came to her when they were almost to the bar. “I’ve got it. I think I’ll call him Leo. He’s exactly the color of my favorite Leonidas Belgian chocolates.”
“Sure. That was going to be my choice, too.”
She couldn’t see Sam roll his eyes in the dark but his dry tone conveyed the same sentiment.
She laughed and squeezed his arm. What a wonderful night. Walking the quiet streets of Hope’s Crossing on a lovely April evening that smelled like spring with a gorgeous man at her side—and now a very adorable dog. What woman wouldn’t have this little bird of happiness fluttering through her?
Soon enough, though, they reached her little SUV and she opened the back door.
“Come on, Leo. Let’s get you inside.”
The dog didn’t hesitate, just jumped right into the backseat as if they had been practicing this routine for years. Her seats were probably going to stink for weeks. First order of business for Leo was a bath, even though it was nearly midnight. Both of them would sleep better for it.
She reached inside and pulled the belt end through the buckle and handed it back to Sam. “Thanks for loaning your belt. And for the evening. I had a really great time.”
She had said those words often on dates but had never meant them as much as she did in that moment.
“I did, too.” His voice held a slight note of surprise, as if he hadn’t been expecting to enjoy himself. “I would like to do it again. Soon.”
Okay, here was the awkward part of the evening. She couldn’t encourage him, not with all the complications, but she liked him far too much to turn him down flat. “Sure,” she finally said. “I’m pretty busy right now, between preparing for the new restaurant and wrapping things up at my current job, but sure. It was fun.”
“You’re an intriguing woman, Alexandra McKnight. I don’t meet very many of those.”
She tried to come up with something flippant in response, but before she could make her brain work, he stepped forward, leaned down and kissed her.
It started as just a brush of his mouth against hers, a simple “thanks for a fun night” sort of kiss. She should have let it stand there but he smelled so delicious, like sunshine and warm male, and he kissed with just the right amount of pressure, not too soft, not too hard, and she hadn’t been kissed in forever.
She moved her mouth slightly under his, just a taste, and was vaguely aware of her hands moving to his hard, slim waist. He made a sound low in his throat that seemed to shiver down her nerve endings, one hand tangled in her hair, the other resting on the small