Chapter 14
Luke
Shifting the car into park, I kill the ignition and wipe my hands down my pants. Then loosen the necktie that suddenly feels too tight.
Glancing in the rearview mirror, my gaze slams into a pair of crystal-blue eyes. “How do you think I look? Is it too much?”
‘Awoooo,’ Bogey responds, before adding an ‘AwoOooOooOoo’ expressing his impatience. Apparently, he knows who Beau Matthews is and wants to meet the Rugby player. Okay, so I may have watched a few games after my cousin raved about the sport since getting Bogs.
“Alright, alright. Let’s get going,” I grumble, realizing that stalling much longer isn’t going to help me calm down.
Exiting the car and walking around the SUV to the rear passenger side, I open the door.
My husky waits until I give him permission to hop out.
Impulse control is one of the things Gen has drilled into our training early on, especially with this dog’s urge to run, and Bogs has excelled at it.
Making our way up the steps to the porch, I knock on the front door. A woman about Gen’s height and same coloring answers, a cheeky grin spread across her face.
“You must be Luke Nichols.” I nod, and she throws the door wider, stepping aside, welcoming us into her home.
“I’m Kit, and this must be the infamous, ridiculously handsome Bogey.
” Just like Genevieve does, Kit gets down to my dog’s eye level and starts talking to him.
“Who’s a handsome man? You are. Yes you are. ”
Bogey immediately starts talking back, and the corner of my mouth pulls up.
“Hey there.” A deep chuckle sounds as a hand attached to a tree trunk stretches toward me. “Sorry about that. My wife loves all animals, but especially Huskies.”
Beau Matthews, Blindside Flanker for the Ironclad Marauders, is not just big; he’s massive and larger in person than he is on T.V.. Normally, they say television adds ten pounds, but for him, the exact opposite is true; it subtracted ten. “Not surprising. You’re pretty husky yourself.”
He guffaws and slaps me on the back with his free hand. “You’re funnier than Cole said you’d be!”
“My cousin said I’m funny?” Heat creeps up my neck. “Hope I didn’t offend you, it’s just that you look more built in person.”
Beau’s smile is relaxed, and I can feel the tension in my shoulders ease. “Nah, it’s a professional hazard, and something the majority of people are surprised by.”
“Gen should be here soon,” Kit says, still squatting down petting Bogey. “She called about five minutes ago and said she’d be heading over soon. But before she gets here, I have a question for you.”
Glancing down, I find a pair of hazel eyes staring up at me. My gut flips,s and I swallow past the lump in my throat. Not soon enough. “Shoot.”
“Did you post on the Fur-Ever Homes Forum about your ex?”
My eyes widen and my pulse races as I stare at her, dumbstruck. “Fur-Ever Homes Forum?”
“Yeah. You got Bogey from them, right?”
“I did. Get him from there, and post on the forum. Why do you ask?” My thoughts return to the comments on my post, and I remember one of the usernames: @DrGarrettVet. Genevieve’s last name is Garrett, and her sister is a Veterinarian. Pulling at my collar, I suck in a breath. “Is it hot in here?”
“Leave him alone, Kit,” Beau says softly, a hint of laughter in his voice as he reaches out to run a hand down Kit’s back. “Can’t you see he’s uncomfortable?”
Kit’s smile gets a bit mischievous before she winks at me. “That’s what I thought.”
Did she tell Gen what I said in the post? About her? My heart slams against my ribcage, hard. I swear it’s going to burst through, and the pounding is so loud it’s making it difficult to hear anything else.
Like the closing of Genevieve’s car door.
It’s not until both Beau and Kit look over my shoulder, and I turn to see what they’re looking at, that I notice my date.
My gaze falls to her open-toed gold shoes, and I make my way slowly up her gold dress that looks as if it was custom made to fit her.
Her waist has to be smaller than my dog’s neck, and the off-the-shoulder style is magnificent on her.
My lips tighten at the realization that I’m going to be fending off every guy in the room all night long.
When my eyes finally meet hers, I see a question in them. Shaking off the desire to claim her, I soften my mouth before she thinks I’m angry at her.
Definitely not mad at the woman in front of me. Just all the eyes that’ll be on her tonight. The way that dress catches the light on her collarbone, the wave framing her face…she's stunning.
“Do you mind letting go of my hand, now?” Beau snickers, and I look back toward him to see that my hand is still holding his.
Tugging my hand away, heat sweeps through me completely embarrassed. Raking that hand through my hair, I mumble, “Sorry about that.”
“No worries,” He chuckles, before whispering, “I know how hard the Garrett women are to resist. I married one.” Tossing a thumb in Kit’s direction, I look over to see her watching me, her eyes twinkling.
“Gen, you look gorgeous,” she says, standing up, taking Bogey’s leash from my clenched fist. “Wouldn’t you say she looks gorgeous, Luke?”
“Kit,” her sister grumbles, only to have Beau and Kit chuckle. “Did you ask Luke if there’s anything you need to know about Bogey before we leave?”
“Don’t be silly. I’ve got this.” When Beau furrows his brow at her, she says, “I mean, we got this.”
“He’s really easy, just has a ton of energy. Hopefully, the hike we went on earlier was enough to give you only half of the husky energy.”
“He’s easy, now?” Kit giggles, and to my surprise, I laugh in response.
“Well, I have been lucky enough to work with the best dog trainer, and since then, life has been much more enjoyable.”
Turning toward Gen, I notice her cheeks flush at my words, and warmth settles deep inside me at her response. Leaving Bogey with his temporary sitters, I head down the steps. Not once taking my gaze from the vision in front of me. “Ready to go?”
Meeting my eyes, she nods with a soft smile on her lips.
Looking back at Beau, Kit, and Bogs, I say, “If you need anything, just send Gen a text, and I’ll give you a call.”
“I’m positive we’ll be fine.” Kit grins as she continues to watch the two of us walk toward my vehicle.
Opening the door, Gen climbs in. “You really do look beautiful.”
Her hazel eyes flit to mine, and she smiles brightly. Giving me a slight nod. “You clean up pretty nice, too.”
My lips pull up at the corner as I close the door behind her. Getting to my door, I look up at the couple still on the porch and raise my hand. “Thanks again.”
When I pull on the door handle, nothing happens. I try again only to have the same result. Gen leans over and unlocks the door, a gleam in her eyes.
Lifting the handle again the door unlocks, and I slide into the driver’s seat.
“I thought maybe you had changed your mind,” Genevieve teases.
Feeling a bit emboldened, I lean over and whisper gruffly, “With how you look tonight? There’s not a chance I’d change my mind.”
A slow smile creeps along her face.
Starting the car so I don’t do anything foolish, especially if I’m completely misreading what I’m seeing. I pull onto the road and head to our destination.
You just have to get through the night, Nichols, and not do anything foolish.
“Thank you for saying you’d come.”
“You’re welcome.” She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, drawing my gaze to her mouth, and I wonder how I’m going to stop myself from trying to kiss her tonight.
Dragging my eyes to hers, my breath catches at the longing I see reflected there.