Page 55 of Accidentally Checked By My Brother's Best Friend

“Scarlett! You know you shouldn’t stick your finger in food you make for others.” The laughter that falls out minimizes my chastisement.

“It’s okay if I don’t double dip,” she says, turning innocent eyes toward Duncan, and I see him nod.

I throw my head back and laugh.

“But more importantly, the dogs don’t care,” he says just as he sticks his finger in the icing, too. Picking up the bowl, he holds it in front of me, A grin lining his face. “Here…try.”

Looking at him, Scarlett, and then back to the bowl, I shrug and dip my finger in. “When in Rome.”

I can feel both of their eyes watching me. The icing melts in my mouth, and the sweetness surprises me. Without thinking, I go to stick my finger in again, only to have the bowl pulled away from me.

“No double dipping,” Duncan says, his eyes dancing.

Heat climbs up my face, and both Scarlett and Duncan laugh. “It was really good,” I shrug sheepishly.

“Red, can you grab that last tray on the counter so I can put it in the oven?” Scarlett picks up the tray and hands it to Duncan, when he’s sliding the tray in the oven, she sticks her finger in the icing bowl.

My mouth falls open, and my eyes widen. She shrugs and mouths. “The dogs don’t care.”

I bite my bottom lip to keep the laughter bubbling up from escaping. When Duncan turns back to the island, he acts like nothing happened, but when his gaze meets mine, I see that he knows exactly what Scarlett did.

He winks, leaving me feeling all warm and gooey inside. And just like that, I’m nearly certain Duncan is the one I’ve been looking for my entire life.

Whenwepullupto Mile High Mutts Rescue, it feels like one of the town fairs my parents would take Fiona and me to when we were children. There are bouncy houses for the kids, courses of some kind that dogs and people are running around in, and people walking dogs while shopping at the vendors’ booths.

“Are the people walking the dogs adopting them?” I ask, moving my hand in the direction of the crowd.

“One can hope,” Duncan says as he opens the tailgate and slides out of the driver’s seat. “Though some of them may be people who are coming to support the rescue with the dogs they’ve already adopted from Mile High Mutts.”

Getting out of the car and moving toward him, I take one more look at the smiling faces and dogs pulling people around. The excitement is palpable. A grin crawls across my face. When I get to the back of the Acadia, I find him pulling out all the treat-filled Tupperware containers.

Knowing that I helped bake them fills me with the same sense of pride I had yesterday. “Do you need any help?” I ask, putting out a hand to take some of the containers.

“Not with these,” he says, looking down at his full hands. “But can you close the tailgate?”

“Sure,” I say, and walk around him to stand in front of the opened truck bed. When I get there I don’t see any handle to pull down, and I hear Duncan snicker. Narrowing my eyes at him, he smirks. “Are you going to tell me how to close it, or are you going to stand there and laugh at me?”

“I think I may just laugh at you.” His eyes twinkle with humor. When I scowl at him, he laughs out loud. Managing to pull himself together, he tells me what to do. “Press the button over to your left.”

“I think I hate you,” I growl at him, only for him to give me a teasing grin that makes my knees weak.

“You’ll figure out all these new high-tech car ‘thingamajigs’ before you know it,” he says playfully. “Until then, I am going to have fun laughing at you.”

“Oh, you!” I press my lips together and pull my brows down but fail to keep the laughter from breaking free as the tailgate starts to lower.

“Duncan!” A male voice calls out. I turn and see a tall, attractive man with broad shoulders holding the hand of a pretty brunette. She’s holding the leash attached to a striking black and white dog. “Finn said you would be here. I’m Adam Daniels and this is my wife, Susie. I’m the right guard for the Mavericks.”

“I would shake your hand, but mine are a bit full at the moment,” Duncan says, nodding at the containers he’s holding. Tilting his head toward me, he says, “This is my girlfriend, Ava.”

Duncan using the word ‘girlfriend’ has me nearly melting into a puddle at his feet.

“You’re the family that Ryder adopted?”

The dog lets out an enthusiastic yodel as if he’s answering Duncan’s question himself. A wide smile crosses my face, and we all laugh.

Susie hunches down, and Ryder turns to her, giving her kisses. The wide grin spread across his muzzle lets me know just how happy he is. It’s one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen.

With a grin spread across her face, Susie looks up at Duncan. “We are the family thathe adopted,and we couldn’t be more grateful he did.”

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