Chapter Two
When they reached the door to Reaves's apartment, Ollie's heart was pounding.
This was all wrong. He didn't want to lie to her, but at the same time, he didn't want to scare her off.
And now there was the very real prospect that even if she could get over him being who he was, she still wouldn't forgive him for lying to her.
Making her think that he lived here in town hadn't felt like a lie at first, but now that she was here, he felt awful.
But not bad enough to just come out and confess, prodded the good angel on his shoulder.
He fumbled with the keys, trying to unlock the door. When he dropped them, Callie picked them up and handed them back to him.
"Are you okay?" she asked. "Are you nervous about this? You don't really have a wife or girlfriend, do you?"
He let out a hollow laugh. "No, I don't. I.
.." He ran his hand through his hair. "I guess it's just that I've been looking forward to this, and I don't want to screw it up.
I don't often bring girls here." That wasn't a lie.
"And I don't know... are you okay with the dogs?
The last time I introduced them to a date, she was terrified of them, and they picked up on it.
They're softies, really, but they can be mischievous too. "
She smiled at that. "You've got nothing to worry about there." She tapped the middle of her chest. "Kansas farm kid here, remember? I grew up with animals. All kinds of animals. Although my brothers were probably the most dangerous."
He finally got the key into the door. "Okay, well, see what you think of these guys then. I have a feeling they'll take a liking to you. But even if they don't look impressed, they won't do you any harm."
"Okay. So open the door already. Introduce me."
He swung the door open and went in first. He felt bad about going in ahead of her — that wasn't the way he'd been raised. But he justified it to himself that he wanted the dogs to see him first, since they were already in a strange place.
Callie came in behind him and shut the door after her, her gaze going straight to Peanut and Butter, who were still sitting on the beds where he'd left them.
Knowing them, they hadn't moved a muscle since he left — well, other than their ears, which would strain and twitch at any sound until he reappeared.
"Oh my goodness, look at you guys!" Callie exclaimed. "Aren't you beautiful puppies?"
Ollie let out a snort at that. "They're hardly puppies."
"Oh, they're just big babies. You're beautiful, aren't you?" The dogs answered with a pair of contented whines. Callie grinned at him. "See, they just like to be appreciated. You're just baby puppers, aren't you? Big, beautiful babies."
Ollie rolled his eyes at her. "Would you like me to introduce you properly?"
"Yeah! That’s what I’m waiting for. I’d just go to them, but they look like they’re waiting for you to give the word."
He looked at Peanut and Butter, who were both straining in place, leaning toward Callie as if desperate to go and greet her. "Wait there, guys," he told them. Taking Callie's hand, he led her toward them and stopped in front of the beds.
"Can I pet them?" she asked.
"After I introduce you," he said with a smile. "Butter."
Butter stepped forward eagerly while Peanut whined and stayed put.
"Butter, this is Callie," Ollie told him. "She's a friend of mine."
He hoped that Callie couldn't read the look that Butter gave him as well as he could. Nothing got past the big guy. His eyes told Ollie that he knew damn well he was hoping that Callie might become more than a friend.
But Ollie couldn't even think about that right now. Not until he'd figured out how to be honest with her about his situation.
"Callie, meet Butter."
She reached her hand out as if to pet him, but Butter raised a paw to shake with her.
"Oh my goodness, look at you! Aren't you fancy," she exclaimed as she held his paw. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."
She shot a glance at Ollie. "I should have known that even the dogs around here have impeccable manners."
Peanut whined again.
"They do," he agreed. "And this lady here, Miss Peanut, sounds like she's eager for a proper introduction so that she can show off her manners too."
He inclined his head toward Callie, and Peanut jumped out of her bed to sit upright next to Butter. She didn't hesitate to raise her paw, and Callie shook hands with her as well.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too," she said.
Ollie couldn't help smiling as he watched two tails thump in unison on the floor behind them.
"How old are they?" Callie asked.
"They're four now."
"Oh, wow. I would have guessed that they really were puppies."
"Nope, they're full-grown adults."
Callie squatted down and ran her hands over both their heads. "Well, you're just big, beautiful puppies to me."
Peanut put a paw to Callie's shoulder, knocking her off balance so she sat back on her butt. To Ollie's relief, she laughed.
"Fine, I'll sit here with you guys."
She looked at Butter, who leaned in close to sniff her face.
"It's okay," Ollie reassured her. "He's just curious about you, but if you don't like it, you can tell him to back off."
"No, it's fine," said Callie.
As Butter sniffed her face, she sniffed right back, which made Peanut curious enough to come and join in. Ollie watched in wonder as the three of them sniffed each other's faces — the two dogs emitting contented little whines and Callie cooing baby-talk nonsense.
Although, coming from her, it didn't feel like nonsense. Something settled in him as he watched her.
He'd only introduced a few girls to the dogs. One had been scared stupid, and the others had tried to act relaxed around them, but it was obvious that they were wary. Callie, on the other hand, seemed so happy with them that he got the impression she wouldn't notice if he wasn't even here.
He wanted to sit down on the floor with them and join in. And he'd do that if they were at home, but it didn't feel right to hang around here, giving Callie the impression that this was home when it wasn't.
He cleared his throat. "What do you think? Should we load them up and take them out?"
Callie got to her feet. "I think we should."
She looked around the apartment, and Ollie could guess what she was thinking. What kind of an asshole would keep these two locked up in an apartment like this?
If he didn't come clean with her soon, she'd have even more reason to hate him when he did.
~ ~ ~
"What do we need to bring for them?" she asked, looking around. "Where do you keep their leashes?"
Ollie got that weird look on his face again as he said, "That's okay. Everything's in their bag."
He went back to the hallway and picked up a duffel bag that looked like it could contain everything Peanut and Butter needed for a week, let alone for a walk. She didn't comment, though. She was glad that he had a lot of gear for them, even if he did keep them here in an apartment like this.
It seemed to take him a while to gather everything together and put the harnesses on the dogs, but eventually they were ready to go out.
"What can I do?" she asked.
He looked down at the dogs. "Who wants to walk with Callie?"
Butter let out a short, sharp bark and Peanut whined. Callie couldn't help but feel special when they both strained toward her.
Ollie gave her a wry smile. "You can take whichever you like. I'll let you choose."
She held both hands out. "Can I take the two of them? I'd hate to show any favoritism."
She really didn't want to disappoint either of the dogs — although she immediately felt bad thinking that, it would hardly be a disappointment to have to stay with Ollie.
She inhaled sharply. She was only thinking about the dogs; there was no way she was thinking about herself staying with Ollie.
Spending the night with him was an appealing thought, but in reality, it wasn't going to happen.
She tended to date guys for months before she ever slept with them, and she had a feeling that today would be the only date that she and Ollie went on.
It wasn't that she didn't like him. She did.
But all her reasons for thinking that it was probably a bad idea were still true.
She still lived in Fort Bragg. He still lived here.
And now, she knew that any time he came up there to see her, he'd be leaving these poor fur babies alone in this apartment.
She wouldn't do that to them. No matter how much she liked him.
He locked the apartment door behind them, and the dogs walked perfectly in step with her all the way down the hall to the elevator. Ollie pressed the button, and Peanut and Butter sat down on either side of Callie, then both stared up at her adoringly.
"Oh my goodness, you guys," she exclaimed. "I could get used to this."
She shot a glance at Ollie when she realized what she'd said. A small smile played on his lips as he met her gaze.
"I meant the dogs," she explained. "I love them already."
He seemed to pull himself together and straightened up. "That's okay. I knew what you meant; I feel that way about them myself."
"What — that you could get used to them?" she asked, confused. "Aren't you already used to them?"
A look of panic crossed his face — or something that looked like panic. But what that was about, she had no idea.
Then the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Once they were inside, he said, "Of course I'm used to them. I just meant that I could get used to hanging out with them like this every day. I miss them when I'm flying."
"Of course. You're away a lot for work, aren't you?"
"I'm not away overnight all that much. Not really."
She scowled. From the way she'd heard him talk previously, she knew that he and Reaves did a lot of flying for DuPont Wineries. They took the sales team away to meetings or whatever for days at a time, and they flew to Summer Lake, where Alexandria DuPont lived.
She didn't call him out on it, but it made her uncomfortable.