Page 52 of This Baby Business
While I let that simple statement register, one of his arms reached for me and tugged me in close. And that was the thing about Levi. I imagined that all children and dogs and women everywhere would melt in his arms. He was utterly male and safe. Such a protector. Warm, hard and…safe, somehow.
Then he pulled me farther into the room and toward the laundry, where he opened the door. “Except for Digger. He’s not Texas size.”
I followed him into the laundry room, where there was a small dog pillow occupied by Levi’s even smaller dog. Digger wore a teensy-weensy blue-and-green dog sweater from Zoey’s store that read I’ve Been Pimped, which made me smile. He lifted his trembling head, showing me the whites of his eyes, then curled into himself as if he could roll tight enough to disappear.
“Aw. Poor baby.”
“I think he likes the warmth from the dryer.” Levi nodded toward the dog.
“He’s shaking.”
“That’s why I got him the sweater. Believe me, I’ve never put a sweater on a dog in my life. Seems wrong. But I think it’s nerves more than anything else. He still isn’t sure about me.”
“Maybe he was abused by his previous owners.”
“If by abused you mean dropped off at the shelter because he has an uncontrollable bladder, then yes.” Levi squatted in front of him and held out his palm. Digger licked it. “Hey, Digger. This is my friend Carly. Carly, meet Digger.”
I one-finger waved. “Why Digger? He’s been digging in the yard?”
“No, but thanks for that image. Maybe something to look forward to. I nicknamed him after my grandfather’s favorite dog. That was before I realized Emily would take that as some kind of a sign.”
“Why?”
“When I flew him out to Washington for his adoption, the family didn’t show up. Emily thought that meant Digger and I must have been meant for each other. She had zero mercy on me when I reminded her that I have Grace.”
I bent low beside him to pat Digger’s bony head. “That’s okay. Kids need pets.”
“Maybe so, just don’t know about babies. When I introduced them, her eyeballs got as wide as if she’d seen a monster. Digger stared back. Then he peed all over my hand, and I’m pretty sure Grace did the same in her diaper.”
Digger turned in a circle over his doggie bed three times then plopped down with a satisfied doggie sigh.
“It’s nice of you to take him in.”
“Well, it’s only temporary.”
“Sure.”
He sighed. “Yeah. I guess I’m going to get too attached to the little thing. I haven’t stepped on him yet, so that’s promising.”
I tried not to stare at this man who was such a mix of things I’d never expected to find. He had the outward appearance of someone who’d been plucked out of one life and thrown in an alternative universe. One in which he was suddenly a family man, with a baby and a dog to boot. I didn’t see dissatisfaction in him, but maybe that was because I still couldn’t read him well.
Levi closed the door to the laundry room and shoved his hands in his pants pockets. “Carly, I don’t want you doing anything you don’t feel comfortable doing. Like being here. Alone with me.”
“I said I’m not afraid of you. Why won’t you believe me?”
“So…you’re okay with all this?”
“Like the orgasms, you mean?”
He gave me a slow smile. “For starters.”
“I’m not exactly a virgin. I know what I’m doing with a man.”
One arm came up on either side of me and caged me near the wall. “I know, but are you ready to take orders?”
“Um.” I squirmed.
“No. Not ready yet.”
