Chapter 17
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
Monday was Kyle’s favorite day of the week.
He and Madison saw no one but each other, and after her gesture in front of their family yesterday, he wanted to wrap her up in his arms and kiss her senseless without interruption.
Except, perhaps, for a trip to the freezer for ice cream.
He finally let her out of bed when she picked up his watch and made a face. “It’s almost noon!”
“And that’s a problem because…”
“Ah… We missed breakfast.”
The look on her dewy face had him stretching back against the bedding in a way guaranteed to make her forget about food. “Where did it go?”
“You know what I mean. We both get hangry when we go too long without eating while having sex.”
“I can take it if you can,” he only responded.
She narrowed her eyes before heading into the bathroom.
He heard her cry out, “My hair is still perfect. That’s two days straight! Will the madness ever end?”
He hauled himself out of bed with a laugh and tried to drag her back under the covers, but she held the line on needing fuel.
Over breakfast, he caught her checking out her hair in various appliances. Her hand would inch up to touch the ends when she thought he wasn’t watching.
It was cute, but he tried not to smile.
She worried her mouth as she played with the handle of her coffee cup. “So, what do you want to do now? I was going to get dressed. You might too—and then we could…do something.”
An odd request. Was this a result of her gesture yesterday? Did she think they needed to do more couple things?
Usually, they’d finish breakfast and head back upstairs until it was time for dinner, which sometimes involved takeout or them cooking together. Well, mostly her, although he prepped beside her. Little of it involved getting dressed. “What would you like to do?”
“How about we watch a movie?” she asked, almost nodding to herself. “Something with lots of action.”
Madison didn’t watch much TV, but she loved the odd action movie. In fact, she’d been so relieved to find out he wasn’t into rom-coms that it had made him almost fall off the bed laughing. “Fast Five?”
“You know me too well.” Her grin looked a little forced though. “How about we hole up in the living room?”
He raised a brow. Most of the time, they’d stretch out in his bed—their bed. Except she’d mentioned getting dressed. “Sure.”
“Come on.” She flashed him another smile. “We’ll get dressed together.”
He didn’t argue with her, but he wasn’t sure how to take this change of pace. She had an idea about how she wanted today to go, though, so he got dressed, like she’d requested, and joined her downstairs.
Settling onto the couch, he talked her into tangling her feet with his, but they sat on opposite sides as cars raced and bad guys went down. When their exterior door announced a visitor, she jumped off the couch. “Stay comfortable. I’ll see who it is. Probably Dean. You know him and boundaries.”
Except Dean had honored their desire to be alone, but Kyle stayed put, noting that she took Pierre from the room with her.
When the front door opened, he heard a dog bark, followed by playful yips.
“What in the world?” he mused, rising from the couch. He followed the sounds and stopped short. Madison was letting in a young brunette holding the leashes for a whole bunch of puppies. He couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Surprise!” Madison cried out, dancing in place as a golden-colored puppy attacked her leg while a white-and-black one sniffed at her ankles.
An older silver-haired man entered at the rear carrying a few of those plastic children’s gates, which he set up around the puppies like it was a playground. With Madison inside.
Kyle continued to gape in shock as the woman unclipped their leashes. “What is this?” he finally asked.
Madison shook her leg from the black puppy chewing on her shoelace. “I wanted to get you a puppy, but I figure you should choose it yourself. So I brought them to you.”
He could only blink at her. “A puppy? For me?”
She gave a tight smile as she stepped over a couple of puppies and then hiked her legs over the gate, crossing to him. “You said you wanted one. You still do, right?”
The constriction in his chest was suffocating. He remembered telling her how he’d thought it would fill a void. “You don’t have to—”
“I want to.” She touched his arm, her golden eyes filled with that wary warmth he’d gotten used to. She always had this expression when she was making a gesture with her whole heart but was unsure of its reception. “This is Operation Kyle.”
Wrapping his arms around her, he turned to the side to give them privacy. Well, mostly him. He was losing his mind right now. “Do you have any idea how much I love you right now?”
“Probably enough to make us both feel a little weird,” she murmured, tightening her grip on him. “I’m glad I paid attention. You’re totally the kind of guy whose dog is his best friend.”
“No, that will always be you.” He leaned back and cupped her precious face, his heart pulsing with more love than he knew what to do with. “Thank you, Mad.”
“Sure thing. Now go pick your puppy. If you don’t find one, I’ll have Brooke arrange to bring more over.”
Brooke again. He’d have to send her a case of champagne. “I’m sure one of these puppies will be perfect. Do you want to pick one with me?”
She shook her head emphatically. “After Pierre, I figure I’m better with someone else picking the right animal. I’ve got no idea what to look for.”
He wasn’t so sure, so he took her hand as he walked to the makeshift fence before stepping over.
Puppies immediately launched themselves at his feet, barking and yipping in delight.
Leaning down, he petted the first three and then picked up a golden retriever with big brown eyes and a cute little bark.
“Oh, aren’t you adorable?” The puppy gave an excited yip, trying to paw his way up his chest.
His wardrobe was going to be in tatters. Ask him if he cared. When the little guy rubbed his black nose against his cheek, licking his face, he laughed. Then he looked over as a thought occurred to him. “Madison, what about Pierre?”
Her smile was filled with more love than he’d ever imagined seeing from anyone.
“I figured everything would work out. Pierre is with me much of the day at the restaurant and sleeps in his cage in your office when we come home. That only leaves the morning and when I’m not working.
I’m sure Dean would be happy to take him if Pierre and the puppy don’t become best buds. ”
God, his heart was raw now. “We’ll make sure they’re friends.”
She shrugged. “I can’t see anyone not loving Pierre, but dogs and birds have that natural wiring of predator and prey. Dean’s a great option. They’re opening Pairings by Pierre in about five weeks, so I’m going to have to share Pierre more anyway.”
The puppy was butting Kyle under the chin as he tried to hold him in place. “Are you sure?”
“Kyle,” she said softly, “if you could see the look on your face… Yes, absolutely.”
He went over to the edge of the playpen and leaned down to kiss her. She managed to evade the puppy trying to lick her face. When she smiled again, he was struck by her radiance. Had he said she was only beautiful and sexy?
That didn’t begin to cover it. She was magnetic, and he felt the pull of her all the way down to his soul. Sawyer philosophized about soulmates more than anyone he knew, and right now, everything his friend had said made sense. Soulmates lit up each other’s worlds. That was him and Madison.
He brought the cuddly little guy up to his shoulder as he settled himself in the middle of the pen to play with the others.
God, they were fun and busy and so dear, he felt like he’d fallen into a childhood dream as they crawled over him, barking and yipping.
Only this was no dream, and after twenty minutes, he knew who’d captured his heart.
The golden retriever he’d wanted to pick up first had fallen asleep on his shoulder, his little puppy snores absolutely the cutest sounds he’d ever heard. Equally important, the puppy had been the most eager to crawl up his body to see him. They were a match made in heaven.
But still he called, “What do you think, Mad?”
“He’s perfect—” Her soft smile said it all. “Oh, and his coat seems to be really healthy and glossy, so he fits our perfect hair image.”
That had Kyle laughing and the puppy stirred and gave an adorable yawn.
Madison handled the arrangements, although the company had taken care of everything required, including providing him with a starter kit that included a pet bed, toys, food, and accompanying equipment.
He imagined Brooke’s long hand in those considerations.
After Madison saw everyone out, Kyle brought the sleepy puppy over. “Madison, I want you to meet Spike. Spike, meet Madison, the woman I love with all my heart.”
Taking the puppy’s paw, he held it out to her to shake. “Why Spike?” she asked as the puppy stretched sweetly in his arms.
“Because that was the name I was going to give to the puppy I wanted when I was a kid, and you always need to keep your promises to yourself.”
She reached out a hesitant hand to stroke his head. “I like it. God knows I love sharp instruments. So I did good?”
“Yeah. Really good. I don’t have words for how much.”
The puppy sneezed, making her laugh. “He’s going to need training. I hope you’re up to the task.”
Hugging Spike to his chest, he felt like his whole life was complete. “When have I ever fallen short?”
“Never. But he’s a puppy. You’re going to need to watch him. Also, I’m not going to sleep with him in our bed.”
Our bed.
God, could this day get any better?
“Don’t worry. We’re on the same page.”
The puppy lurched for her. He let Spike go, laughing as the little guy licked Madison’s face, making her fidget at first. But in the end, she was laughing and hugging him to her chest too, her golden eyes filled with warmth.
She might have brought him a puppy to love, but he had a feeling she needed one too.
“How about we all sit down and finish our movie?”
“That sounds great,” she said, cuddling the puppy.
When they settled onto the couch, Madison was lying against his chest this time, Spike crawling all over them.
Like a family, he thought.
Which he realized was all he’d ever really wanted.