Chapter 2
Chapter Two
EDEN
“Son of a bitch!” I grunted as one of the two large trash cans I was trying to maneuver toward the curb for pickup the next morning fell onto its side. With an angry glare at the fallen bin, I bent to right it only to have three of the bags fall out.
“Son of a bitch!”
When I reached to grab the bags, two of them split right open, spilling garbage all over my driveway.
“Son of a bitch!”
I was in the middle of scooping the trash back into the bin with a discarded paper plate when a loud, ferocious bark made my head jerk up.
Letting out a startled squeak, I fell back on my butt and crab-walked backward as a snarling dog came charging in my direction, teeth bared like it was ready to maul my face off.
“Rocky, no!” a masculine voice yelled. “Rocky, stop!”
The monster dog didn’t even break its stride as it continued across my neighbor’s yard and into mine.
I recalled reading somewhere that you should remain completely still when at risk of being attacked by a dog—or maybe it was a bear, I couldn’t remember just then—so instead of getting up and running for my life, I slammed my eyes shut and braced to have my face eaten by the feral beast. But instead of fangs puncturing my skin a large, wet tongue pressed against my jawline and licked from chin to temple in one long swipe.
My eyelids popped open and I chanced turning my head to face the German shepherd only to have it lick right up the center of my face.
Letting loose a startled giggle, I lifted a hand and rubbed at the scruff of its neck. “Well hey there, ferocious monster,” I murmured, earning myself a rapid tail wag and playful bark.
A full-blown laugh rumbled up my throat as I began rubbing at the cutie more vigorously.
He was so excited his entire back end wagged along with his tail.
“Aren’t you just adorable,” I cooed, even though that wasn’t totally true.
The dog now known to me as Rocky was obviously healthy given his incredible size and strength, but there were sections all over his body where his thick fur was missing, and as I gave him a full-body rub, I noticed what felt like scar tissue in several places.
“Christ, you all right? I’m so sorry.”
I turned my attention from the sweet pup to Lincoln’s gem-colored eyes and my mouth went completely dry. “I, uh….”
Rocky let out a loud yip, letting me know he wasn’t happy with my lack of petting, so I immediately started up again.
“Jesus, Rock. Get off her, would you?” Lincoln’s long fingers wrapped around Rocky’s collar and gave him a tug, but the dog struggled to stay with me. “Did he knock you down?” he asked, struggling with the boisterous mutt.
“Holy crap,” a woman declared, and I turned just in time to see a familiar gorgeous blonde jog up to us.
She was one of the countless women I’d seen spending quality time at Lincoln’s house, and seeing her now, looking like she’d just stepped off the glossy pages of a magazine, my face burned with a sense of inferiority. “Are you okay?”
No. No I certainly wasn’t. I was covered in doggy slobber, wearing my ratty sweats designated strictly for cleaning day, my hair was in a messy knot at the top of my head, and I smelled like a gross combination of garbage and bleach.
This was a disaster. She looked like a model, and I looked like a freaking hobo.
Luckily, before I had the chance to answer, Lincoln spoke. Unfortunately, what he said made an already awkward situation that much more uncomfortable. “I fuckin’ told you not to let him out, Crystal,” he spat angrily.
The blonde, aptly named Crystal, pinched her face in displeasure as she crossed her arms over her chest. “It was an accident.”
“There’s a huge goddamn difference between an accident and just not payin’ attention.”
“Whatever,” she huffed with a roll of her eyes. “He didn’t get far, so what’s the big deal?”
“Uh… I’m, um… I’m fine. It’s fine. No biggie,” I stammered, clumsily pushing off the rough cement to my feet.
“See?” Crystal said. “She’s totally fine. No harm, no foul. Now can we please lock the friggin’ dog up so we can go to dinner?” She reached for Rocky’s collar only to have him growl at her as the hair on his back stood on end.
Crystal and I both took a frightened step back at the same time Lincoln’s grip on the dog tightened.
“Go back to the house,” he ordered, his jaw ticking as he glared at her. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
With a huff and a dramatic flip of her hair, she spun around and stomped back toward Lincoln’s place on her sky-high platform wedges.
I was still watching her departure, silently envying her figure and style, when the man who’d been plaguing my fantasies for months spoke and pulled my attention back to him.
“I really am sorry about that. Rocky wasn’t supposed to get out. It shouldn’t have happened.”
My belly fluttered with so many butterflies it was a wonder I didn’t take flight. “It’s okay. Really,” I stated, holding out my hand for Rocky to lick happily. “I promise. He’s actually really sweet.”
Lincoln watched my interaction with his dog incredulously before stating, “That’s insane. He’s not usually so friendly with strangers.”
“Oh. Well, it’s probably just the smell of the trash that burst all over the place.”
His gaze darted to my drive and all the garbage strewn about. “Shit. Did he do that?”
“Oh! No, Rocky didn’t do that. I dropped the bin trying to drag them to the curb and the bags busted.
He’s totally innocent.” As if sensing my defense of him, Rocky head-butted my thigh, and I crouched down to give him more snuggles while looking up at my sexy neighbor. “I didn’t realize you had a dog.”
He grinned at me, sending an electric current through my whole body. “Just got him. He was a rescue. Got him from a shelter the day he was set to be put down.”
“No!” I cried, hugging Rocky’s neck. “They were gonna put him down? Why?”
“Unfortunately it’s not that uncommon, but Rocky was a special case. His breed is considered aggressive, and he’s already over a year old. Most people want puppies. And to make it worse, he was a fighting dog.”
“A fighting dog?” I asked, my arms tightening protectively around him as my heart sank. “You mean someone used to put this little sweetie in a pen to fight other dogs?”
That grin of his grew an inch, but I was too consumed with Rocky’s well-being to get stupid over it. “If it makes you feel any better, the asshole’s spending a fair amount of time in jail for it.”
“Good,” I snapped defensively. “But fair justice would be sticking that jackass in one of those pens.”
He chuckled, deep and gruff, saying, “Let me help you with this,” as he bent to grab the paper plate I’d been using to scoop trash.
My brain suddenly restarted, and I realized once again who I was standing in front of and how ragged I looked.
“Oh no, you don’t have to do that. Seriously.
I’ve got this, and you’re supposed to be going to dinner with your…
uh, friend,” I finished awkwardly, pointing in the direction I’d last seen his supermodel girlfriend.
Ignoring my objection, Lincoln continued scooping my trash, and I thought I might die of humiliation at the sight of all the empty Little Debbie snack cake boxes.
“Don’t worry about Crys,” he replied, tossing all my junk food paraphernalia into the bin. “She can wait.” Of course a man like him could make a woman like that wait and not face any repercussions. He was freaking perfect. He undoubtedly got away with anything.
I stood there like the flustered mess I was as he cleaned up the last of the trash. “Keep hold of him, yeah?” he asked, pointing at Rocky and pulling the two bins the rest of the way to the curb.
He played with the kids on the block like they were family. He helped little old ladies get their groceries inside. He rescued poor abused dogs. And now he was picking up his neighbor’s garbage and taking her trash cans to the curb.
Is it possible for this guy to be any more perfect?
“Um, thank you. I appreciate you picking all that up for me.”
“It’s no problem.” His green eyes glimmered in the setting sun, brilliant against the soft pinks and golds of the growing twilight. “Least I could do after my dog almost licked you to death.”
My cheeks heated as I lowered my head shyly and glanced up at him through my lashes. “I don’t mind. He’s a great dog.” I gave Rocky’s neck one last scratch before dropping my hands to my sides.
“Well, he seems to really like you, which is a miracle. He can be a little skittish around new people since he was abused so badly.”
I looked down at Rocky and smiled, and I could have sworn he smiled back. I wasn’t sure why, but knowing Rocky liked me while he growled unhappily at Crystal gave me an irrational sense of pleasure. “Well, if you ever need a dog sitter, you know where to find me.”
He gave me a warm look before emitting a short, clipped whistle that made Rocky come immediately to his side. He looped his fingers around the dog collar and said, “Might just take you up on that, buttercup.”
Buttercup. It was a miracle I didn’t swoon into a puddle at his feet. “Y-yeah. Sure. Um, any time. I really like Rocky, so if you ever need it, I’m here.”
“Good to know.” He winked, and I was pretty sure I had a mini heart attack.
When he finally left, I headed back inside, moving straight through my bedroom into my master bath, stopping in front of the mirror.
Taking in my reflection, I cringed at what I saw standing before me. Lifeless hair, dull eyes, chubby cheeks on an otherwise uninteresting face. A Buddha belly and thick thighs. Nothing a man like Lincoln would ever write home about.
I’d admit I had a cute little button nose and cupid’s bow lips, but other than that, there was nothing special or phenomenal about me. I wasn’t the kind of woman who stood out in a crowd. I was the one a man’s gaze skated over in search of a woman like Crystal or Nona.
And I was sick of it.
I didn’t want to be out of Lincoln Sheppard’s league anymore. I wanted to be the woman his eyes stopped on when he saw me. I wanted to be desired and wanted by a man like him.
Or, more to the point, him specifically.
It was all within my grasp to become that type of woman. A showstopper.
And as I stared at myself in the mirror, a sense of determination seeped all the way into my bones.