Page 20 of A Little Christmas Jericho
"Thank you," I murmured, my voice sounding scratchy.
He didn't say anything, only took my bag and slung it over his shoulder before helping me out and closing the door behind me.
His house was... cute.
It had a small bungalow-type feel to it, and enough yard to give the illusion of privacy, even if there weren't any real walls between his property and those of the people next door to him.
The stone pathway looked like something you'd find in a fairytale, slowly meandering up to the front door, with patches of moss between the dark grey slate. And to top it all off, he had the most quaint window boxes that were filled with brightly coloured seasonal bulbs.
If anyone had asked me to imagine what Colter's house would look like, this would have never been what I pictured. With his love of animals, I'd low-key expected to end up at a small farmhouse or country cottage. Yet... it still worked. And now that I was here, I kind of never wanted to leave.
"If Murphy and Daisy do okay off leash, we should bring them along next time. There's plenty of space for them."
Colter's words had my gaze zeroing in on him, and I realised he'd been staring at me while I took in his home. "Yeah? You wouldn't mind?"
"I'd love it in fact. I miss having a pet around," he told me, his face turning nostalgic.
"Yeah," I said as I squeezed his hand. "Why is that? I'd think, as a vet you'd have a house filled with fur babies."
He turned to the front door to unlock it as he answered. "Used to have a dog, ironically named Spot, but we had to say goodbye to him about six months ago. I guess I just haven't been ready yet."
His heartache was clear in his tone and I ached to give him a cuddle and make it all better.
"Enough of the doom and gloom, little man," he said to me before I could do anything to turn his frown upside down. "Let's get you settled in, so I can feed you."
"Hmmm," I hummed in response. "And what are you planning on feeding me, Daddy?"
Chapter 12
Iknewit was too good to be true.
I knew it!
He came across all perfect. So sexy, so sweet, so caring. And he was even good with my pets.
Doctor Daddy, my ass!
He was feeding me broccoli!
Okay, so he made me somereallygood mac and cheese, with like five thousand kinds of cheeses on top, but right there, on the plate, next to the gooiest mac I've seen in my entire life he dared to put the offending green, cooked trees.
"You can't be serious," I huffed, crossing my arms.
Daddy merely responded by lifting a brow while refilling the cute as all hell rainbow coloured sippy cup with strawberry-flavored milk.
"No," I said while shaking my head for emphasis. "I won't touch it."
He turned his back on me and headed to the counter to fetch his grown-up plate with twice as much green stuff (was he insane?) and a bottle of sparkling water.
When he sat down next to me, he opened his water, took a long sip while I stared, waiting for him to respond to my denial.
Then he speared a piece of broccoli, took a bite, and slowly chewed.
Chewed!
Like I hadn't thrown down the gauntlet.
Oh my gosh. Did I take it too far? Was he going to just ignore me and take me home when his dinner was done?
