Page 29 of Guarding My Love

“What colors are in your house?” she asked. “Not asking you to show me, just asking.”

“I’m more cold and sterile,” he said. “Whites and grays.”

“Foster,” she said. The sound of his name on her lips set off an avalanche of warm fuzzies cascading in his body. “There isn’t one thing cold about you and I’m sorry if anyone made you think that.”

10

THE RIGHT DECISION

Charlotte was positive she’d made a huge mistake pushing Foster.

It’d been almost two weeks since they’d talked.

What did she expect? That he’d ask her on a date?

Return the favor for a cup of coffee? Maybe some dinner?

None of that happened.

She’d seen him come and go to work most days and when he was gone, she’d walked down to sit on his bench and take in the nature around her.

But the past few days she hadn’t seen him at all and started to wonder if he was out of town.

It wasn’t any of her business.

She was staying busy with work. Her one day in the office last week was fun and gave her a glimpse of what she was missing, but when she came home, her body almost sighed with relief.

That was a good sign in her eyes that she made the right decision.

She looked at the clock in the corner of her computer, saw it was past lunch, and went to get something to eat.

“Are you hungry, Marco? You normally let me know when it’s time to eat.”

She fed her puppy who seemed to be growing into his paws. At least he was pretty much house-trained. They only had one accident this week when she was stuck on a call and couldn’t get to him.

It wasn’t his fault so she didn’t make a big production about it and only cleaned it up and returned to her desk.

Marco scarfed his food down while she ate a yogurt.

The sun was shining and it looked so inviting. “How about a walk by the water after you fertilize my lawn?”

The dog started to hop around the kitchen as if he understood the word water.

She clipped him and walked him around her yard, but he was tugging her toward Foster’s driveway.

Rather than frustrate them both by telling him no, she headed toward the water.

They found their normal spot on the bench and sat there looking out at the bay.

It was a little rough today, but she was fine with that.

Nature was unpredictable.

Just like her life appeared to be.

But she was settling in and happy with her choices.

If she was lonely, she didn’t let anyone know.

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