Page 125 of Lemon Crush

I held the bottle he handed me in my free hand while he angrily kicked off everything but his boxer shorts and started the shower.

Then he held out his arms for the stinky angel. “I’ve got her. Stay here and keep talking.”

Had he noticed me backing up toward the door? “This might not be the right time to have this conversation, Wade.”

There were too many things distracting me. His back muscles. The way his boxers clung wetly to his ass. The tenderness he was showing to the tiny ginger puppy as he cleaned her off. My ovaries might have passed their use-by date, but they were still in danger of exploding. The only thing that stopped them was the poop on my boobs. It would wash out, but it had ruined the romantic ambience I’d been going for.

“You were saying you wanted me to move out?”

“No! That’s the opposite of what I’m saying.” I turned so I was facing the door instead of ogling his body and reached down to scratch the overly alert Merlin behind his ears. “I’m so glad you never did anything like that.”

“What?”

I raised my voice so Wade could hear me over the water. “I’m saying I don’t want to be your landlady anymore, but I’d still like you to stay here. Live here. You and Wanda. Until you find the right place,” I added at the end, like a coward. “Chick said he’d love to move into the apartment, as long as you agreed and we put his bed in there.”

Even when he was trying to be helpful, he was persnickety.

When Wade turned off the shower, I held out two towels without thinking, one for him and the other for the puppy. Hesnagged one and dried Wanda off first, still all but naked and dripping on the mat. Then he looked at me.

“Take off your shirt.”

What? “Now really doesn’t seem like the time?—"

“I want you to hold her, but you’ve got something on your shirt.”

“Oh. Right. Of course.”

I whipped off my top and he groaned, making me glance down at my new bra. Itdidlook amazing on me. At some point in my hermitting, a genius had invented a comfortable bra for my size that also looked feminine and sexy. Lace, sheer fabric and sturdy support? Sign me up for life.

Judging from Wade’s expression, I’d need to buy them in assorted colors for every occasion.

I held out the other towel and he growled under his breath before handing her over and taking it. “Don’t move, August. I’ll be back as fast as I can.”

Drying off quickly, he wrapped the towel around his waist and picked my shirt up off the floor. “Can I squirt some stain remover on this before I drop it in the washer?”

There he was, taking care of things again. Why was that so sexy? “Sure.”

He tucked it under his arm and went to the crate to pull out the mat, blanket and toys. “I’ll put these outside and hose them off later.”

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?”

“Just keep ahold of her, and stay where you are.”

When he left the bedroom, I rocked Wanda in my arms. She was shivering a little, but she licked my chin and stared at me as if I were the most important person in the world.

“You’re such a good girl. I’m not even mad that you pooped on me.” I was baby-talking. That’s what she’d reduced me to. “How did you know I needed a boost of confidence rightnow?”

I saw the fresh mat on top of the bag Bernie had sent along and decided to help out. Luckily, the crate itself had gotten off poop-free, so I slipped in the new mat and a small extra blanket, then lowered her back inside.

Wanda shook herself off, nearly falling over on her cute little legs and sending Merlin’s tail into a wild frenzy of pure joy.

“He really does like her, doesn’t he?”

I turned to see Wade standing in the doorway.

“I think he was lonely.” There was a tug on my heartstrings as I thought about how long he’d been mourning his person.

Wade walked over and took my hand, guiding me back toward the bathroom. “I believe we were in the middle of a conversation.”

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