Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
ISADORA
I can’t believe Atlas Buchanan is asking me on a date. How do I even respond to that? Say yes, you dummy, my subconscious snarks. Can I trust Atlas with my heart? He hurt me once before, and sure we were kids, but I’m not sure I can let him in. What’s the worst that can happen? I say yes and fall in love? He’s staring at me, waiting for a response. I hesitate for a few more seconds.
“Maybe. Let’s get through today first. We have puppies who need homes.”
He shrugs his shoulders, letting the sting of my rejection roll off them as if he’s completely unbothered. “I can appreciate a challenge, Isadora,” he says, his bright blue eyes daring me to resist him.
My heart is racing. The things coming out of his mouth are absolutely awakening my hormones. Be quiet, ovaries. Atlas takes a few steps back and holds up his phone.
“Ready?” He asks.
I nod.
“Smile,” he says, his tone teasing
I roll my eyes.
“Isadora,” Atlas says, grinning “don’t make me force you.”
I can’t help but laugh. “I’d like to see you try.”
“Your wish is my command, gorgeous.” He quips.
Crap. A smile lifts the corners of my mouth as my cheeks heat over his compliment. I guess he warned me. A girl could get used to that.
“You win this time, but let’s see how you feel behind the camera. Go ahead, let’s do some of you.” I suggest.
He flashes me that movie star smile of his and I can feel myself melting. He’s kind of adorable. I was dreading today, but maybe it’s not going to be awful after all. Atlas walks over and picks up the fluffy Saint Bernard that I’ve named Cupid. This is not the encouragement my ovaries need. Why does he have to look so attractive, cradling this little ball of fluff against his chest?
He clears his throat, and I realize I’m just staring at him awkwardly. “Where do you want me to stand?”
I scan the room, looking for an idea. “How about right in front of the desk where we can still capture the name of the rescue?”
“Great idea,” he replies. “See, we make a great team. I like girls with beauty and brains.”
I snort-laugh at him and shake my head before grabbing a few shots. “Okay, next puppy.”
He’s going to have every single lady in a twenty-mile radius flocking from all over town ready to adopt the puppies. The man is a goddamn natural. While he switches out the puppies, I admire the photos I just took.
“That one turned out really good,” Atlas says from over my shoulder. His warm breath caresses my skin, making me shiver.
I spin around to face him. His eyes are twinkling mischievously as he leans down to whisper, “How about now?” Atlas holds the puppy up next to his cheek, and as if on cue, I’m rewarded with an adorable yawn, complete with a tongue curl, and puppy dog eyes.
“Would you go to dinner with me, please? If you say yes now, I can guarantee unlimited puppy cuddles for the rest of the day.”
Fuck, is he…begging?
He’s driving a hard bargain. I snap a cute picture of him while trying to suppress the urge to give in. “If you keep that smoldery look up, we’ll find you a date for New Year’s, no problem,” I tease.
He balances the puppy against his chest like a football, using his free hand to tilt my chin up at him. “I hope you’re implying the date will be with you, because I don’t want to go on a date with just anyone, Isadora. What if the only girl I want to go out with for New Year’s is standing right here?”
I have abso-fucking-lutely no way to respond to that. The thought flashes through my mind, but like actually flashes. Bright neon lights, the letters R-U-N the way it would be in a cartoon. My thoughts are racing, trying to think of a response. He’s got me right where he wants me, and he knows it. I highly suspect Atlas is intentionally making himself impossible to resist. It’s not every day a man says to you ‘absolutely no one else will do. I only have eyes for you.’ Men like that don’t exist. I’d be stupid not to just trip and fall right onto his dick. My girl wasn’t kidding when she said, ‘If you like it, put a ring on it.’”
“You drive a hard bargain. How about we make a friendly Christmas bet? If you find each puppy a home, I’ll say yes.” There’s no way he can possibly find all these puppies' homes while a blizzard builds outside. If he does, it will be a Christmas miracle and I will consider it divine intervention.
He smiles. “And if I don’t, you at least agree to consider it sounds like you’re trying to set me up for failure because you’re too afraid to say yes.”
What. The. Fuck?! How does he know exactly what I’m thinking?
I don’t have time to let my thoughts consume me. Atlas is snapping his fingers. “Come on. Chop-chop, Isadora. We have pictures to take and homes to find. Let’s go, you better start working elf-er-time.”
I laugh and roll my eyes. Did he really just make a corny elf joke? It’s becoming increasingly difficult to resist him. Maybe he’s not the same guy he was when he left here after all.
We finish the photos in record time. I ended up talking him into a picture with all the puppies playing for a teaser. It was a lot of work and whoever said herding cats is hard has never tried to photograph ten puppies.
“Here,” Atlas says, handing me his phone. “Just text the pictures to me and then post them. All my socials are signed in. I’m going to get these cute monsters back in their pens.” He bends down to scoop up the feisty husky I affectionately named Prancer.
“I don’t have your phone number.” I reply.
Atlas places Prancer back in a puppy pen and holds out his hand for my phone. I slowly unlock it and hand it over. He types in his number and hits save. “There,” he says nonchalantly. “Now you have my number.” He smirks at me, then picks up Vixen the fluffy golden retriever.
I text the photos over, then open his apps and start drafting the text. Once I have everything set up and ready to go, it asks if I want to boost the post. I’m pretty sure he can spare ten bucks to boost it on a few socials, but I ask him anyway. “Hey, can you look at the text and make sure everything looks okay? And you also have the option to boost the post, making it visible to more users.”
Atlas nods his head, clearly impressed by my skills of making delicious hot beverages and posting on social media.
Merry Christmas Eve!
Are you ready for a serious dose of holiday cuteness? Holiday puppy pictures posted all day long. You might just find the perfect gift for that special someone this holiday season. We’ll be at the rescue all day until every puppy has found its forever home.
“You would really stay here until all the puppies are gone?” Atlas asks, his voice softening.
Fuck. I take a minute, thinking over my response. “Yes, but not for you. For the puppies.” I blush like I just got busted checking him out, which, yeah, I might have been. He has always been attractive to me, but seeing him now all grown up, well, let’s just say time has aged him well.
Like the cocky asshole Atlas is, he says, “Are you sure about that, Isadora? You don’t sound very convinced.”