Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
Maddy didn’t know much about dogs, but whatever Rufus had spotted through the fence had sure captured his attention because he seemed hesitant to leave the fence.
“Come on,” Mae coaxed him.
Finally he turned around and loped back to them.
“Greedy thing,” Mae said on a chuckle. “Sit.”
Rufus plopped his butt down on the wooden deck.
“P—”
Rufus shot a front paw in the air.
She chuckled again. “All right. Here you go.” She held onto the end of the dog biscuit, forcing him to take it nicely rather than snatch it and run away.
“That’s homemade, isn’t it?” Willow said in a dry tone.
“I made a batch this morning for my pack and thought I’d bring one over when I saw you drive up.”
“He’s so spoiled.”
“All dogs should be spoiled.” Mae smiled at Rufus. “Sweet boy.”
“He’s very smart,” Maddy said.
Willow grunted. “Too smart sometimes.”
Rufus chomped down the treat, saw that no more were coming, and turned to Maddy.
“I don’t have anything, buddy. Sorry.”
He stared up at her with amber eyes that seemed a little bit too human. Peering into her soul. When that didn’t get him anywhere, he bumped his nose into her leg like he had at the party.
“No, really, I don’t have anything.” She reached down hesitantly, gently touched her fingertips to the top of his head. His fur was soft and thick, a gorgeous brown with red tints to it. Almost the same color as Lachlan’s hair.
Rufus nudged her hand. Asking for more.
Maddy grinned and gave his head a stroke. “He’s so sweet.”
“I know.” Willow reached down to ruffle his ears. “You’re my baby, aren’t you? Yes.”
“Is it okay if I move in tonight?”
Willow blinked at her, and Rufus raced back to his spy holes.
“I’ll pay for the extra few days before the first of the month. I just really want to get settled right away.” Uncertainty and change were challenging for her. Doing this quickly would help mitigate that.
“Yeah, that’s fine. Do you need help moving anything? The place comes furnished, so you won’t have to bring anything unless you want to.”
“I’m okay, thanks. Don’t have much.” Just her desk and ergonomic gaming chair, electronics, clothes, and other personal items.
“Got time for a cup of tea before you leave?” Mae asked her.
“I’m actually heading into town now to meet someone for coffee.”
Mae’s eyebrows went up. “Someone? A man?”
“No. Two ladies we met at yoga last night.” Another deliberate step to push outside her comfort zone and make a change.
“Oh, you’re meeting up with Carla and Lindsay?” Willow asked. “That’s great. And don’t worry about paying for the extra days. I’ll draw up a contract, and you can just give me rent on Halloween for November.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
Willow showed her where everything was in the kitchen, explained how the security system worked. “You’ll have to put in your own code. You want to set it up now?”
“No, I’ll figure it out later.”
“Okay, tenant, here you go.” Willow handed her a set of keys. “Have fun in town. Say hi to those two for me.”
“Sure.” That would give her a way to initiate conversation if things stalled.
Her phone buzzed on the way to her car. Lachlan responding to the video. So cute! he said with a laughing emoji.
She drove down the hill toward town with a smile on her face. The sun snuck through the heavy gray clouds, punching beams of pale yellow light down to the water and covering the waves with a million sparkles.
She parked in a spot half a block down from the café and took a deep breath of the fresh, salt-tinged air. The last of the autumn leaves glowed in the sunlight, dripping with rain as the cry of seagulls floated up from the harbor at the bottom of the hill.
Seas the Day Café was a perennial hotspot in town, offering a range of drinks and freshly baked treats. The scent of roasted coffee beans wafted toward her down the sidewalk. Carla and Lindsay were already in line when she walked in.
They greeted her warmly. She studied the drink menu as they made the small talk Maddy hated, but she already knew what she wanted and was more interested in what was in the display case.
“Oh, Nanaimo bars! I’ve always wanted to try one.” Technically they were Canadian, originating in a city not too far north of them on the east coast of Vancouver Island. “Are they really sweet?”
“Not as sweet as you,” a deep voice said behind her.
She whirled around to find Lachlan smiling down at her.
For a moment she forgot how to talk. “Hi,” she finally managed.
“Hi. What are you doing in town?”
“Just came to meet friends for coffee.” She gestured to Carla and Lindsay, already placing their order at the till. They weren’t really her friends, but they could be.
“That’s great. I’m just grabbing a coffee for the road. Or the water, to be more exact.”
“Where are you off to today?”
“Heading down to the Olympic peninsula for a bit. Should be back by dinner. You free then?”
“Oh. I’m actually moving this afternoon.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Moving? Where?”
“Willow’s cottage, down the street from Mae. That’s where I was when I took the video of Rufus. Willow was showing me around.”
“Have you got a moving truck booked? They’re far and few between on the island.”
“No, I don’t have much. I just need to figure out how to get my desk and chair over there.”
“I’ll do it.”
“Oh, no, you— It’s heavy, and—”
“I’ll get Grey to help me. He’s off today, and he’ll be glad to get out of the house for a while.”
Something about his wording made her think something must be wrong.
“How about I’ll message you when I’m heading back, give you a ballpark ETA. Then I’ll text you once I get to the marina and head straight over to Blaine’s place.”
She wanted to decline, but it was sweet of him to offer, and she didn’t want to bother Blaine with this. It would also give her a reason to see him again. “All right, that would be great. Thank you.”
“Happy to help.” He gestured ahead of her. “You’re up.”
A bit flustered, she faced the young woman behind the counter and ordered a vanilla latte and Nanaimo bar. Before she could pay, Lachlan reached past her to tap his phone to the pay terminal. “Oh, you didn’t have to—”
“It’s part of the moving service.” He shrugged it off. “You can get it next time.”
Carla and Lindsay were eyeing them with clear interest from a table to the side.
Maddy cleared her throat. “All right. Thank you.”
She moved to the end of the counter, accepted the plate with her Nanaimo bar and studied it a moment.
The base was some kind of dark chocolate layer with bits of coconut and nuts in it.
The middle layer was a creamy yellow made of custard, butter and sugar, and it was topped with a thin layer of chocolate.
While the barista made her coffee, she took a bite.
“Mmmm,” she murmured as all the flavors and textures melded on her tongue.
“Good?” Lachlan asked as he moved in beside her to wait for his drink.
His low voice, his nearness, and the male interest in his eyes made her pulse beat faster. “Yes. It’s really sweet though.”
“But like I said, not as sweet as you.” He took the second coffee the barista placed on the bar, gave Maddy a slow wink that heated her insides. “See you later.”
She hadn’t quite wiped the smile from her face when she made her way over to sit at the table with the others.
Carla lifted her eyebrows. “And just who was that gorgeous hunk of a man?”
“Lachlan,” she answered, fighting the rush of blood to her cheeks but enjoying the hum of anticipation about seeing him again tonight. “He’s my…friend.”
It was true. But a secret, cautious part of her hoped he might become more than that.