Page 24 of Will Bark for Pizza
He looked at me, those pitiful brown eyes promising he’d do better if I’d just give him the damn treat already.
This time, he was gentle in his pilfering of the bone-shaped morsel.
I returned my attention to the cupcake—some type of lemon concoction by the look and intoxicating aroma of it—but before I could successfully tug it free from its cardboard holder, a voice from the nearby alley caught my attention. I froze, certain I was hearing things.
“I’m not doing it, Madeline.”
Husker perked instantly, popping to all fours as he scanned the area for a voice he recognized as well.
“No fucking way,” I murmured.
I didn’t have to turn around to know who it was. The gruff baritone voice was the same one I heard when I surfaced from my near-drowning experience last night.
I had pegged him for a tourist, though reassessing that assumption now, I couldn’t peg why I thought that, other than he mentioned having a place to stay. He knew how to get to Ghost Lake, on Uncle Karl’s hidden road, nonetheless. It’d been a number of years since I called Bluebell Springs home, and even then, I didn’t know everyone in town. He might be a transplant, or simply someone who graduated years ahead of me.
“Kyle would never let you do that, and you know it,” he continued, gravel crunching beneath heavy, pacing footsteps.
I slowly peeled back the wrapper from my cupcake, and Husker snapped his attention back to me.
“Don’t bring the twins into this.”
Twins?
Huh. I hadn’t pegged him as a dad. I snuck a peek over my shoulder to try it on for size. It would be an incredible imbalance in the universe if this incredibly attractive man was also a father. At least, my readers would certainly think so.
I swallowed away that thought with another bite of cupcake, not ready to face how disappointed they would be when the news about my inability to write eventually reached them.
The man stopped in his tracks, his gaze snagging on mine. My heart skipped a few beats, and messed up a few others. Dammit, those eyes were gorgeous. Themanwas gorgeous.
“I have to go,” he said, lowering the phone and ending the call. “Red?”
Husker darted for him, the loose leash I forgot to anchor trailing after him. The sexy stranger knelt to greet my dog like they were old friends. My heart squeezed without permission. Had Travis ever greeted Husker that way? Even once? No. He was too concerned about getting dog hair on his precious fucking pants.
“Everything okay?” I asked, rubbing my thumb along the sweating cup of iced coffee so I had something else to focus on besides the way my dog was practically fawning all over him.
“Yeah. Just family stuff.”
“So, you’re a dad?” I asked.
“A dad?”
Hell, even his confused expression was attractive. If I had any sense, I’d pack up my cupcake breakfast and head straight for the hardware store. Facing my own father seemed less intimidating now that I was again in the orbit of my reluctant hero. Though I hadn’t actually needed saving from drowning, I did need saving from myself. Little did Mr. Sexy Stranger know, but I was on the verge of a panic attack. One averted because of him.
“Is it just the two kids, or are there a bunch more?”
“I don’t have any kids.”
“Are the twins code for something?” Maybe I misunderstood. I was a romance author, after all. I was certain at least one of my heroes had used twins in the context I was now implying. Except, they were excited, not irritated as he was a minute ago. “Never mind.”
“Oh, ha.” A smile broke across his lips, and my breath caught in my throat. That smile should be against the law. “My niece and nephew are twins. I was talking to my sister.”
“Madeline?” I guessed.
“How much of the conversation did you overhear exactly?” he asked, rubbing a hand at the back of his neck. His easy expression hardened a fraction.
“Not much.”
“Cupcake for breakfast?” He nodded at my dessert. “You really do love your sweets, don’t you?”
