Page 117 of His to Bedevil

“This is called a Havapoo,” Alejo remarks. “Supposedly, she’s half Havanese and half poodle.”

I stand up to my feet and approach the fluffy black-and-white dog that he’s cradling. As I run my hand over her head, Alejo hands her over to me. “Careful, my love. She has a bad leg.” I notice the cast on one of her hind legs and make sure to be mindful of it.

I take her with me as I sit back down with her in my lap. “Oh my God. You are too sweet,” I coo at the dog as she sits calmly in my lap while I pet her. “Whose is she?” I ask him without looking up.

“Yours, my love.”

My eyes finally snap up to meet his. “What do you meanmine?”

“Meaning she is now your dog.” He smirks, and he’s painfully handsome.

“Where did you get her from?” I swear if he tells me he bought her from some breeder when there are so many strays running around…

“Off the street, of course. Had her taken to a vet and got her all fixed up. She’s just under a year old, so she won’t get much bigger than that.” He pauses. “Do you like her? I can get a different—”

“Don’t you dare,” I snap, and cuddle the dog closer to me, feeling naturally protective over her. “She’s perfect.” I look down at her and continue to love on her.

“Well, I’ll have everything sent up for her, then.”

I try to ignore him as I get to know my new dog. “What should we name you?” I think out loud. I go through a bunch of cute female names in my head until I think of something clever. “Oh, I know. How aboutLove?”

“Love?” Alejo asks.

“Mm-hmm. Love. I think it’s perfect.”

“You want to call her… Love?” Alejo asks again, and I know he doesn’t think it’s cute at all. Naming her what he typically calls me. I find it cuteandhilarious.

“Yup. That’s her name. Right, Love?” I cradle her face and smile at it.

Alejo sighs, clearly trying to hold on to his temper with me. “Would you like to takeLovefor a walk, my love?”

I bite my lips, trying not to laugh. “I think that would be great. Come on, Love.” I stand up, still holding on to her. “Let’s go for a walk.”

We go out the back and head for the gardens. Alejo has gotten pretty much everything a dog needs. At least I think so, I’ve never had a dog before. I attach her leash to her collar and set her down. She limps around, favoring the leg with the cast, as we start to stroll along the path in the garden. She sniffs around, and I enjoy the silence.

Alejo laces his fingers with my free hand, and I let him. I’m tired of being so contentious, and I do miss his touch. The anger is quickly depleting, and the longing is getting harder and harder to ignore. I know I’m going to eventually give in and forgive him, as well as make up with him, but I’m terrified. I opened my heart up to him once, and he broke it. It’s a pain that I never want to endure ever again. If I think about it, my stomach literally turns and my eyes burn at the memory. Sometimes I wish I never met him. Never fell in love.

“So, have you thought about my suggestion?” Alejo finally breaks the silence.

He took time off of work to spend with me and said we could go somewhere. Within reason. Yesterday he asked me where I wanted to go for the day, and I said the beach. So, we spent the entire day there. Alejo was so patient and trying so damn hard, it almost made me feel bad about how unresponsive I was. I’m so damn stubborn, and I don’t know hownotto be. I’ve always been this way.

“About going on your yacht somewhere?” He mentioned that we could take the yacht somewhere, like the Bahamas or the Cayman Islands.I know, I’m an ungrateful bitch.He nods in response. “That might be nice.”

His eyebrows arch in surprise. “Yeah? Where would you like to go?”

I shrug. “I’ll let you decide that.” We stop as Love squats to pee.

“Have you been to both places?”

I squint up at Alejo, wishing I brought my sunglasses. I pause before speaking. Alejo is such a beautiful man. If he wasn’t a mobster, he could definitely be a model. “I’ve been to the Bahamas. I haven’t been to the Cayman Islands.”

“Then we’ll go there.” He smiles down at me, and I know he wants to reach out and touch me. I want him to too.

Love pulls on the leash a little, breaking up the moment. We take a nice long walk around the garden then head back inside. Both of us quiet. I can feel the tension radiating from him. He’s frustrated, and I know he’s bound to boil over. It’s only a matter of time. And when he does, I’m afraid I’ll finally break. One more harsh shove from him, and I’ll crumble.

We get back up to the bedroom, and I carry Love over to her dog bed and lay her down. She gets back up and drinks some water then turns around and goes right back to her fluffy bed. She’s freaking adorable and seems right at home already. I kneel down and pet her shaggy coat and smile down at her. I’ve always wanted a dog, and I know why Alejo thought of getting me one. He remembered what I told him.

“I can’t believe you remembered my story about the dog I wanted,” I say quietly, and stand to my feet. Slowly, I turn around and face him.

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