Page 80 of Now That It's You
Kyle stood over them, looking down with a smile. “I’d like the record to reflect that my pet was much more accepting of you than yours has been toward me.”
She grinned and planted kiss on Bindi’s forehead. Bindi lolled her tongue to the side in ecstasy. “We’re already best friends.”
“Such a hussy,” Kyle chided. “You, too, Bindi.”
Meg laughed. “You’re just jealous I didn’t greet you like this.”
“Guilty as charged. I do love a good belly rub.”
Meg stood up and called the little dog to her. “Come on, sweetie. I just made a batch of homemade dog biscuits for the Humane Society. Let’s get you some.”
Kyle followed her into the kitchen and watched her grab the large Tupperware container where she’d stashed the biscuits. Prying it open, she watched Floyd stand on his barstool and arch his back. Glaring at Bindi, he gave a halfhearted hiss, then jumped down and bumped her with his nose.
“See?” Meg said, watching as Floyd twined himself between Bindi’s legs, while Bindi made a desperate attempt to sniff Floyd’s butt. “Told you they’d be fast friends.”
Floyd took a swipe at Bindi’s tail, then head-butted the dog’s ribcage. Meg could hear Floyd purring from five feet away, and it was clear Bindi was too mystified to do any chasing.
“I’ll be damned,” Kyle said. “So Floyd likes dogs and insults. Good to know.”
Meg handed Bindi a biscuit. The dog took a bite of before dropping the rest on the floor in front of Floyd. Floyd sniffed it, then nibbled the corner. “Here,” Meg said, handing another biscuit to the dog. “You keep this one for yourself.”
As Bindi crunched into it, Meg looked back at Kyle. “Sorry, did you want one?”
“Nope, but I’ll take another piece of cake.”
“I can do that. You want a glass of wine with it?”
“Wine and cake? Don’t mind if I do.”
“Go make yourself comfy on the couch. I’ll bring it out in a sec.”
Meg headed back to the kitchen and sliced off another piece of cake. Still aching from her run, she skipped the cake for herself and poured an extra glass of wine from a Sunridge Vineyards Pinot she’d opened the other night. She carried the whole thing into the living room where Kyle had parked himself in the middle of the sofa. He scooted over to make room for her, so Meg sat down beside him.
Her knee bumped his, and she drew it back, feeling the heat creep into her cheeks. Then she felt ridiculous.
You’ve slept with the guy, she reminded herself. It’s probably okay if your knees touch.
God, that was always going to be there, wasn’t it? They’d been chatting all evening like old friends, swapping work stories and knife tips while they worked together in her kitchen. But the whole time, Meg’s brain kept wandering back to that same old thought.
You were naked together. You had him inside you, hot and hard and?—
“Okay, what are you smiling about?”
“What?” Meg asked, taking a sip of wine. “I didn’t go near my ear.”
“Just because you’re not tugging your ear doesn’t mean I can’t tell you’re thinking something you don’t want to say out loud.”
Meg rolled her eyes. “And what part of me not wanting to say it out loud isn’t registering for you?”
“Confession number one,” Kyle said, forking up a bite of cake.
“Wait, this isn’t how the game goes. There was no ear tugging.”
“My game, my rules, which means I can change them anytime I want.” He swallowed a bite of cake and forked up another. “Confession number one—I lied to my mother this morning when she asked what I was doing tonight.”
His tone was light, but Meg felt her fingers tighten around the stem of the wineglass. “So you’re ashamed to have her know you’re spending time with me?”
“Confession number two: yes.”
