Page 15 of Guarding My Love

“It’s not as if I had it planned this way,” she said. “He was sleeping and I took the trash out. I shut the door behind me, but it must not have clicked and he pushed it open.”

“Bring him over here,” he said. “Marco, right?”

“Yes,” she said. “Sorry I didn’t introduce him, but you left so fast you would have thought my house was invaded by roaches or something.”

She moved closer to his window after he snorted and he reached his hand out. “Hey, I’m sorry, buddy. You have to watch out for things that are bigger than you though.”

Charlotte let out a soft laugh. “I don’t think he understands what you’re saying, but he’s not shaking as much.”

He gave the dog a few more scratches under the chin. “Sorry about scaring him.”

“It’s my fault,” she said. “On top of never painting before, it’s probably obvious from what I’d said I’ve never owned a house. It’s the first dog I’ve owned. I’m used to city living on top of it. I’m so out of my element.”

“You seem to be holding it together fairly well,” he said.

And there went the towel on his driveway. A nice white one that wouldn’t be that way much longer.

Her long blonde hair came free and it had some nice waves to it. Some of it fell right in front of her face and she tried unsuccessfully to blow it away with a big breath.

“It’s not my morning,” she said. “And you go to work early. It’s not even six thirty.”

“Give me the dog,” he said, reaching through the window. “So you can get your towel.”

Charlotte handed over Marco, who he’d put on his lap and pet while she bent to get her towel and wrap it around her head again, then tightened her bathrobe some more.

She put her hands out for the dog who decided he didn’t want to go back to its owner.

“Great,” she said. “Now my own dog doesn’t want me.”

Foster cracked the barest of grins and shut his SUV off. “I’ll bring him in for you.”

“I feel like you keep saving the day for me,” she said.

He wasn’t sure he’d ever been someone to save anything. He just did his thing and then got out of there.

“It’s nothing,” he said.

And speaking of getting out of there, he had to do that soon with the way his eyes kept landing on her legs.

He wasn’t sure he ever wished for a strong gust of wind in his life and felt like a pervert for thinking that.

“I made cookies yesterday. I was going to give you a plate as a thank you.”

“That’s nice,” he said.

“I burned them though,” she said, scrunching up her nose. “I can bake. I really can. But this oven is temperamental. Now I know to either turn it down or take them out sooner.”

“My mother always said every oven is different and that is why she’d spend so much time watching food cook. I think it was just to get away from the kids.”

As much as his mother busted him about wanting to be alone, she needed some space too.

“Three kids could be a lot,” she said.

“Eight,” he said. “There are eight of us.”

“Wow,” she said. “I don’t blame your mother for wanting to be in the kitchen away from everyone.”

He smirked. “I didn’t hold it against her. Okay, Marco. Time to go back to your mother.”

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