Page 178 of Cross the Line
Her blue eyes are as striking as her brother’s, but her face is rounder and softer—unlike Matheo’s perfectly chiseled features.
“I wish I could, but I’m not back for good until the summer.” Courtney gives the puppy an apologetic tickle.
“Samson might not forgive you, either,” I chuckle as I turn about the room, searching for Eli or JJ.
“He’s as possessive as his daddy,” she trills back with a wink as she sashays backwards to her man.
That’s when I notice the sad doggie in the corner. I swear my heart melts on the spot with an audible sigh when she lifts her head, canting it to the side as if she’s not used to anyone looking at her.
“Her name is Blanca. She came in when she was a puppy.” Livia meanders over to the corner of the room, and I follow behind her.
I can’t take how miserable she is when she lets out a long sigh and drops her head back to the floor.
“What happened to her?” I ask, kneeling on the concrete. It’s gritty with dirt and crumbs of kibble, but I don’t care. I’m too enamored with the cutie in front of me.
“We don’t really know. We found her in an alley a few blocks from here; her leg was trapped in a drain and broken. Because she developed an infection, we had to amputate.” Livia gives her a hearty stroke.
The cutie looks like Samson, except her coat is snowy white, and she has the most incredible mismatched eyes—one bright blue, the other pitch-black. It’s only when I sit with my legs crossed that she lifts her head again, watching my every move as I offer her my hand.
“Look at that,” Livia murmurs beside me when Blanca rests her jowl on my shoe, allowing me to pet her. “She never does that with anyone.”
“Don’t be sad, beautiful girl. Someone is going to fall in love with you one of these days.”
Scratching the loose skin under her jaw, I rub the top of her head, right between her ears—the way I do with Samson—and she lets out a high-pitched yawn, using her back legs to shuffle her head right into my lap.
“Who’s this?” Eli asks, crouching beside me.
Blanca drops deathly still on my legs. It takes her a moment to relax while I tell him her story, and he instantly falls for her. His dark eyes go soft and sloped as he places his large hand on my thigh, letting her get used to his scent.
“You’re so precious,” he coos when she nudges his fingertips with her spotty nose. It’s the only part of her that has color aside from her eyes.
Good Lord, my insides flutter when she answers his coo with a grumbly whine of her own.
“People are silly not to take you home. You’re just so gorgeous. Look at those eyes…” He keeps cooing, and she keeps whining.
I don’t know how long we sit with her, giving her the fuss she deserves, but when JJ finds his way to us with Samson chasing after him, I know we’re going to have to drag Eli out of the shelter. There’s no way he’s voluntarily leaving.
“How sweet is she?” He grins up at JJ proudly when Blanca burrows between his legs, hiding from Samson.
He’s as enamored with our new friend as Eli is. Auguste has to pick Sammy up and take him away because he won’t stop sniffing at her and trying to lick the drool off her face.
“I told you, bud, you can’t go around licking every girl you meet. You’re gonna get a reputation and…” Auguste rambles at Sammy while Jayden watches Eli with Blanca.
God, I see the moment he falls for her, too. The way he crouches behind Eli with his chin perched on his shoulder and a goofy grin on his face is adorable. I swear they’re the two strongest men I know and play a rough contact sport, but they are the biggest softies.
“You know, she’s spayed and has all her shots,” Livia tells JJ. “And she really needs a home with lots of love.” Her eyes flick to mine and then Eli.
“Liv…” JJ chuckles with a shake of his head, but his eyes don’t stray from our gorgeous girl sprawled on Eli’s lap now. “We already have a grump,” he groans, with a playful nudge to Eli’s ear.
“Grumps have a way of finding each other…” Livia gives him a big, sickly sweet smile as she offers him the iPad she’s had in her hand the whole time. “And look at them—aren’t they a perfect match? He’s cooing, she’s grumbling…”
“Shit,” Jayden sighs, taking the iPad from her.
“You can’t leave without her. She’ll be heartbroken, and she’s already so sad and lonely…”
“Seriously, anyone ever said you could sell ice to an Eskimo?” Jayden moves to sit beside me. “You’re as bad as your brother. Why don’t you get him to adopt a pup, too?”
“Because if I show up at home with another dog, he might throw me out on my ass.” She shrugs.
