Chapter 30
Hadrian
The Bodice’s front door opens, the bell chiming as Lemon and Oz enter. Ginger, Oz’s red-coated pit hell, slinks through the doorway after him, a shadow at his feet. Her eyes never leave him, although once they’re inside, her focus moves to me and Bluebell.
Ah, so this is the difference when one of the dogs bonds. She’s wary of others in a way she wasn’t before—protective of Oz now that she’s claimed him as hers.
Fascinating.
I flash the trio a smile. “What are you doing here bright and early?”
Lemon lifts a to-go tray of coffee from BrewHaHa Beans.
“Thank gods you’re here!” Bluebell jogs from the back room. “This shipment is absolutely wild, and I’m redoing the storeroom organization.”
Lemon squees and hops up and down. “Ahhhh! You know how much I love organizing projects!”
Oz flashes me a grimace. Ginger whines at his feet, eyes firmly on the two females.
“Shit,” Bluebell says, “I’m just glad the Bodice finally agreed to let me do something about the storeroom. Rebekah’s organization style does not suit me in the slightest.”
The Bodice flips a piece of wood paneling out and slaps Bluebell’s ass, knocking her forward a step.
I chuckle at the newly playful dynamic between my girls. Suddenly, I’m wishing we were alone this morning. We don’t get as much free time as I’d like, but the perks of having a little sister are that our home is filled with nonstop laughter.
Petra’s staying with us for the foreseeable future. If I’m honest, I think Bluebell and I would both be devastated if she wanted to move on and go elsewhere.
Lemon follows Bluebell into the back of the building. Oz halts next to me, Ginger at his feet with her eyes firmly locked onto me.
His focus drops to my chest, soft wrinkles appearing at the edges of his eyes. “Your heartbeat…I can hear it.” He smiles up at me in apparent wonder. “What’s it like, the bond?”
Smiling, I grab his hand and place it on my chest. His brows lift at the steady, loud thumping.
“Never gets old,” I say. “It just feels…right. It’s a sense of knowing I can’t explain because there’s nothing else like it.” My smile broadens. “Even now, she’s there in the bond. It’s so fucking cool.”
He snorts and pulls his hand away. “As long as she doesn’t mess with you when you’re on the field, though, am I right?” His trademark joking tone masks hurt, I can tell.
“It’ll happen for you one day too. I know it will.”
Oz smiles but waves the comment away. “Oh, I’ve sworn off men entirely. There’s literally no point. A man does not exist in this world who could convince me to date again.”
He disappears toward the back with Ginger trailing behind him even though she keeps a wary eye on me.
Stroking the countertop, I consider how much things have changed in a few short weeks. I was happy in Pine Gulch, I really was. But this? As Bluebell pulls at me through the bond—her need for me like tangible fingers in mine—this is heaven on earth.
THE END
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