Page 18 of A Moon Lake Christmas Hero

Not that I was in love or anything.

But there was no way this could go anywhere. This—whatever this was—had no future.

I needed to shut this down immediately. No matter what.

And I needed to get out of their house.

I gnawed on my lower lip.

“Everything is okay with the dog. The vet told me earlier.” James squeezed my hand, misinterpreting the sudden shift in my mood as concern for Lucy.

My stomach tightened, filled with a big fat glob of guilt and fear. One week—I’d give myself one week to figure things out. And then I was out of his house, out of their lives.

My eyes fell on the sign, and my breath hitched. Whitebrook Veterinary Clinic. The dog. Lucy. All my mental acrobatics about the kiss when I should be focusing on Lucy.

I’d never been in an accident before. Had never hurt an animal before—never owned one either. I just prayed Lucy was really okay.

We went in and immediately got ushered to the back, where Lucy was waiting in a small kennel.

“Hey, James, good to see you again.” The beautiful vet brushed her curly, dark hair back and greeted James with a flirtatious smile and a kiss on both cheeks.

His easy smile made my chest squeeze. “Celeste, always a pleasure.”

Was he flirting with her? Did they know each other? Was I jealous? “How’s Lucy?” I blurted out.

Celeste and James looked at me, and I pointed to the kennel on the floor next to the exam table.

“Oh, yes, of course,” she said. “She’s doing great. We did some X-rays yesterday, and they showed no permanent damage. We gave her infusions for the pain, and she’s recovering nicely from her temporary hind-leg paralysis—probably caused by the trauma. She’s been on all fours all day today though—no signs of pain. Her wounds were only superficial, and we stitched those up, as well. She’s basically good to go.” The vet looked from me to James and back again.

She was probably interested whether there was something going on between us.

“That’s great news.” And probably a big bill. But I didn’t care. Not that money wasn’t tight. I was still waiting to hear from the insurance company. But at least I had a job. A job that I should’ve started today.

I made a mental note to call Alan as soon as we were back on the road.

“That’s perfect. Is there anything else we have to do or consider?” James said and smiled at her, which caused another flash of unwanted jealousy.

“No, I gave her something against a possible infection. Just monitor the wounds. They should stay dry, and come back in ten days to have the stitches removed or earlier if anything changes.”

He nodded, squatted down, opened the kennel, and Lucy surprised us all by jumping into his arms and slobbering all over his face, not handicapped by the cone around her neck.

“Ugh. Stop it, mutt,” he said, but his grin defied his words. He loved that little thing, just as I did. There was still a little bit of blood in her white fur, but her black face was too cute. I stepped next to them, petted her, and got the same slobbery treatment. Tears welled up behind my eyelids, and I leaned into James, who wrapped his arm around me and pulled me tighter against him.

As if they both knew I needed a moment, they remained still, James talking to the vet over my head about what kind of breed Lucy was—apparently a mixed breed—and Lucy slowly licking my hand. She smelled like dog, but I didn’t care.

After I regained my equilibrium, James let go, thanked the vet, then proceeded outside.

I waited until he was out of earshot before I shook Celeste’s hand, as well. “Thank you so much. Should I pay the bill outside?”

Celeste cocked her head and smiled. “All taken care of,” she said and nodded to the door through which James had left, then took the kennel and exited through another door.

Wow. Not only did he kiss like a god, but he’d also taken care of the bill.

Though we needed to talk about that.

Or both.

JAMES

---